414 EXPEKIMENT STATION RECOED. 



by the use of reducing valves, but corrections for atmosplieric pressure require 

 more trainiug, experience, and care than can probably be given at such plants. 



" The si)ecific gravity of the samples taken during distillation often shows a 

 decided conflict with the other data on the samples, but in the main it is a 

 reliable indication of the progress of the distillation and the composition of 

 the oil. But as this determination also requires more skill, and is in every 

 way more difficult to make in the works, it is not as safe a guide as the volume 

 relations of the distillate. 



"The column still will give sharper separations of wood turpentine from 

 pine oils than can be obtained with the pot still, but the experiments here de- 

 scribed do not indicate any great superiority of the column. The data avail- 

 able, however, are inadequate to permit the drawing of definite conclusions as 

 to the economy or efficiency of the two forms of stills." 



About 5 barrels of refined wood turi^ntine, which had been obtained in the 

 refining experiments, and of which approximately 75 per cent distilled below 

 170° C, were turned over to the painter of the Department and used by him 

 on all classes of paint and varnish work from ordinary house paintuig to high- 

 class furniture varnishing. No inferiority in the finished woi'k or in behavior 

 in applying was observed. Analyses of the turpentines and varnishes employed 

 in the tests are included. 



[Potato desiccation in Germany in 1910] (Maschinen Ztg., 9 {1911), No. 2, 

 pp. 20, 21; ahs. in Iiitcrnat. Inst. Agr. [Rome^. Bui. Bur. Agr. Intel, and Plant 

 Diseases, 2 (.1911), No. 3, pp. 678, 679).— In 1910, 454,416 metnic quintals 

 (about 50.000 tons) of potatoes were dried, and yielded 120,169 quintals of 

 dried material, or 3.78 kg. of fresh potatoes to 1 kg. of dried potatoes. The 

 yield varies greatly, however, according to the percentage of starch in the 

 potatoes. Thus, in 1910, the maximum yield was represented by the ratio 

 3.17 : 1 between the weight of the potatoes and the weight of the flakes, and 

 the minimum yield by 4.7 : 1. 



The cost of drying 50 kg. of potatoes was on the average 02 pfennig (about 

 7 cts. per pound) in the works dealing only in this commodity and 54 pfennig 

 in other establishments. " In order that this industry may be profitable as a 

 business, the factory ought not to work less than from 150 to 200 days a year." 



The extraction of olive oil, E. Mingioli (Bui. Off. Gouvt. Oen. Algerie, 17 

 (1911), No. 3, pp. 37-40; ahs. in Internet. Inst. Agr. [Rome], Bui. Bur. Agr. 

 Intel, and Plant Diseases, 2 (1911), No. 2, pp. SSJ/, 38,5).— The results of tests 

 with the Acapulco (Spanish) system for extracting olive oil are given. With 

 the process a better cold extraction of the oil is possible, while with the hot 

 method a higher yield is obtained than with the hydraulic press. The product 

 obtained is less colored and more uniform. Other advantages are also de- 

 scribed. 



In reg'ard to soy-bean oil, S. Keimatsu (Chem. Ztg., 35 (1911), No. 91, pp. 

 S39, 8-'iO). — Soy-bean oil was found to contain 0.2 per cent of phytosterin (stig- 

 masterin could not be noted) ; about 32 per cent of saturated acids, the greater 

 portion of which was stearic and palmitic acids; and 80 per cent of nonsatu- 

 rated fatty acids, of which 50 per cent is an isomeric linoleic acid, which yields 

 an oxy acid having a melting point of 158 to 159° C, and 15 per cent consists 

 of linoleic acid (oxy-sativic acid with a melting point of 173 to 175°) and oleic 

 acid (oxy-dioxystearic acid with a melting point of 126 to 127°). 



Soy-bean oil, C. Oettinger and F. Buchta (Ztschr. Angeiv. Chem., 24 (1911), 

 No. 18, pp. 858, 859; abs. in Analyst, 36 (1911), No. 424, p. S6i).— Crude and 

 refined soy-bean oils were examined by the authors, with the result that the 

 iodin and saponification values and melting points of the fatty acids obtained 

 were found to be quite different from those usually reported in the literature. 



