266 



THE AL UMNI JO URN A L . 



phanicacid, senna leaves might also produce 

 the reaction, though in a less degree. — Merck's 

 Report. 



An examination of the gases liberated from 

 certain of the sulphurous waters of the Pyre- 

 nees reveals, in the hands of M. C. H. Bouchard, 

 the interesting fact that the formerly assumed 

 nitrogen (from which the Spanish physicians 

 have named these waters azoades) consists in 

 part of free argon and helium. The collected 

 gas was in each case, after treatment with pot- 

 ash and phosphoric anhydride, introduced into 

 a Pliicker tube containing magnesium wire. 

 Under the action of the silent discharge the 

 nitrogen rapidly disappeared by combination 

 with magnesium, leaving a residue exhibiting 

 the characteristic rays of both argon and helium 

 for the gas derived from the waters of La Rail- 

 lere, helium from the springs of Bois, and he- 

 lium together with probably an unknown gas 

 from the waters of lowest temperature at Bois. 

 — Nature. 



Crystallized Carbon Dioxide.— According to 

 Prot. Liverside {Chem. News), when solid car- 

 bon dioxide is examined under the microscope, 

 its presents along its edges projecting wire-like 

 crystals, which have branching filaments, issu- 

 ing from them apparently at right angles, re- 

 sembling somewhat the groups of minute crys- 

 tals seen in crystallized iron, gold and ammo- 

 nium chloride. The rapidity with which the 

 carbon dioxide evaporates makes it difficult to 

 catch the form of the crystals, either by photog- 

 raphy or other means. — The Western Drug- 

 gist. 



Pictet's Gas.—M. Pictet having observed that 

 an addition of carbonic acid to sulphurous acid 

 seemed to materially incresse its powers of des- 

 infection, requested Professor d'Arsonval to in- 

 vestigate the value of this admixture and report 

 thereon. {Ph. Jr.) M. d'Arsonval has com- 

 municated to the Societe de Biologie the results 

 of his experiments. He finds that C0 2 and 

 SO 2 in the proportion of four of the former to 

 six of the latter combine chemically to form a 

 gas (which he calls Pictet's gas) possessing 

 marked antiseptic properties and extraordinary 

 powers of diffusion. Thus, cultures of typhoid 

 and cholera were placed on rags between the 

 leaves of a book which was enveloped in cloth 

 and exposed to the influence of the gas. In the 

 space of an hour the germs were found to be 

 entirely destroyed. Pictet's gas has also been 

 fatal to microbes, which were still living after 

 their treatment with sulphurous acid. 



Narceine. — Another useful addition to alka- 

 loidal chemistry has just been published by 

 Freund. He has prepared narceine amide by 

 treating narcotin-methyl-iodide in watery solu- 

 tion with excess of alcoholic ammonia, and al- 

 lowing the mixture to stand for several days. 

 By suspending the crystals in solution of am- 

 monium chloride, the hydrochlorate was ob- 

 tained, C 23 H 28 N 2 7 HC1. Free mineral acids 

 convert the amide into narceine imide, C 2S H 26 

 N 2 6 . When an alcoholic solution of the 

 amide base is heated with methyl iodide, the 

 imide base results, which then combines with 

 methyl iodide to form an iodo-methylate. By 

 heating this with strong alkalies, trimethyl- 

 amine is evolved and narceonic acid imide 

 C 81 H 19 N0 6 , is formed. — Liebig's Annal- 

 en. 



Helenin. — Bredt and Posth have again in- 

 vestigated the bitter principle of Inula helenium ; 

 which they term helenin. They state that the 

 body possesses the constitution of alantolac- 

 tone. This has the composition C 15 H 20 O 2 , 

 and is a neutral body dissolving in alkaline 

 solutions with the formation of salts of the cor- 

 responding oxyacid. The latter body passes 

 into the lactone on heating to the melting point. 

 The free oxyacid, alantolic acid, is Cj 4 H 20 (OH) 

 (COOH), and is obtained by decomposing its 

 salts with dilute sulphuric acid in the cold. It 

 melts at 94 . By decomposing its silver salt 

 with methyl iodide the methyl ester is obtain- 

 ed, which, by heating, gives off methyl alcohol 

 with the formation of the lactone. By the action 

 of alcoholic ammonia, the amide of the oxyacid 

 is obtained. — Apotheker-Zeituns^. 



The Condensation Products of Isovaleric 

 Aldehyd.—l,. Kohn has obtained two products; 

 the one boiling at 82 under a pressure of 15 m. 

 m. , seems identical with that studied by Kekule, 

 Fittig, Beilstein, and others, and probably with 

 the product obtained by Barbier and Bouveault. 

 The second product is an oil of feeble odor, 

 colorless, boiling at 140 under a pressure of 18 

 m. m. It seems to be a polymer ofvalerol. — 

 Chem. News. 



Manganese Deposit.— A deposit of manganese 

 ore 6 ft. thick has recently been struck near 

 Parkenstein, Bavaria, at a depth of about 120 ft. 

 An analysis which has been made of the ore 

 shows it to contain 44 per cent, of metallic man- 

 ganese. — The British and Colonial Drug- 

 gist. 



