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SELECTED ARTICLES. 
A solution of caustic potash as well as that of soda, accor- 
ding to M. Poggiale will dissolve salseparine by the aid of 
heat. Ammonia has the same effect; hence when it is precipi- 
tated by this alkali, care must be taken to avoid an excess of 
the latter. 
From my experiments, kinovic bitter acts in precisely the 
same way. Caustic ammonia dissolves a small quantity, giv- 
ing rise to a yellowish opaline liquid, which is perfectly trans- 
parent when hot, but becomes milky on cooling, and which, 
when saturated with acetic acid, lets fall a precipitate of kino- 
vic bitter in large white flakes. Solutions of caustic potash 
or soda poured on this substance also become of a yellowish 
green colour, and form a gummy mass, which afterwards dis- 
solves into an opaline liquid, and acts like the ammoniacal 
solution on cooling and the addition of acid. 
The action of concentrated sulphuric and nitric acids on salse- 
parine is interesting. They produce with this substance, 
various beautiful changes of colour without altering it much. 
Thus, according to M. Poggiale, if concentrated sulphuric 
acid be poured, drop by drop, on salseparine, this latter first 
assumes a deep red colour, which gradually changes to a violet 
and finally to a pale yellow. A solution of salseparine in sul- 
phuric acid is thus obtained, which when diluted with cold 
water, precipitates the salseparine without alteration, and the 
yellow colour of the liquid disappears. 
The action of nitric acid on this substance is a little differ- 
ent from the above. It dissolves it at ordinary temperatures, 
but acts on a small portion and becomes yellow. This solu- 
tion assumes a milky appearance on the addition of water, and 
the precipitate that forms is almost entirely composed of un- 
altered salseparine. 
I gradually added concentrated sulphuric acid to dry 
kinovic bitter and found all the above mentioned changes of 
colour occurred. This substance first became brownish, then 
of a deep blood red, afterwards of a beautiful blueish red, 
which finally faded; on the addition of water I found that the 
precipitation of all the unaltered kinovic bitter depended much 
