CHEMICAL SCIENCE. 289 



The annual plants of Chili, Texas, and California, have a strong tendency 

 to produce varieties with white flowers, especially when their flowers pro- 

 duce either of the primary colors.-^-red, yellow, or blue. The same is true 

 of many other species introduced into France. The varieties with, white 

 color are first produced, and afterwards the variegated. 



MUREXIDE AS A COLORING MATERIAL FOR WOOL. 



The following article on an interesting and important subject is taken 

 from the Bulletin de la Socidtd Industriclle de Mill-house : 



" The beautiful researches of Liebig and Wohler upon uric acid and its 

 derivatives made us acquainted with a peculiar substance, to which they 

 gave the name of alloxan. This body is obtained by adding very gradual- 

 ly 1 part of uric acid to 4 parts of nitric acid, of a specific gravity of from 

 1.45 to 1.5. The uric acid is dissolved with evolution of nitrogen and carbo- 

 nic acid, accompanied by a considerable rise of temperature, which must be 

 prevented as much as possible ; on cooling, the mass becomes nearly solid, 

 from the deposition of white granular crystals of alloxan. If these crys- 

 tals be drained and dissolved in a very small quantity of water, and ex- 

 posed to spontaneous evaporation in a moderately warm room, large, 

 brilliant, colorless crystals, in the form of short right rhombic prisms, will 

 be obtained. Alloxan is remarkable for the facility with which it under- 

 goes changes when treated with different substances, and for the number 

 of curious compounds thereby produced. Thus, if sulphuretted hydro- 

 gen gas be passed through a solution of it, sulphur is precipitated and a 

 new body formed, to which the name of alloxantine has been given ; or if 

 its solution be slightly acidulated and a slip of zinc placed in it, the same 

 body will be produced under the influence of the nascent hydrogen 

 evolved during the dissolution of the zinc. Alloxantine, being sparingly 

 soluble in cold water, readily separates in crystals, which may be obtained 

 pure by solution in hot water : for, unlike alloxan, it is not decomposed by 

 continued boiling. If 4 parts of alloxantine and 7 of alloxan be dissolved 

 in 240 parts of boiling water, and 80 parts of carbonate of ammonia be 

 added, a very peculiar body will be formed, which will crystallize on the 

 liquor cooling. These crystals are of a beautiful garnet-red color by trans- 

 mitted light, and have a beautiful iridescent green by reflected light. To 

 this body the name murcxide was given, from the murex, or shell-fish, 

 from which it was supposed the Tyrian purple was formerly procured. 

 Previous, however, to the experiments of Liebig and Wohler, Dr. Prout 

 had described the same substance under the name of purpurate of ammo- 

 nia, but obtained in a somewhat different way. So readily is this body 

 formed, that a solution of alloxan will stain the skin purple in conse- 

 quence of its production. This fact led its second discoverers to imagine 

 that, like the Tyrian purple, it might be employed as a dye-stuff. The 

 difficulty, however, of obtaining it, and of fixing it upon the fabric when 

 formed, prevented for that time the idea from proving fertile. 

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