REPORT OF THE CHEMIST 191 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 



Estimations on the dry, -filtered, Butter-fat. 



*Reichert No. (volatile fatty acids) 27-45 



Saponification equivalent (Koettstorfer) 249 -3 



Specific gravity at 100° F :912 



• Corresponding to 5 grams fat. 



Paraffin could not be detected, even in traces. 



The above data are entirely in accordance with those of pure, unadulterated butter, 

 and conclusively prove the absence of oleomargarine or other foreign fats. 



CHEMISTRY OF INSECTICIDES AND FUNGICIDES. 



ANALYSIS OF CERTAIN BRANDS OF LYE. 



Solutions of lye are used for the destruction of insects and cleansing the bark 

 while the wood is still dormant, that is, before the leaves appear. In response to re- 

 quests from orchardists, both in Ontario and Nova Scotia, for information regarding 

 the relative values or strengths of the better known brands of lye sold in Canada, we 

 have during the past season submitted to analysis, Gillett's ' Perfumed 100 per cent 

 Lye,' Greenbank's ' Soapmaker,' Babbitt's ' Pure Potash or Lye,' and a sample of ' Rock 

 Potash ' obtained from a wholesale drug firm in Montreal. 



Our results may be tabulated as follows: — 



Alkali Present Alkali Present 

 as Caustic as Carbonate 



Soda. of Soda. 



Gillett's Perfumed 100 per cent Lye 92-43 2-77 



*Babbitt's Pure Potash or Lye 85-15 4-98 



Greenbank's Soapmaker 71-44 5-51 



•There is no potash in Babbitt's brand, the alkali present being soda. 



The analysis of Rock Potash showed : — 



Alkali, as caustic potash 36-72 



Alkali, as carbonate of potash 43-24 



The total potash present, calculated as oxide, is 09 -31 



These, of course, are all commercial products and consequently contain varying 

 amounts of chloride of soda, and in some instances certain sulphates, besides oxide of 

 iron and alumina. These impurities, however, do not interfere with the efficiency of 

 the material for the use here considered. The relative strength of the lyes as a wash 

 is indicated primarily by the amount of caustic alkali contained, and, secondarily, by 

 that of the alkali as carbonate. The use of Rock Potash would furnish an important 

 fertilizing element, absent in the ordinary brands of lye upon the market. 



GAS-LIME. 



Gas-lime is a by-product in the purification of illuminating gas, and may fre- 

 quently be obtained for the cartage. It has a certain value for the destruction of the 

 larvae of noxious -insects, slugs, centipedes, &c, in the soil, but must be employed with 

 some caution owing to the fact that when fresh from the gas works it is injurious to 

 vegetation. These injurious properties which really give this material its insecticidal 

 value, are chiefly due to certain sulphur compounds (principally sulphide of lime), 

 but sometimes in a measure to more or less tar and other organic compounds that may 

 be present Thoroughly weathered gas-lime, as when left in small heaps on the field 

 for two or three months, however, has lost for the most part its injurious qualities by 



