CHEMISTRY. 265 



several of these bodies are identical with those which exist 

 in the ground, and are extracted on a large scale under the 

 name of petroleum. This production of complex carbonized 

 compounds, without any intervention of life, supports the 

 views of certain geologists on the origin of petroleum. The 

 reproduction of a large number of organic species might be 

 realized by commencing with ethylene or methane, hydro- 

 carbons furnished in this way by the action of mineral acids 

 on cast iron. 



Merz and Tibirca have published a simple and easy meth- 

 od of producing formic acid synthetically, which consists 

 simply in passing carbonous oxide gas over alkali heated in 

 a tube. They find ordinary soda-lime to be the best, and 

 state that when a rapid current of carbonous oxide is passed 

 over soda-lime heated in a tube to 200 or 250, it is entirely 

 absorbed, producing sodium formate. As an example of di- 

 rect synthesis it forms an exceedingly instructive lecture ex- 

 periment. 



Bouo-arel claims to have isolated from the leaves of the 

 cherry laurel a new organic acid, to which he gives the name 

 phyllic acid. The leaves are steeped in boiling alcohol, the 

 alcoholic extract treated with ether, the ether distilled off, 

 the amorphous grains dissolved in dilute potash, and crystal- 

 lized. On redissolving and adding an acid, phyllic acid is 

 precipitated as a resinous mass, soluble in alcohol, but insol- 

 uble in water. It is without taste, has a density of 1.014, ro- 

 tates the yellow ray 28 to the right, and fuses at 170. An- 

 alysis gave it the formula C 72 H 64 16 . Further experiment 

 showed that this acid was contained in the leaves of the 

 quince, apple, peach, almond, lilac, and sycamore. 



Atterberg has subjected to fractional distillation the so- 

 called " wood oil," which is obtained as a first product in 

 distilling the wood-tar made in Sweden from resinous woods, 

 principally that of Pinus sylvestris. In this way he suc- 

 ceeded in isolating a terpene having the properties of aus- 

 tralene, and another having the odor of fresh pine wood, 

 and not identifiable with any other similar body. To this, 

 therefore, the author gives the name sylvestrene. The two 

 terpenes together constitute eighty per cent, of the oil. 

 Sylvestrene has a density of 0.8612 at 16, rotates the po- 

 larized ray 19.5 to the right in sodium light, and forms two 



M 



