RECENT WORK IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE. 



CHEMISTRY. 



Report of the chemical control station at Christiania, Norway, 

 1896, F. H. Werenskiold (Aarsber. Offent. Foranst. Landbr. Fremme, 

 1896, pp. 117-169). — Of the more important data given in the report, 

 mention is here made of the following: 



Alkaloids- in cottonseed meal. — The author, in following the scheme of 

 analysis outlined by Dragendorff, separated the chlorin compounds of 3 

 alkaloids, (1) by shaking the acid extract with chloroform, (2) by shak- 

 ing the alkaline extract with chloroform, and (3) by digesting with 

 chloroform the extract evaporated on pumice stone. 



The compound separated by the second method proved to be cholin 

 that by the third, betain ; and that by the first, a new, perhaps unknown, 

 alkaloid, at any rate one hitherto not identified in cotton-seed meal* 

 The 3 alkaloids gave the same reactions with iodin-potassium iodid, 

 phosphomolybdic acid, phosphowolframic acid, picric acid, tannin, cor 

 rosive sublimate, potassium-bismuth iodid, potassium-cadmium iodid, 

 and potassium-mercury iodid. But they gave quite different reactions 

 with gold chlorid and platinum chlorid. Platinum chlorid dissolved in 

 water gave no precipitate with 1 and 2, but a yellow precipitate with 3; 

 platinum chlorid dissolved in alcohol gave no precipitate with 1 and 2, 

 but a yellow crystalline precipitate with 3. Gold chlorid dissolved in 

 water gave no precipitate in case of 1 and 2, but a yellow crystalline 

 and difficultly soluble precipitate with 3. No. 1 crystallized by slow 

 evaporation partly in octahedra or similar crystals, partly in feathery 

 aggregates. The author proposes the name of gossypein for this 

 alkaloid. 



Macroscopic impurities in milk. — The author examined 64 samples of 

 whole milk, skim milk, and cream for macroscopic impurities, and 

 obtained the following average results: 



Impurities in milk and cream. 



805 



