Am,/u0iy"'  ^88h6arIn•}         Bitter  Principle  of  Cranberry.  323 
its  purest  state.  The  result  of  testing  it  and  its  solution  with  reagents 
was  the  following  : 
1.  Chlorhydric  acid  dissolved  the  same  without  change  of  color ; 
but  soon  the  liquid  turned  somewhat  darker  and  got  turbid  under  evo- 
lution of  a  strong  peculiar  smell. 
2.  Nitric  acid  dissolved  it  with  light  orange  color. 
3.  Sulphuric  acid  dissolved  it  with  brown  color,  which  turned  soon 
darker  and  got  nearly  black  under  separation  of  coal. 
4.  Boiled  with  very  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  the  liquid  showed  very 
soon  a  turbid  appearance,  evolving  at  the  same  time  a  strong,  pecu- 
liar smell;  a  resin-like  mass  was  seen  suspended  in  the  now  clear 
liquid  after  a  continuation  of  the  boiling  for  several  minutes. 
5  An  alkaline  copper  solution,  heated  with  the  solution  to  the  boil- 
ing point,  showed  hardly  any  change  of  color  and  not  the  smallest  trace 
of  a  deposit  of  copper  protoxide. 
6.  The  liquid  obtained  under  4  after  the  treatment  with  dilute  sul- 
phuric acid,  furnished,  when  heated  with  an  alkaline  copper  solution,  a 
copious  precipitate  of  copper  protoxide. 
7.  A  very  dilute  iron  sesquichloride-solution  did  not  produce  any 
perceptible  change  of  color. 
8.  Ammonia  and  phosphomolybdic  acid-solution  turned  the  solution 
of  the  bitter  principle  blue  like  that  of  arbutin ;  the  blue  color  disap- 
peared also  by  and  by. 
9.  Neutral  lead  acetate,  lead  subacetate,  lead  subacetate  and  alcohol 
(which  precipitate  ericolin),  platinum  chloride,  potassium  iodide,  iodine 
and  potassium  iodide,  gallic  and  tannic  acids  did  not  give  any  precipi- 
tates. Mercury  bichloride  caused  a  little  turbidity,  which  by  heating 
the  liquid  increased  somewhat  and  settled  down  in  yellowish  brown 
flocks.  Silver  nitrate  effected  also  a  hardly  visible  turbidity,  which 
remained  the  same  when  the  liquid  was  heated  to  the  boiling  point ; 
but  by  continued  boiling  the  liquid  soon  turned  brown,  growing  by 
and  by  darker,  and  then  gave  a  copious  brownish  black  deposit  of 
silver. 
Having  failed  thus  far,  to  find  a  crystallizable  principle  in  the  leaves 
etc.,  two  more  experiments  were  made  with  the  berries : 
Experiment  3. — Several  pounds  of  the  nearly  ripe  berries  (these  hav- 
ing decidedly  a  more  bitter  taste  than  the  ripe  ones)  were  crushed, 
mixed  with  water  and  hydrated  lead  oxide  enough  to  remove  the  acid 
taste,  then  pressed,  the  liquid  filtered,  saturated  with  sulphuretted  hy- 
