Am  J  our.  Pharm.  "I 
Oct.,  1883.  J 
Analysis  of  Vegetable  Tissues. 
525 
the  many  and  valuable  experiments  made,  we  would  suggest  that  good 
samples  be  collected  and  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  recommended 
foi*  gutta  percha.  We  have  no  doubt  that  many  a  parcel  of 
what  would  otherwise  be  good  gutta  percha,  is  spoilt  through  not  being 
well  boiled  immediately  after  collection  from  the  tree.  At  present  this 
is  the  only  way  in  which  we  see  there  is  a  possibility  of  ascertaining 
whether  this  product  can  be  utilized,  and  we  have  the  more  hope  from 
the  fact  that  the  structural  character  has  led  the  plant  to  be  placed  in 
the  same  genus  as  the  true  gutta  percha — structural  affinity  agreeing 
so  often  to  chemical  affinity. 
There  are  in  India  other  nearly  allied  Sapotacece  which  deserve 
attention  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  any  of  them  yield  a  milky  juice 
likely  to  be  of  commercial  use.  Amongst  the  Ewphorhiaceoe  there  are 
two  plants  worthy  of  notice.  The  Euphorbia  Cattimandoo,  found  in 
various  parts  of  India,  was  first  brought  to  notice  by  the  Honorable 
W.  Elliot,  and  a  prize  medal  was  awarded  for  this  substance  by  the 
jurors  of  the  1851  exhibition.  This  spiny  euphorb  grows  to  the  size  of  a 
shrub  or  small  tree,  and  the  milk  flows  out  freely  when  a  branch  is 
cut.  The  natives  use  it  as  a  cement  to  fasten  knives  in  handles,  etc. 
Under  the  influence  of  heat  it  becomes  soft  and  viscid,  and  when  dry, 
very  brittle.  The  Euphorbia  Tirucalli,  the  milk  hedge  or  Indian  tree 
spurge,  is  a  succulent  unarmed  plant  attaining  a  height  of  20  feet,  and 
its  inspissated  milk  is  used  for  various — chiefly  medicinal — purposes, 
and  has  been  recommended  as  a  gutta  percha  substitute ,  but  like  gum 
Euphorbium,  it  has  a  very  acrid  character,  and  the  collection  is  a  very 
dangerous  operation  to  the  eyes. — Phar,  Jour.,  August  1883,  p.  104. 
ANALYSIS  OF  VEGETABLE  TISSUES. 
Fir6my  classifies  the  constituents  of  vegetable  tissues  as  follows,  the 
characters  being  derived  from  their  chemical  constitution  ("Ann.  Sci. 
Nat.,"  xiii,  1882): 
1.  Cellulose  Substances. — In  this  group  are  included  all  those  constituents 
of  vegetable  tissues  which  dissolve  without  coloring  in  bi-hydrated  sulphuric 
acid,  producing  dextrin  and  sugar,  which  are  not  sensibly  altered  by  alka- 
line solvents,  and  which  resist  for  a  long  time  the  action  of  energetic  oxi- 
dizers. Schweitzer's  reagent  (ammoniacal  copper  oxide)  enables  at  least  the 
three  following  varieties  to  be  distinguished  : 
(a)  Cellulose. — Dissolves  immediately  in  the  copper  reagent.  This  con- 
stitutes the  larger  part  of  cotton  hairs  and  of  the  utricular  tissues  of  certain 
fruits. 
J 
