THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. 



107 



of years siiuo tlic remarkable experi- 

 ruents of Uujardin-Beaunietz on the 

 toxic action of the dilTerent alcohols. 

 He found that the toxic action of pure 

 ethyl alcohol (common alcohol) was in 

 a certain sense nil, that is to say, hogs 

 which were kept in a condition of in- 

 toxication most of the time for nearly 

 three years, on being allowed to sober 

 up, appeared to be in perfect health, and 

 presented after slaughtering no visible 

 lesions of any organ. This was the case 

 when absolutely pure liquor was used, 

 but when ordinary spirits were fed to 

 hogs they quickly succumbed, showing 

 ."symptoms and lesions, especially of the 

 liver, similar to those only too familiar 

 in the ease of human inebriates. The 

 conclusion, drawn by Dujardin-Beau- 

 metz from a long series of experiments, 

 was that the toxic quality of alcoholic 

 liquors is due chiefly to the presence 

 of higher alcohols, especially amyl alco- 

 hol, the principal ingredient of fusel 

 oil, though methyl alcohol and aldehyde 

 may play a subordinate part. Under 

 any circumstances no distilled liquor is 

 safe to use till it has been 'aged' for 

 several years in the wood. Brunton's 

 researches, on the other hand, seem to 

 show that the presence of fusel oil, in 

 such quantities as it usually occurs in 

 potable liquors, is not a menace to pub- 

 lic health, but that the greatest danger 

 is from the presence of furfural and 

 other similar aldehydes, Mhich are de- 

 rived from the husk of the grain under 

 the influence of heat and acids. Fur- 

 fural is present to a greater or less ex- 

 tent in all whiskies, but is especially 

 abundant in those made by modern pro- 

 cesses, where it is sought to obtain as 

 much liquor as possible per bushel of 

 grain. According to this, the superi- 

 ority of the liquors of 'ye olden time' 

 was due not so much to the fact that 

 they were better 'aged,' but because 

 they originally contained less of the fur- 

 fural, having been made more carefully. 

 Brunton's physiological experiments 

 were exceedingly interesting, especially 

 in 'comparing the after eflFects of intoxi- 

 cation from ordinary spirits with those 



of spirits from wliich the furfural had 

 been removed. In the latter ca.se as soon 

 as the animal was sober it appeared' to 

 be in a perfectly normal condition, and 

 showed none of the after effects, whicli 

 in the former case lasted for a consider- 

 able time. It is also worthy of note 

 that those substances pojiularly used as 

 'bracers' after intoxication generally 

 contain ammonia or some allied com- 

 pound, which, from a chemical stand- 

 point, is capable of comliining with the 

 furfural and neutralizing its effects. 



Since the comparatively recent con- 

 densation of hydrogen to a liquid, mucli 

 study has been devoted to its physical 

 properties, and especially to the deter- 

 mination of its boiling-point, since this 

 is not far above the absolute zero. The 

 difficulty regarding the former determi- 

 nations, which gave the boiling point as 

 — 238.4° C, is that being obtained by 

 means of a platinum resistance ther- 

 mometer, they depended upon extrapo- 

 hition, which might prove faulty at such 

 low temperatures, as has now indeed 

 been shown to be the case. More re- 

 cently Dewar has made use of a con- 

 stant-volume gas thermometer, employ- 

 ing for the gas hydrogen from difTerent 

 sources, and also helium, contaminated 

 with only slight traces of neon. The 

 results obtained show that the boiling- 

 point of hydrogen is — 2.52.5°, or 20'' 

 above the absolute zero. Investigations 

 as to the temperature of solid hydrogen 

 are now being carried out, and show a 

 still closer approach to the absolute 

 zero. For some years the researches of 

 Gautier in Paris have indicated that 

 hydrogen is a normal constituent of the 

 atmosphere, and the question may now 

 be considered as settled. Not only has 

 Dewar condensed hydrogen directly 

 from the atmosphere, but Gautier has 

 made quantitative determinations of 

 the amount in different localities. In 

 the air of Paris hydrogen does not seem 

 to be an invariable constituent, though 

 methane (marsh gas) is always present 

 and traces of carbon monoxid, while the 

 unsaturated hydrocarbons are generally 



