Acid hydrolysis of extractive-free white spruce wood produced a nilmber of neutral and acidic sugars and oligosaccharides. The acidic components were isolated and three of these were shown to be 4-O-methyl-~-gluc~1ronic acid, 2-0-(4-0-methyl-a-D-glucopyranosyluronic acid)-D-xylose, and tentatively 0-(~-0-nlethy~-a-~-g~ucopyranosy~~1ronic acid)-Investigations of the hemicelluloses 01 white spruce (Picea glauca) have yielded an arabogalactan (1) and a glucomannan (2). Since neither of these fractions contained more than a trace of uronic acids, it seemed likely that the acid components were associated with the xylan portion of the wood. The present communication is concerned with the composition and ideiltification of three uronic acid components isolated from spruce wood by partial hydrolysis.The uronic acids were obtained by acid hydrolysis of extractive-free white spruce wood and separated from the neutral sugars by adsorption on an anion exchange resin. Further separation of the recovered uronic acid components yielded several fractions of which three (I, 11, and 111) were identified.Chromatographic evidence, methoxyl content, and equivalent weight tentatively identified fraction I as 4-0-methyl-D-glucuronic acid. Conversion of the acid to its methyl ester methyl glycoside and reduction with lithium aluminum hydride yieldecl 4-O-methyl-~-gl~1cose, which was characterized as crystalline 4-0-methyl-D-glucose phenylosazone.Hydrolysis of fraction I1 and chromatographic examination of the hydrolyzate indicated the presence of D-xyloSe and 4-0-methyl-D-glucuronic acid. Reduction of the ester glycosicle gave the corresponding disaccharide glycoside which on hydrolysis yieldecl crystalline D-xyloSe and 4-0-methyl-D-glucose, the latter being identified as its crystalline phenylosazone. The point of attachment of the 4-O-methyl-~-glucuronic acid to the D-xyloSe residue was determined by methylation studies. The aldobiouronic acid methyl ester, methyl glycoside, was converted to methyl-0-(4-0-methyl-D-glucopyranosy1)-D-xyloside by reduction with lithium aluminum hydride and the product was then fully methylated. On hydrolysis it yieldecl 3,4-di-0-methyl-D-xylose and 2,3,4,6-tetra-0-methyl-D-glucose thus proving that the acid was attached glycosidically to C(?, of the xylose residue. Recent evidence has established that the glycosidic bond in this alclobiouronic acid is in the a configuration (3). These findings showed that the aldobiouronic acid was 2-0-(4-0-methyl-a-~-glucopyranosfiroi1c acid)-D-xylopyranose.The aldotriouronic acid (fraction 111) nras composed of 4-0-methyl-D-glucuronic acid and D-xyloSe and had [a]: + 5 g 0 . I t could not be obtained in crystalline form. The attachment of the 4-0-methyl-D-glucuronic acid and the xylose units to one another was determined by methylation studies. The aldotriouronic acid was converted to its corresponding methyl ester methyl glycoside by treatment with 1% methanolic hydrogen chloride a t room temperature. Reduction with lithium alumiilum hydride provided the