324 THE ANALYST. ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS PUBLISHED IN OTHER JOURNALS. FOODS AND DRUGS ANALYSIS. (Ann. de Chzrn. anal., 1902, vii., 321-323.)-The authors have made analyses of a large number of samples of French sheep's milk taken during the months of February, March, and April. The Composition of Sheep's Milk. Trillat and Forestier. The following results are given as typical : Total solids dried at 100" C. Fat ... ... ... ... ... Lactose ... ... ... ... Casein ... ... ... ... 1.. Ash ... ... ... ... ... Calcium oxide ... ... ... Acidity ... ... ... ... ... Per Cent. 20.03 7 -40 5-32 6-18 1.021 0.247 3-7 Per Cent. 19 58 7-42 5.35 5.87 0.394 0.256 3.0 Per Cent. 18.90 6.98 5.53 5.54 0.961 0.250 2.66 Per Cent. 18.56 7.18 5.26 5.12 1.018 0.238 2.8THE ANALYST. 325 These figures are considerably higher than the mean of the results obtained by Chevalier and Henri, Doyere, Gorup-Besanez, and other authors, viz.: Total solids, 12.4 ; fat, 4.2 ; lactose, 4 ; casein, 3.7 ; and ash 0.7 per cent. C. A. M. The Determination of Lecithin i n Milk. F, Bordas and S. de Raczkowski. (Ann. de Chim. aizal., 1902, vii., 331-333.)-The authors consider that the most rational method is t o determine the glycerophosphoric acid in the milk in the following manner : One hundred C.C. of the milk are shaken with a mixture of alcohol (95 per cent.), 100 c.c.; water, 100 c.c.; and acetic acid, 10 drops. The coagulum thus obtained is filtered off and extracted with three successive portions of 50 C.C. of hot absolute alcohol. The united extracts are evaporated, and the residue dried on the water-bath and taken up with a small quantity of a mixture of equal parts of alcohol and ether.The filtered solution is evaporated to expel the ether, the residue saponified with potassium or barium hydroxide, and the soap solution decomposed with very dilute nitric acid. After separation of the fatty acids the filtrate is evaporated to dryness, and the residue mixed with 10 C.C. of concentrated nitric acid, and oxidized on the hot-water bath by the gradual addition of pinches of powdered potassium perman- ganate. The precipitated manganese hydroxide is then dissolved by the addition of a few drops of sodium nitrite solution (1 : lo), the nitrous vapours expelled by boiling, and the phosphoric acid precipitated wifh ammonium molybdate, and finally determined in the form of magnesium pyrophosphate.The weight of pyrophosphate thus obtained, multiplied by the factor 1.5495, gives the amount of glycerophosphoric acid in 100 C.C. of the milk. C. A. M. The Colouring Matter and Sugar of Apricots. A. Desmoulibre. (Ann. de Chirn. anal., 1902, vii., 323, 324.)-Truchon and Martin-Claude (ANALYST, xxvi., 102) examined the expressed juice of various fruits, including apricots, but did not find dextrose or any colouring matter soluble in acid or ammoniacal aniyl alcohol in any of them. I n repeating part of this work the author examined four samples of apricots of different origin, and found dextrose in each. In the two cases in which quanitative determinations were made the following results were obtained : Sugar.Fruit not completely Ripe. Ripe Fruit. Per Cent. Per Cent. Saccharose . . . ... 3.131 3.814 Invert sugar . . . ... 2.383 2.299 Dextrose ... ... 0.771 0.353 The apricots, pounded in a mortar with water, yielded a liquid from which a yellow colouring matter could be extracted by either acid or alkaline amyl alcohol. On evaporating the extract a yellow residue was left, which, on the addition of a drop of sulphuric acid, became indigo blue, changing to brownish-violet. This reaction is identical with that given by cmotin, the colouring matter of the carrot. The colouring matter of the apricot can be distinguished from coal-tar colours by the fact that it does not dye silk or wool. C. A. M.326 THE ANALYST. On the Influence of Cane-Sugar and Dextrin in the B e d Food upon the Composition of the Honey.Von Raumer. (Zeit. anal. Chm., 1902, xli,, 333-350.) -The author has made a series of feeding experiments, of which the following was the most complete. The bees were fed upon 2 litres of a mixture of 2,530 gramnies of dextrin syrup and 1,000 grammes of cane-Gugar dissolved in 4+ litres of water. The whole of the honey was collected in two jars, the first of which contained 590 gramrnes and the second 1,734 grammes. On anaIysis the following results were obtained : ... ... Total solids ... ... ... Water ... ... ... Ash ... ... ... 