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ACTION  OF  SASSAFRAS  UPON  METALLIC  VESSELS. 
ACTION  OF  OIL  OF  SASSAFRAS  UPON  METALLIC  VESSELS,  PAR- 
TICULARLY THOSE  WHERE  LEAD  HAS  BEEN  USED  AS  A 
SOLDER,  AND  AN  OBSERVED  COMPOUND  RESULTING  FROM 
THESE  CONTAINING  LEAD. 
By  E.  S.  Wayne. 
Having  placed  a  quantity  of  oil  of  sassafras,  which,  at  the  time, 
was  of  a  light  straw  color,  in  a  copper  can,  (such  as  the  oils  of 
lemon  and  bergamot  are  imported  in,)  and  a  short  time  after, 
having  my  attention  called  to  a  portion  of  oil  taken  from  the 
same,  I  was  much  astonished  at  the  singular  change  which  had 
taken  place  in  it.  The  oil  had  changed  from  a  light  straw  to  a 
deep  inky  looking  fluid.  I  at  first  suspected  that  something 
which  might  have  been  in  the  bottle  had  caused  the  change,  but 
upon  examining  the  oil  in  the  can,  I  found  it  in  the  same  con- 
dition. Upon  holding  the  bottle  up  to  a  strong  light,  the  oil  ap- 
peared to  be  full  of  dark  particles  suspended  through  it.  I  was 
at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  change  which  had  taken  place,  as  there 
was  no  foreign  substance  in  the  can  which  could  have  produced 
it,  as  it  had  been  thoroughly  cleansed  and  dried  before  the  oil 
was  placed  in  it,  and  consequently  could  form  no  other  con- 
jecture., save  that  the  copper  can  had  been  the  cause  of  the  diffi- 
culty. 
I  found  that  the  black  particles  mentioned  were  easily  sepa- 
rated from  the  oil  by  filtration.  The  filtrate  was  not  perceptibly 
darker  than  the  original  oil.  It  was  tested  for  the  presence  of 
copper,  but  gave  no  indication  of  its  presence. 
The  black  mass  separated  by  the  filter  was  then  removed,  and 
deprived  of  the  remainder  of  the  oil  present  by  absorbents.  I 
could  not  rid  it  perfectly  by  this  process.  It  was  again  placed 
upon  the  filter  and  treated  with  ether  (in  which  the  black  sub- 
stance was  insoluble,)  as  long  as  it  took  up  a  sensible  trace  of  oil. 
It  was,  after  drying,  of  a  light  slate  color,  and  possessed  a 
slight  taste  and  smell  of  sassafras,  and  was  insoluble  in  alcohol. 
A  portion  of  it  was  incinerated  upon  a  platina  foil ;  it  produced 
a  voluminous  smoke  and  left  a  small  amount  of  cinder,  which, 
upon  urging  the  heat  by  the  blowpipe,  consumed  only  partially. 
Upon  examining  it  with  a  lens,  small  metallic  globules  were  visi- 
ble, and  when  attempting  to  remove  the  residue  from  the  foil,  it 
