54 
SELECTED ARTICLES. 
dence that the principal merit of this kind of lixiviation is, 
that it extracts substances according to their order of solubility 
in the menstruum employed. 
I therefore filled one of these adapters with jonquil flowers, 
then poured ether over them, and immediately closed the end 
with a cork, to prevent the fluid from escaping too rapidly. 
In fact, it passed drop by drop, and at long intervals. The 
next day I found in the receiver, two distinct portions of fluid, 
which I separated by means of a funnel. The upper one was 
formed of ether of a beautiful lemon colour; the other was 
merely the watery fluid of the flowers, and was of a greenish 
colour. The etherial tincture was immediately subjected to 
distillation in a water bath, at so low a heat as not to boil the 
ether. A second and third lixiviation were made in the same 
manner; each of the tinctures thus obtained was distilled 
separately, that the products might be the better compared. 
The first retort contained a deposit of small yellow masses, 
variously grouped on the sides, and also some of the etherial 
fluid; this was decanted into a small capsule and permitted to 
evaporate spontaneously. The concrete deposit was removed 
after the retort had been well drained and the fumes of the 
ether had entirely disappeared. This substance diffused a 
strong smell of jonquil, but modified with a somewhat herba- 
ceous odour. This was not the case with the residue in the 
capsule, its smell was perfectly analogous to that of the fresh 
flower. This residue not becoming dry in the open air, I 
placed it on some folds of blotting paper to absorb the mois- 
ture, but soon perceived that the fluid was oil and not water. 
The paper which had become impregnated with it, diffused 
the most delicious scent. I therefore washed all the product 
that remained of the first distillation in cold ether, which I 
immediately filtered, and thus obtained on the spontaneous 
evaporation of the ether, a few drops of a very odorous 
yellow oil. 
The product in the second retort resembled that in the first. 
When, however, it was examined with a microscope, it was 
evident that instead of mammillary or tuberculated masses, it 
