OBSERVATIONS ON MYRRH. 173 
however soon disappeared again, leaving behind tfn orange- 
red resinous mass. To determine the amount of water, 
0.764 gms. of the powder was heated in a right-angled glass 
tube in the water-bath to 203° F. until no more moisture 
was given off. The fluid which escaped was clear, colour- 
less, had a faintly-acid reaction, and amounted to 1.475 per 
cent, of the myrrh. The residue, which was half-fused ? 
melted still more on the application of a stronger heat over 
a spirit-lamp, giving off a yellowish, turbid, strongly-acid 
liquid, on which floated some dark brown drops of an em- 
pyreumatic oil; at the same time a large quantity of yellow- 
ish-white vapours was given off. 
15 gms. myrrh were heated with about 20 times the quan- 
tity of water in a retort until about half the liquid had 
passed over. When the apparatus had cooled, the upper 
portion of the retort and the recipient were found coated 
with a whitish resinous body, which was soft to the touch, 
but after a time became hard and brittle. The distillate 
was milky and deposited some yellowish-white flakes, but 
no traces of oil. The resinous coating was dissolved in 
alcohol after removal of the liquid, and left on slow evapo- 
ration a light brown solid resin, which dissolved entirely in 
alcohol, far the greatest portion in ether, and almost wholly 
in caustic potash, formed a blackish-brown mass with nitric 
acid, and was nearly insoluble in acetic acid. The gum of 
the myrrh had dissolved almost entirely during the distil- 
ation, so that very little was left on the filter. The nearly- 
clear filtered solution left on evaporation a brownish ex- 
tract, which on treatment several times with warm spirit 
yielded a brownish mass. The alcoholic extract left on 
evaporation a soft resin, which was almost wholly soluble 
in alcohol, was not precipitated by water, and had an acid 
reaction. Ether scarcely altered it ; nitric acid dissolved it 
to a clear reddish-brown liquid, which after a few hours 
became yellow ; caustic potash afforded a clear brown so- 
lution with it, leaving behind a few flakes. 
VOL. XI. — NO. III. 16 
