228 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



plants of the same ^enus, and may, therefore, be regarded as pecu- 

 liar to the family. — Bull. Univ.^ c. xii. 287. 



19. Purification of Alcohol. — A prize was otTered by the Royal 

 Academy of Brussels to the person who should prove upon what 

 the differences between alcohol, extracted from various substances, 

 as fruits, grain, roots, sugar, &c. depended. This was obtained by 

 M. Hensmans, who was led, by numerous experiments, to conclude 

 that the alcohol was always identical, but that the difficulty, more or 

 less great, always found in rectifying it, as well also as the difference 

 in taste, depended upon the presence of a fatty matter, and a little 

 acetic ether. The fatty matter, when alone, may be separated by 

 several distillations, but the acetic ether is not removed in this way. 

 It is better, in every case, for the removal of both, to add a little 

 caustic potash, or soda, to the alcohol, to be rectified. Carbonated 

 alkali does not act with suflicient energy. ^ — Bull. Univ.y E. viii. 289. 



20. On the Formation of Sulphuric Ether, hy MM. Dumas and 

 Boullay, fils. — The Annates de Chimie, for November, contains a 

 memoir by these two chemists, on the formation oF sulphuric ether, 

 the object being to ascertain, experimentally, how far the theory, by 

 MM. Vauquelin and Fourcroy, relative to the mutual action of sul- 

 phuric acid and alcohol, is correct and applicable. This theory, as 

 is well known, supposes that the first action of the acid is to sepa- 

 rate water from the alcohol, converting it into ether, and afterwards, 

 as the alcohol decreases in quantity, and the temperature rises, it 

 conceives that a new action occurs, producing sulphurous acid, and 

 oil of wine. The experiments of Saussure, Gay-Lussac, &c. all 

 tending to confim this theory, and the objections of others to it, need 

 not be quoted. The object of MM. Dumas and Boullay, is to 

 analyze the different products resulting from the action of sulphuric 

 acid and alcohol, accurately, and see what evidence they give, when 

 compared with each other and the original bodies. 



Alcohol of the s. g. of .7915, at 64PA F., being analyzed, gave — 



Carbon 52.37 



Hydrogen 13.31 



Oxygen 31.61 



results perfectly in accordance with those of Saussure and Gay- 

 Lussac, which consider alcohol as consisting of one volume of car- 

 buretted hydrogen,* and one volume of the vapour of water. 

 Sulphuric ether, s. g. .713, at 68° F., was composed of 



Carbon 65.05 



Hydrogen 13.85 



Oxygen 21.24 



or one volume of carburetted hydrogen,* and half a volume of the 

 vapour of water. 



* Not bi -carburetted, for the elements are in single proportionals. 



