Qsgt5^arm'}                Vegetable  Amyloid.  48 3 
Area  Volume 
Decrease.  Decrease. 
Number.                                                                                  Per  Cent.  Per  Cent. 
1,                                                                         35  21 
5,                                                                           4o  37 
7,                                                                            47  29 
8,  '                                    46  22 
9,                                                                            48  34 
10,                                                                            45  28 
n,  ......        45  33 
The  decrease  in  volume  can  only  be  considered  a  rough  approxi- 
mation. 
The  material  is  slightly  hygroscopic,  quite  strong,  elastic,  becom- 
ing somewhat  brittle  when  very  dry,  and  is  translucent  or  trans- 
parent according  to  the  purity  of  materials  used  in  manufacture  and 
thickness  of  the  sheet.    Sp.  Gr.}  1*545 
One  of  its  most  interesting  practical  applications  has  been  the 
preparation  from  it,  of  incandescent  electric  lamp  filaments,  its 
homogeneity  of  structure,  when  carefully  prepared,  rendering  it  a 
promising  substance  for  this  purpose.  As  the  reducing  action  will 
not  penetrate  beyond  a  few  thousandths  of  an  inch,  the  process  can 
be  successfully  operated  only  on  thin  sheets  of  pyroxylin. — Jour. 
Amer.  Chem.  Soc,  1892,  p.  114. 
VEGETABLE  AMYLOID.1 
By  E.  Winterstein. 
The  substance  described  under  the  name  "  amyloid  "  is  a  constit- 
uent of  the  cell  walls  of  certain  plants,  and  gives  the  same  colora- 
tion with  .  iodine  as  starch  does.  According  to  Reiss  (Landiv. 
Jahrb.,  18,  733),  on  hydrolysis  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid,  it  yields 
considerable  quantities  of  glucose,  but  as  the  material  used  by  him 
also  contained  cellulose,  this  statement  is  open  to  the  objection  that 
the  latter  was  the  source  from  which  the  glucose  was  obtained. 
The  author  has  therefore  prepared  pure  samples  of  amyloid,  and 
examined  its  behavior  on  hydrolysis,  with  results  very  different  from 
those  obtained  by  Reiss. 
To  prepare  the  amyloid,  the  seeds  of  TropcBolum  majus  were 
extracted  successively  with  ether,  cold  alcohol,  dilute  ammo  lia, 
dilute  soda,  and  cold  water  ;  the  residue  was  boiled  with  water,  fil- 
1  Berichte,  25,  1237-1241  ;  Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  1892,  p.  803. 
