420 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



EXPERIMENTS ON CAMPHOR. 



MM. Dumas and Peligot have made the following statements as 

 the results of their experiments on common camphor : Neutral and 

 oxygenated organic bodies, when their vapour contains half a volume 

 of oxygen, approximate alcohol in general in the nature of their re- 

 actions. This is at any rate what happens with the spirit of wood, 

 oil of potatoes, ethal, and pyroacetic spirit. This generalization 

 struck us long since, and we have subjected common camphor, 

 which is so constituted, to the action of some bodies which would 

 allow of procuring from them decisive products, admitting that 

 camphor would act like alcohol. We shall limit ourselves to stating 

 here, that common camphor, treated with anhydrous phosphoric 

 acid, 'furnishes a liquid volatile oily carburetted hydrogen composed 

 of C'*" H^S; this then comes from the camphor, as if this body, being 

 formed of C^o H^s, H^^ O^, should lose its water under the influence 

 of the phosphoric acid. On acting upon camphor by sulphuric 

 acid, a light volatile oil is also obtained.j It appeared to us to be 

 formed of the carburetted hydrogen preceding and camphor, in va- 

 riable proportions. By rectification with anhydrous phosphoric 

 acid, it resolves always into the carburetted hydrogen C^^ H^^ 

 already mentioned. V Institute April 3, 1837. 



COMPOUND OF ALBUMEN AND BICHLORIDE OF MERCURY. BY 

 M. LASSAIGNE. 



It has long been known that a solution of bichloride of mercury 

 precipitates a solution of albumen, even when very dilute. This 

 fact, which proves both the strong mutual action of those bodies 

 and the slight solubility of the product, has been employed by Dr. 

 Bostock as a method of distinguishing albumen from gelatin and 

 mucus, and of recognising it in the animal fluids. In 1813, M. 

 Orfila proposed white of egg or albumen as an antidote for corro- 

 sive sublimate, conceiving that the insolubility of the product of 

 their reaction, if it would not neutralize, would at least diminish 

 the deleterious property of the mercurial chloride. 



M. Orfila considered the precipitate formed as composed of al- 

 bumen and protochloride of mercury, while M. Chantourelle, in 

 1822, considered it as a compound of albumen and the bichloride 

 of mercury. 



In order to discover the facts of the case, M. Lassaigne under- 

 took some experiments, detailed in a memoir presented to the In- 

 stitute. He ascertained that the precipitate obtained by mixing an 

 excess of solution of bichloride of mercury with a solution formed 

 one part of white of egg and six parts of water, retained from 81*5 

 to 82 parts of combined water in 100. He considers the moist 

 precipitate as M. Chantourelle does, as very slightly soluble in 

 water. He ascertained also that it is dissolved by the chloride, 

 bromide, and iodide of potassium, sodium and calcium, and by the 



