ON  LIQUOR  AND  EXTRACTUM  TARAXACI. 
131 
bears  a  considerable  diminution  of  the  volume  without  assuming 
the  pulpy  appearance,  and  ultimately  becomes  a  muddy  looking 
extract  without  passing  through  that  state.  It  has  also  been  my 
experience  that  juice  originally  possessing  this  character  is  prone 
to  become  sour  during  the  evaporation,  even  when  this  is  con- 
ducted with  great  care.  These  differences,  which  might  be  sup- 
posed to  be  due  to  the  condition  of  the  root  at  various  seasons 
of  the  year,  are  not  solely  influenced  by  this  cause,  for  I  have 
found  them  exhibited  in  the  operations  of  two  consecutive  days 
upon  roots  obtained  from  the  same  source ;  and  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  that  it  is  occasioned  by  the  comparative  length  of  time 
between  gathering  and  pressing,  even  more  than  the  period  of 
year  at  which  the  collection  of  the  roots  takes  place. 
Further  to  elucidate  the  matter,  some  examination  of  the  juice 
seemed  necessary,  the  results  of  which  I  beg  to  submit : — 
1st.  A  specimen  of  the  drab-colored  puddly  juice  became  clear 
by  boiling,  so  far  agreeing  with  the  behaviour  of  starch. 
2nd.  When  treated  with  iodine  it  gave  no  blue  iodide  of 
starch. 
3rd.  The  iodine  added  in  the  last  experiment  was  occupied 
so  as  to  lose  its  action  upon  gelatinous  starch  subsequently  ad- 
ded. 
4th.  When  examined  under  the  microscope,  there  was  no  evi- 
dence of  well  defined  starch  grains,  but  abundance  of  irregular 
peculiar  bodies  without  color,  but  otherwise  very  much  resem- 
bling the  endochrome  of  ordinary  parenchymatous  cells.  There 
were  also  diffused  through  it  occasional  groups  of  cylindrical 
cells  placed  end  to  end,  some  of  the  cells  still  full  of  these  granu- 
lar bodies,  some  empty,  some  ruptured  and  discharging  their 
contents. 
5th.  The  juice  gave  slight  indications  only  of  sugar  when 
examined  by  Trommer's  test,  even  after  inspissation,  and  would 
of  course  have  been  likely  to  have  afforded  still  less  before  having 
been  subjected  to  the  action  of  heat,  though  this  would  probably 
vary  according  to  the  season. 
6th.  The  endochromatous  matter  was  found  to  be  easily  con- 
verted into  sugar  by  boiling  in  the  presence  of  S03 
Sufficient  observations  of  the  less  turbid,  darker  juice,  were 