6 . . ... ... ... ... ... ... Acidity in C.C. N alkali after inversion ... ... ... Cane-sugar ... Dextrin after fermentation ... ... Polarization of 10 per cent. solution in 200 - milli- after inver- ...... ... Sugar {direct ... ... ... ... ... ... ‘Idirect -.. metre tube at 25O C. J sion ... ... ... Sum of dry substances ... Jar I. Per Cent. 19.2 80.8 0-299 4.6 C.C. 65.0 65.96 0.91 10.10 + 5.7 + 5.4 76.30 Jar 11. Per Cent. 80.1 7 19.83 0.220 4.4 C.C. 64.56 65.28 0.67 10.98 + 6.03 + 5.75 76.41 The comparative composition of the honey and of the syrup solution used was : Total sugar ... ... ... ... Cane-sugar ... ..r ... ... ... Dextrin ... ... ... ... Total carboiydrates ... ... Honey. Grammes. 1519.94 16.97 249.98 1769.92 Syrup Solution. Grammes. 804 456 532 1336 The author paints out that it is remarkable that so littleof the cane-sugar in the syrup remained uninverted, since in other feeding experiments on the same lines as much as 15 per cent.of cane-sugar was found in the honey. C. A. M. Notes on the Sulphurous Acid of Beer. E. Jalowetz. (Rsprint from Mitth. Oesterr. Versuchsst. Bvauerei und Malxerei, Vienna, 1902, Heft x. ; through Chem. Zed. Rep., 1902, 216.)-When sulphured and stored hops are boiled for an hour with wort in the usual manner, the amount of sulphurous acid in the latter does not increase. The use of sulphites in the brewery and the employment of sulphured malt increase the sul- phurous acid of the beer. Freshly sulphured hops give up very little sulphurous The sulphur of stored hops exists as sulphite.THE ANALYST. 327 acid to boiling water. I n laboratory experiments a rise in the amount of sulphurous acid occurs during the main fermentation of wort or sogar solutions, and a decrease during the secondary fermentation ; but occasionally exceptions are to be found.In three breweries investigated by the author no appreciable increase in the sul- phurous acid occurred during fermentation. It should be noted that part of the sulphurous acid of beer is combined with aldehyde. The amount is sinall, but as the effect of the free acid is very different from that of aldehyde-sulphurous acid, when the total acid is determined attention must be paid to the quantity which is combined. Identification of Bombay Mace. P. Schindler-Zwickau. (Zed. fiir ofentl. Chemie, 1902, viii., 288-290.)-To distinguish between Bombay and Banda mace the following test is recom- mended: About 5 grammes of the sample are placed in the tube shown in the illustration, the lower end of the tube containing the plug of cotton-wool a.On gently tapping the tube, the layer of mace will settle to the line c. The two lines b and c syrve for gauging the quantity of mace in subsequent tests. Seven to 8 C.C. of 98 to 99 per cent. alcohol are added to the tube. This quantity is absorbed by the contents of the tube. Successive portions of 7 to 8 C.C. of alcohol are then added, and each as it runs through is collected in a separate test-tube. Should the sample consist of Banda mace, on adding a drop of lead acetate to the test-tubes the first extract gives a yellow or red precipitate, the second little, and the third remains clear, or nearly so. With Bombay mace, or mixtures of both maces, the first test-tube gives a more or less red precipitate, the colour increasing in intensity in the second and third tubes, and even showing after the twenty-fifth extraction.The alcohol used must not be weaker than 98 per cent. W. P. S. F. H. L. &2,5--4 The Refractometer Number for Cod-liver Oil. Utz. ( Z e k fiir ofe?atZ. Chem., 1902, viii. [16], 304-306.)-The refractometer values (Zeiss' instrument) of a number of samples of cod-liver oil are given. The results for Newfoundland oils lie between 80.8 and 81.5 at 15" C., and for Norwegian oils from 82.0 to 87.5. The adulteration of cod-liver oil with paraffin oil is easily detected by the refraotometer, as the value for the latter is still lower than that of Newfoundland oils. w. P. s. Salicylic Acid as an Adulterant in Oil of Lavender. J. E. Weber.