SPURIOUS CHEMICALS. 
325 
1. The true valerianates 
have a sour, disagreeable, 
and very persistent, although 
not powerful smell, which is 
essentially different from that 
of oil of valerian. 
2. The true valerianate 
of iron is almost entirely in- 
soluble in water; and the 
valerianate of quina fuses 
into oily globules in boiling 
water, and dissolves with 
difficulty. They are both 
soluble in spirit. 
3. The true valerianates, 
when mixed with a little 
diluted hydrochloric acid, 
are decomposed, and the 
valerianic acid being set 
free, rises like oil to the sur- 
face of the liquid. To get 
this character it is necessary 
to operate upon from five to 
ten grains of the specimen, 
and to avoid the use of too 
much of the diluted acid, as 
valerianic acid is soluble in 
about thirty parts of water. 
The liberated valerianic acid 
has the sour, disagreeable, 
and very persistent smell, 
1. The spurious imita- 
tions, being flavored with oi\ 
of valerian, smell strongly of 
that substance. 
2. The spurious valeria- 
nate of iron is perfectly solu- 
ble in water, especially when 
aided with a little heat ; it is 
insoluble in spirit. The spu- 
rious valerianate of quina 
is soluble in about thirty 
parts of boiling water, and, 
as the solution cools, it is 
deposited in acicular crys- 
tals, which have the bitter 
taste and other characters of 
disulphate of quina. 
3. The spurious valeria- 
nates, when added to water, 
will generally yield a thin 
film of oil, which floats on 
the surface, and is easily de- 
tected as oil of valerian. On 
heating the liquid this oil is 
driven off, without otherwise 
decomposing the salt, and no 
further indication of valerian 
will afterwards be obtained. 
On treating them with dilut- 
ed hydrochloric acid there is 
no valerianic acid set free. 
28 
