^"'slp".'^i8^7^™'}  Ammoniac al  Compound  of  Glycyrrhizin.  405 
The  umbels  are  on  short  stalks,  with  10  — 13  umbellules.  The  stem 
on  being  wounded  exudes  a  milky  sap,  which  at  first  has  the  exact  flavor 
of  angelica,  afterwards  leaving  a  bitter  taste.  The  resin  of  the  root 
does  not  fully  develop  its  musky  smell  until  after  contact  with  water. 
It  is  hoped  that  seeds  may  be  perfected,  and  a  stock  raised  for  distri- 
bution ;  therefore,  the  treatment  accorded  to  this  plant  may  be  of  inter- 
est. The  root  came  to  hand  in  a  dry  and  dormant  condition,  was 
grown  in  a  pot  for  the  first  season,  and  healthy  leaves  were  produced, 
but  which  on  the  slightest  check  died  away.  About  three  years  ago  it 
was  planted  in  its  present  position,  on  a  small  hillock  of  stones,  with 
plenty  of  good  loamy  soil,  and  there  it  has  since  flourished  without 
intermission.  During  winter,  the  protection  of  a  hand-glass  has  been 
given  against  rain — doubtless  an  important  point  of  attention  ;  it  has 
also  been  covered  loosely  with  leaves,  though,  as  regards  temperature, 
it  is  apparently  quite  hardy.  A  mulching  of  litter  is  beneficial  during 
summer,  and  when  the  stem  rises,  weak  manure-water  should  be  given. 
In  a  state  of  rest,  the  roots  may  be  safely  sent  to  a  distance,  packed 
quite  dry,  as  a  bulb  would  be.  They  seem  to  have  a  very  persistent 
vitality,  and  are  without  fleshy  ramifications. — Pharm.  Jour,  and  Trans. 
\Lond,\  July  17,  1875. 
AMMONIACAL  COMPOUND  OF  GLYCYRRHIZIN  * 
BY  Z.  ROUSSIN. 
The  author  stated  that  his  attention  had  been  drawn  to  the  subject 
by  the  fact  that  glycyrrhizin,  the  so-called  sweet  principle  of  licorice 
root,  is  insipid  compared  with  the  root  itself.  Glycyrrhizin,  purified 
by  four  solutions  in  alcohol,  and  four  successive  precipitations  of  foreign 
matters  by  ether,  appeared,  after  the  evaporation  of  the  alcoholic- 
etherial  liquor,  as  a  yellowish  substance,  insoluble  in  cold  water,  and 
nearly  devoid  of  taste,  only  developing  in  the  mouth,  after  some  time, 
a  sweetish  sensation,  recalling  faintly  the  taste  of  licorice  root.  It 
therefore  seemed  evident  to  the  author  that  the  substance  hitherto  called 
glycyrrhizin  is  not  really  the  sweet  principle  of  the  licorice  root  in  the 
state  in  which  it  exists  naturally  in  the  root,  where  it  is  extremely  sweet 
in  taste  and  rapidly  soluble  in  water. 
It  is  mentioned  in  chemical  treatises  that  alkalies  give  a  yellow  color, 
both  with  glycyrrhizin  and  with  infusions  of  the  licorice  root,  but  it 
*  From  a  paper  read  before  the  Pharmaceutical  Society  of  Paris,  June  %. 
