These conclusions are in accordance with the experimental facts, and, taken together with the new evidence we have accumulated from a study of the lignocellulose esters, we may sum up the constitutional points as follows: The lignocellulose is a complex of
| Cellulose α | Cellulose β | Lignone |
| 65 p.ct. | 15 p.ct. | 20 |
| Allied to the normal celluloses | Yielding furfural approximately 50 p.ct. | One-third of which is of benzenoid type |
The lignone contains but little hydroxyl. The celluloses are in condensed hydroxyl union with the lignone, but the combination occurs by complexes of relatively large molecular weight.
DIE CHEMIE DER LIGNOCELLULOSEN—EIN NEUER TYPUS.
W. C. Hancock and O. W. Dahl (Berl. Ber., 1895, 1558).
Chemistry of Lignocelluloses—A New Type.
The stem of the aquatic Æschynomene aspera offers an exceptional instance of structural modification to serve the special function of a 'float,' 1 grm. of substance occupying an apparent volume of 40-50 c.c. This pith-like substance is morphologically a true wood (De Bary), and the author's investigations now establish that it is in all fundamental points of chemical composition a lignocellulose, although from its colour reactions it has been considered by botanists to be a cellulose tissue containing a proportion of lignified cells. Thus the main tissue is stained blue by iodine in presence of hydriodic acid (1.5 s.g.), and the colour is not changed on washing. The ordinary lignocelluloses are stained a purple brown changed to brown on washing. The reactions with phloroglucol and with aniline salts, characteristic of these compounds, is only faintly marked in the main tissue, though strongly in certain individual cells.
The following quantitative determinations, however, establish the close similarity of the product to the typical lignocelluloses:
Elementary Analysis.—C 46.55, H 6.7. Furfural 11.6 p.ct., of which there remained in the residue from alkaline hydrolysis (71 p.ct.) 8.0, i.e. about 70 p.ct. The distribution of the furfuroids is therefore not affected by the alkaline treatment.
Chlorination.—The substance (after alkaline hydrolysis) takes up 16.9 p.ct. Cl, of which approximately one-half is converted into hydrochloric acid.