ON  MATICO. 
393 
It  would  be  needless  to  detail  all  the  experiments  that  were 
made  with  it,  as  none  led  even  to  a  suspicion  of  its  containing 
the  object  sought  for,  and  would  present  no  point  of  interest, 
but  I  will  briefly  relate  one  of  my  experiments.  The  bruised 
leaves  were  first,  after  macerating  in  a  little  water  for  twenty- 
four  hours,  subjected  in  a  still  to  heat  by  means  of  a  steam  bath, 
in  order  to  obtain  the  volatile  oil.  The  leaves  were  then 
exhausted  with  alcohol,  ether  and  water,  separately  ;  the  tinctures 
and  infusion  were  then  mixed,  and  evaporated  by  a  gentle  heat 
to  the  consistency  of  a  soft  extract.  This  extract  was  treated 
with  a  solution  of  caustic  potassa,  in  order  to  get  rid  of  the 
fatty  and  resinous  matter.  The  residue  left  after  the  action  of 
the  potassa,  was  dissolved  in  alcohol.  The  tincture  formed,  was 
of  a  dark  green  color,  owing  to  a  considerable  quantity  of  chlo- 
rophylle,  and  was  rather  thick. 
Thinking  that  the  great  amount  of  chlorophylle  would  retard 
crystallization,  if  there  was  any  to  take  place,  I  precipitated  it 
with  subacetate  of  lead,  and  the  excess  of  the  latter  with  sul- 
phuretted hydrogen. 
The  tincture  that  I  now  had,  was  of  a  light  yellow  color ;  it 
was  allowed  to  evaporate  spontaneously,  and  I  obtained  some 
resin  and  fatty  oil  that  had  escaped  saponification.  I  tried  in 
various  ways  to  get  something  from  it,  but  could  not  succeed. 
The  resin  that  I  obtained  was  of  a  ruby  red  color,  and  had  a 
very  acrid,  pungent  taste,  was  soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether,  and 
was,  I  have  no  doubt,  the  green  resin  of  Dr.  Hodges,  minus  the 
green  coloring  matter,  that  was  separated.  It  combines  with 
potassa,  from  which  combination  it  is  precipitated  by  the  addi- 
tion of  an  acid.  The  volatile  oil  that  I  obtained  (about  i  fl.  oz. 
from  2  lbs.  of  the  leaves,)  was  not  very  limpid,  of  a  light  yellow 
color,  and  has  the  distinctive  odor  of  matico,  and  a  very  hot, 
minty  taste.  Its  specific  gravity  is  about  1.000.  The  oil  that 
Mr.  Weigand  obtained,  had  the  specific  gravity  of  1.120,  for 
which  difference  I  cannot  account  ;  but  according  to  the  same 
gentleman,  it  consists  of  a  light  and  a  heavy  oil,  which  can  be 
separated  by  potassa.  I  did  not  try  the  experiment,  but  I  have 
no  doubt  that  it  does  consist  of  two  oils  ;  for  when  a  small  por- 
tion is  shaken  with  water,  the  oils  will  separate  after  a  short 
time. 
