162 Foreign and Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



makes labels, which, when moistened and attached, adhere with 

 great force. It may be used instead of isinglass in dressing silks, 

 ribands, gauze, preparing artificial flowers, &c. It has not answered 

 in endeavours to clarify beer, but is equal to milk or cream in the 

 clarification of table liqueurs, giving them the softness and qualities 

 of age. It may be used in place of creamed milk in the clarification 

 of beet-root, sugar, syrups, &c., in conjunction with animal char- 

 coal, without exciting any fear regarding the presence of serum. 

 M. Braconnot thinks also, that by the help of a little ammonia the 

 greater part of the curd previously separated as above from its serum 

 may be taken up and converted into a dry substance, which, with 

 the help of earthy salts, will be of great service in clarification : for, 

 having dissolved some of this preparation in water, a small quantity 

 of muriate of lime, sulphate of magnesia, or even sulphate of lime 

 in powder was added : the liquid remained clear whilst cold, but the 

 slightest effect of heat made it coagulate uniformly throughout ; the 

 coagulum gradually contracted, and a perfectly clear liquid issued 

 from it. 



Milk has always been considered as a certain antidote in some 

 cases of poisoning. The soluble caseum will perform the same 

 office against most of the metallic salts, but there is reason to 

 believe that white of egg is better than either against corrosive 

 sublimate. 



Chemical Properties of Caseum. Caseum is an acid which, 

 because of its tendency to combine with almost every substance, it 

 is very difficult to obtain pure. The soluble caseum already de- 

 scribed is to be dissolved in boiling water, put into a funnel, the 

 aperture of which is stopped, and left until a layer of cream has 

 collected on the surface. After removing this, a little sulphuric 

 acid is to be added, which will form a clot of sulphate of caseum : 

 this is to be well washed and then heated in water, with just enough 

 carbonate of potash to dissolve it. The mucilaginous liquor formed 

 is, whilst hot, to be mixed with its volume of alcohol. It is neces- 

 sary that no deposit form at the moment ; it should occur only in 

 the course of twenty-four hours, and will include the butter, the 

 sulphate of potash, and part of the caseum. All is to be placed on 

 a cloth, and a clear transparent liquid will pass, which, evaporated 

 to dryness, leaves caseum pure, except in retaining a minute portion 

 of potash. 



Caseum, or caseic add, thus obtained, is a dry diaphanous sub- 

 stance, resembling gum arabic in appearance, and unalterable in 

 the air. It reddens litmus paper, is soluble in hot or cold water, 

 forming transparent viscid adhesive solutions, yielding by evapora- 

 tion transparent pellicles, which again dissolve in water. The mi- 

 neral acids, except the phosphoric, when added to the liquor, unite 

 to the caseum, and produce white, opaque, coagulated, insoluble 

 masses. Very weak solutions are not thus coagulated, as may be 

 seen by adding a little diluted sulphuric acid to such ; heat does not 



