Chemical Science, 489 



insoluble in water j they form peculiar salts with several bases, aud 

 especially with magnesia and oxide of lead. 



When castor oil is distilled, a small quantity of gas, water, acetic 

 acid, a colourless crystallizable volatile oil, ricinic, and elaiodic 

 acids are obtained, and a solid substance remains in the retort. The 

 quantities of acid and volatile oil are nearly equal, and constitute 

 almost a third of the oil employed ; the remaining two-thirds consist 

 of the solid matter. This is a curious substance, is of a yellowish 

 colour, cellular, and resembles the crumb of new bread. It is inso- 

 luble in water, alcohol, ether, the volatile and fixed oils. It is 

 dissolved by alkalies, with which it forms a kind of soap. It 

 requires a high temperature for its decomposition, inflames when 

 exposed to a burning body, and burns readily without inelting. 



When castor oil is treated with solution of potash or soda, it 

 saponifies more readily than olive oil, and ricinates, elaiodates, 

 margaritates with glycerin are formed ; no other products appear : 

 the glycerin amounts to about one fifteenth part of the oil, the mar- 

 garitic acid to about one thousandth. These salts are very soluble 

 in water, and act like ordinary soaps. — Phil. Mag.'N. S. i. 313. 



32. Distillation of fatty Bodies, by MM. Bussy and Lecanu. — 

 Spermaceti is a substance containing neither elaine nor stearine ; 

 yet, by the action of alkalies, portions of margaric and oleic acids are 

 formed from it. Being distilled, it gave 97.5 per cent, of solid matter, 

 and 2.5 parts of loss due principally to gas : 80 parts of the solid 

 portion was colourless, nacreous, and fusible at 73*^ Fahr. Being 

 examined by the action of water, alcohol, baryta, acids, &c., it gave 

 spermaceti unchanged, colourless liquid oil, oleic, margaric and acetic 

 acids, water, odorous matter, yellow matter, and an empyreumatic 

 yellow oil. The volatilized portion of spermaceti being re-distilled, 

 underwent similar changes, and in all cases margaric and oleic acids 

 were produced. 



Cholesterine being distilled, passed over into the receiver, leaving 

 scarcely an atom of charcoal behind it ; and the product being 

 examined, was found to contain no proportion of the fatty acids, 

 nothing being produced which could aftect litmus paper, and all 

 the properties of the cholsterine being preserved. 



Ethal obtained, with great care, and free from barytic salts, when 

 distilled, resembled cholesterine ; no acids were formed, and the 

 ethal passed over and condensed unchanged. These results induce 

 the authors of this memoir to observe, that distillation may be 

 resorted to as well as the action of alkalies, for the purpose of 

 establishing distinctions between fatty and analogous bodies. — 

 Amiales de Chimie, xxxiv. 57. 



33. Action of Nitric Acid on Hogs* Lard. — Two ounces of hogs' 

 lard were mixed by MM. Bussy and Lecanu, with four times its 

 weight of hot and concentrated nitric acid, and retained hot for one 



APRIL— JUNE, 1827. 2 K 



