INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1875. lxxxix 



acid as a colorless liquid of specific gravity 0.982. It is a 

 weak acid, its sodium and potassium salts being of the con- 

 sistency of soft soap. It is a fatty acid, but does not belong 

 to either of the three series of fatty acids now known. 



Berthelot has observed that perfectly pure acetic oxide is 

 not changed into the sodium salt in presence of sodium hy- 

 drate, even after the anhydride is completely dissolved. 

 The acetic oxide, therefore, even when dissolved, may exist 

 for some time in contact with water, and even of soda, with- 

 out union. In presence of an alkali the union is much more 

 rapid, taking place in the course of two or three minutes, 

 whereas in the case of water it requires more than an hour. 



Carey Lea publishes some experiments which show that 

 methyl nitrate is not nearly so explosive as has been stated 

 by Girard. It does not explode by percussion, and the ex- 

 plosion is feeble when the liquid is heated. Nevertheless, he 

 thinks a few suggestions desirable on the precautions to be 

 taken in its manufacture on a large scale. 



Klippert has prepared ethyl orthosilicate very readily by 

 the action of silicon fluoride upon sodium ethylate. 



Pinner has effected a synthesis of malonic acid by boiling 

 ethyl chloracrylate with barium hydrate for a long time. 

 The conversion of the one into the other raises some interest- 

 ing theoretical questions. 



Ramsay has examined the properties of ethyl-thiosulphate 

 of sodium prepared by the action of ethyl bromide on sodium 

 thiosulphate. He finds that it is exceedingly unstable, de- 

 composing spontaneously in a few weeks. The precipitates 

 produced in its solutions by silver, lead, or barium nitrates 

 are even more rapidly decomposed, only a few hours being 

 required. When distilled with phosphoric chloride a com- 

 plex reaction takes place, ethyl disulphide being one of the 

 products. 



Zollner and Grete have made a series of experiments in 

 the Royal Agricultural School at Vienna upon Dumas's rem- 

 edy for the phylloxera, that pest of the grape-culture. They 

 find that while his potassium sulphocarbonate will do the 

 work, yet that the ethylsulphocarbonate will do it better, 

 since, while it also evolves the effective carbon disulphide, it 

 does not evolve the deleterious hydrogen sulphide. More- 

 over, it is more readily made, and is cheaper. They recom- 