(Chem. X e d . , 1902, xxvi., 875.)-The author has met with a specimen of oil of lavender, possessing excellent odour, which gave the following constants on analysis : Specific gravity at 15" C., 0.893; rotatory power, - 6" 42'; acid value, 4.48 ; ester content reckoned as linalyl acetate, 35.52 per cent. ; solubility, 2.5 volumes of 70 per cent.328 THE ANALYST. alcohol. Apart from the acid number, which was a little high, no rea~on was given for assuming the oil not to be genuine ; but on keeping for some time an unusual red colour developed. The colour disappeared on shaking the oil with alkali-metal hydroxide, a diminution in volume of 2.5 per cent. simultaneously taking place. I t also disappeared on agitation with dilute hydrochloric acid, the aqueous extract containing iron.(This impurity was evidently derived from a bruise in the tin bottle holding the sample.) An alcoholic solution of the oil gave a dark-red colour with ferric chloride, Finally, by treating the material with potassium hydroxide, acidifying the liquid, extracting it with ether, purifying the product by repeated fractional precipitation as before, followed by crystallization from chloroform and water and decolorization with animal charcoal, white odourless crystals, melting at 156" to 157" C., were obtained, which proved to be salicylic acid. Direct tests by distillation under diminished pressure showed that no ester of salicylic acid was present. F. H. L. Valuation of Ipecacuanha Root. G. Frerichs and N. de Fuentes Tapis. (Arch. Pharm., 1902, ccxl., 401 ; through Chem.Zeit. Rep., 1902, 254.)-Six gramrnes of the finely-powdered root are shaken in a dry flask with 60 C.C. of ether, 5 C.C. of ammonia are added, and after more agitation the vessel is set aside for one hour. Next 10 C.C. of water are run in, the whole is mixed up, and 50 C.C. of the ether are filtered off into a flask. Half the solvent is removed on the water-bath, and the residue is shaken out with 10 C.C. of decinormal hydrochloric acid in a separating funnel. The acid liquor is run through a paper, and the ether is washed twice with 10 C.C. of water ; the combined aqueous portion is diluted to 100 c.c., and sufficient ether is added to form a layer 1 centimetre deep. Five drops of a 1 : 250 solution of iodeosin are then introduced, and the excess of free acid is titrated with deci- normal potash.The volume of decinormal acid which h8s combined with the alkaloids, multiplied by 0.0241, gives the quantity of emetine and cephaeline in 5 grammes of the ipecacuanha root. F. H. L. New Reaction for Quinine and Quinidine. E. Hirschsohn. (.Pharm. C. n., 1902, xliii,? 367; through Chem. Zeit. Rep., 1902, 20l.)-If 10 C.C. of a neutral solution of quinine or quinidine, either as sulphate or hydrochloride, are heated to boiling with 1 drop of 2 per cent. hydrogen peroxide, a strong raspberry-red colour is produced, the intensity of which is proportionate to the amount of alkaloid present. The reaction appears to be characteristic of the two alkaloids named. F. H. L. The tint soon changes through blue-violet and blue to green.THE ANALYST. 329 TOXICOLOGICAL ANALYSIS. The Guaiacum Test for Blood. D. Vitali. (Giorn. d i Fnrmac. di Tyieste, 1902, vii., 193; through Chem. Zezt. Rep., 1902, 252.)-The author finds that guaiacum tincture is only coloured blue by hsmoglobin provided some turpentine oil is present, whereas all other substances which yield a similar colour oxidize the guaiacum of themselves, and do not require the turpentine. To render the test characteristic of blood, therefore, an aqueous solution of the suspected material is mixed with some fresh alcoholic tincture of guaiacum resin, and the whole is warmed t o 40" or 50" C. If the mass turns blue some inorganic or animal oxidizing sgent is present, and the test is not capable of showing blood; but if it remains colourless, and a blue appears on adding oil of turpentine, blood is undoubtedly to be found in the liquid examined. Ferrous sulphate behaves in the same manner as hamoglobin, so that this salt must be absent before applying Van Deen's test. F. H. L.