THE ANALYST. 95 ORGANIC ANALYSIS. Oils from Various Fruits and Seeds. G. Fendler. (Zed. fiir Untersuch. der Nalar. und Genussmittel, 1903, vi., 1025-1027.) Candle-nut Oil.-The nuts of the candle-nut tree, Aleurites moluccana, yield an oil which, according to the observations of various authors, gives widely different chemical values, the variations apparently being due to the fact that there are several species of Alezwites.96 THE ANALYST. The following constants relate to a specimen of the oil extmcted from the nuts with ether : Specific gravity at 15O C. ... ... ... ... 0.9254 Solidifying point ... ... ... ... ... - 15.0 c. Acid value ... ... ... ... ... ... 0.97 Saponification value ... ... ... ... ... 194.8 Iodine value ... ... ... ... ... ... 114.2 Reichert -Meissl value ...... .. ... 1.2 Melting-point of fatty acide ... ... ... ... 18.0 c. Solidifying point of fatty acids ... .,. ... 15.5 C. The oil was bright yellow in colour, and had a disagreeable taste and odour. It Oil of Acrocomia Vznifera 0erst.-The seeds of this Nicaraguan fruit yield ~t After a long time had very marked drying properties. bright yellow oil, which, on standing, deposits feathery crystals. the whole oil becomes solid. The oil gave the following figures : ... ... 0,9136 Specific gravity at 25' C. ... ... Melting-point ... ... ... ... ... ... 25.0' C. Solidifying-point . . , ..* 1.. ... ... 17.0' C. Acid value ... ... ... ... ... ... 1.69 ... 246.2 Saponification value ... ... ... ... Iodine value ... ... ... ... ... ... 25.2 Reichert-hfeissl value ...... ... ... ... 5.0 By repeated crystallization of the above-mentioned crystals from alcohol, product was obtained which yielded fatty acids having a constant melting-point of 54.5' C. after many recrystallizations, and therefore probably consisted of myristic acid. The oil has a, certain resemblance to cocoanut oil. Melon-seed OiZ (from Togo).-A sample extracted from the seeds with ether gave the following results : Melting-point ... ... ... ... ... ... 5.5" c. Solidifying-point ... ... ... ... ... 5.0" c. Saponification value ... ... ... ... ... 193.3 Melting-point of fatty acids ... ... ... ... 39-0' C. Solidifying-point of fatty acids ... ... ... 36.0" C. Acid value ... ... ... ... ... ... 4.81 Iodine value ... ... ... ... ... ... 101.5 w. P. s. The Furfural Reaction of Sesame Oil.P. Lehnkering. (Zeit. fur ofcnth. Chem., 1903, ix., 436, 437).-During the examination of a series of pure seaam6 oils it was found that, whilst the whole of the samples gave normal results as regards their iodine numbers and refractive indices, certain of the oils yielded but feeble colora- tions when the furfural reaction (ANALYST, xix., 47) was applied. Indicating the intensity of the coloration given by the oils having the strongest reaction by the arbitrary number 10, it was estimated that some of the oils gave a coloration of lessTHE ANALYST. 97 than 1. Oils extracted from the seeds with ether gave colour reaotions having an intensity of 5 to 8 in the above-mentioned scale. w. P. s. These latter oils would be difficult to detect in margarine. The Condition of Phosphorus in Certain Food Materials and Animal Bye- Products, with Special Reference t o the Presence of Inorganic Forms.E. B. Hart and W. H. Andrews. (Amer. Chem. Joum., xxx., 470.)-The authors have tried to find a method of determining the phosphorus present in the form of inorganic phosphates in materials which contain organic compounds of phosphorus, such as proteids, nucleic acid, and lecithin, and have finally adopted the following, which reduces the decomposition of these bodies to a minimum: Five grammes of t h s sample are vigorously shaken for fifteen minutes with 125 C.C. of 0-2 per cent. hydro- chloric acid. The solution is then decanted through a, filter-paper into a 500 C.C. flask, and the residue washed with water until the flask is filled to the mark.This washing should take about three hours. Of the filtrate, 200 C.C. are neutralized with ammonia, using litmus as indicator, and 10 grammes of ammonium nitrate are added. The solution is warmed to 65" C. ; 2 C.C. nitric acid (specific gravity 1-20) and 25 C.C. neutral ammonium molybdate solution are added; the whole is kept at 65" C. for fifteen minutes, then allowed to stand for one hour at room temperature before filtering. The precipitate is converted into magnesium pyrophosphate, which is dis- solved in dilute nitric acid, and reprecipitated to remove any magnesium oxide due to organic compounds of magnesium present in the first precipitate. Using the above method, the authors determined inorganic phosphorus in a* number of feeding materials, and conclude that animal feeding-stuffs, when free from bone as well as vegetable materials, contain practically no inorganic phosphorus.Commercial meat meal, however, which is liable to contain varying quantities of bone meal, does contain inorganic phosphorus. They also find that germinating grains are rich in soluble organic phosphorus, and that germination, extending over two weeks, of oats, corn, and wheat, does not transform any organic into inorganic phosphorus compounds. A. G. L. A Rapid Method of determining Halogens in Organic Compounds. H. H. Pringsheim. (Berichte, 1903, xxxii., 4244-4246.)-About 0-2 gramme of the substance is mixed with sodium peroxide in a steel crucible provided with a lid in which is a small hole.The covered crucible is placed in a porcelain dish in which is sufficient water to reach nearly to the top of the crucible. A red-hot wire is then passed through the hole in the crucible lid in order to ignite the mixture, after which the crucible and lid are turned over so as to be completely immersed in the water. The dish is now covered with a clock-glass, and heated until bubbles of oxygen are no longer evolved. The liquid is then filtered, and the filtrate poured into an excess of sul- phurou$ acid, which reduces higher halogen acids to hydrochloric acid, etc. Finally it is treated with nitric acid, and the halogen precipitated with silver nitrate in the usual way. The amount of sodium peroxide required for the oxidation depends on the proportion of hydrogen and carbon in the substance under examination. Substances98 THE ANALYBT. containing 75 per. cent. or more of carbon and hydrogen require eighteen times their weight of sodium peroxide, and those containing 50 to 75 per cent. sixteen times their weight. Substances containing only 25 to 50 per cent. of carbon and hydrogen are first mixed with half their weight of sugar or naphthalene, whilst those with still less are mixed with an equal weight of one of these bodies. This mixture is then mixed with sixteen to eighteen times its weight of sodium peroxide. C. A. M.