RECENT ADVANCES IN SCIENCE 215 



the constitution of carbohydrates, by degrading them in acid 

 solution and comparing the results with those already ob- 

 tained by regulated oxidation in alkaline solution. 



In a paper dealing with the resolution of Hyoscine and its 

 Components, King {Jour. Chem. Soc, 191 9, 115, 47 6 ) describes 

 the isolation for the first time of d-hyoscine hydrobromide by 

 fractional crystallisation of a quantity of crystalline hydro- 

 bromides of feeble laevorotatory power obtained as a by- 

 product in the manufacture of the therapeutically valuable 

 /-hyoscine. The hydrolysis with boiling 10 per cent, hydro- 

 bromic acid of /-hyoscine resulted in the formation of /-tropic 

 acid and inactive oscine, which latter has been resolved into 

 dextro- and laevo-components by means of ^-tartaric acid. 

 From these facts it is concluded that /-hyoscine is a molecular 

 combination of /-tropyl d-oscine and /-tropyl /-oscine, while 

 fi?-hyoscine is a similar combination of d-tropyl d-oscine with 

 d-tropyl /-oscine. ' 



The tar obtained by distilling animal matter contains aniline 

 pyridine and quinoline which bear no relation to the amino- 

 acids of proteins. With the object of determining whether 

 these bodies are secondary products arising from pyrogenic 

 transformations, or whether they form hitherto unrecognised 

 constituents of the protein molecule, Pictet and Cramer (Helv. 

 Chim. Acta, 191 9, 2, 188) have distilled 4 kilos of egg albumen 

 under a pressure of 20-22 mm. The products of distillation 

 can be differentiated into acid basic and neutral fractions. 

 From the basic fraction the authors have isolated a primary 

 amine of the formula C 6 H 9 N, which appears to be a dihydro- 

 aniline : 



C<CT - CH >™ • NH, 



Among the neutral substances was found iso-hexoamide 

 (CH 8 ) 2 CH • CH a CH 2 CONH 2 , which is, of course, closely related 

 to isohexoic acid, one of the chief constituents of animal oil. 

 In the last number of this Journal (Science Progress, 

 1 91 9, 53, 35) it was shown that the constitution of Turkish 

 and Chinese tannins has been so far established by Fischer as 

 to show that they are probably amorphous mixtures of closely 

 related polygalloyl glucoses. Hamameli-tannin, on the other 

 hand, being crystalline, is probably an individual substance, 

 and for this reason it has been specially studied by Freuden- 



