370    CHEMICAL  CONSTITUENTS  OP  THE  ASPARAGUS  BERRIES. 
duct  of  the  oxidation  of  a  part  of  the  resin  formed  by  the  taking 
up  of  oxygen  during  the  melting  of  the  resin  ?  (4)  Is  benzoic 
acid  a  product  of  a  portion  of  the  resin  formed  by  the  heat  of 
the  fusion  of  that  substance  ?  The  author's  experiments,  de- 
tailed at  great  length,  commenced  with  the  finding  of  a  reply  to 
Ko.  3,  and  the  result  is  a  negative- — viz.,  that  when  the  process 
of  sublimation  (as  usually  employed  for  obtaining  benzoic  acid 
from  gum  benzoin)  is  carried  on  in  atmospheres  of  hydrogen  or 
carbonic  acid  gas,  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  acid  obtained 
are  the  same  as  when  the  process  is  carried  on  in  contact  with 
air.  As  regards  the  replies  to  Nos.  1,  2,  and  4,  a  series  of  ex- 
periments made  in  various  ways  proved,  undoubtedly,  the  pre- 
existence  of  ready-formed  benzoic  acid  in  the  resin.  The  last 
portion  of  this  paper  is  devoted  to  the  very  minutely  detailed 
description  of  the  best  practical  method  of  the  preparation  of 
benzoic  acid  from  the  resin. — ^Chem.  JYews,  Lond.,  March  25, 
1870. 
CHEMICAL  CONSTITUENTS  OF  THE  x\SPARAGUS  BERRIES. 
By  H.  Reinscii. 
Our  readers  are  all  acquainted  with  the  vegetable  known  as 
asparagus  ;  they  also  know  that,  when  this  plant  comes  to  full 
development  towards  the  latter  end  of  the  summer,  it  produces 
berries  of  the  size  of  medium  green  peas,  of  dark  red  color,  and 
a  waxy  appearance.  The  author  has  instituted  some  experi- 
ments, and  investigated  the  nature  of  these  berries,  which  en- 
close four  black-colored,  somewhat  angular-shaped,  internally 
greenish  seeds,  made  up  of  a  horny  material,  like  raw  coffee^ 
but  far  more  tough  than  the  latter^  because,  after  drying,  the 
asparagus  seeds  cannot  be  pulverized  in  a  mortar.  The  author 
has  collected  a  sufficient  quantity  of  the  berries  to  try  whether 
the  seeds  might  be  used  as 'a  substitute  for  coffee.  For  this  pur- 
pose the  berries  are  bruised,  and  left  to  ferment  for  some  days. 
The  seeds  are  separated  from  the  pulpy  mass  by  means  of  a 
sieve.;  next  washed  with  water;  dried  and  roasted  in  the  same 
way  as  coffee.  The  author  made  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of 
coffee  and  asparagus  seeds,  which,  after  roasting,  was  not,  when 
infused  with  boiling- water,  in  the  least  distinguishable  from  ex- 
