CHEMISTRY. 965 



blauk experiment to make sure that they contain no appreciable residue. The flask 

 is then heated on the water-bath till most of the bromin is driven off; a little more 

 chloroform is added, and the mixture again heated, the chloroform vapor helping to 

 drive out the excess of bromin. The addition of chloroform may once more be 

 repeated. The flask and its content are then placed in an air bath regulated for 

 about 125° C. and kept there until their vreight is constant; this takes several 

 hours. A little acrolein and hydrobromic acid escape during the drying, and the 

 residue in some cases darkens slightly; in others a clear yellow heavy bromo oij 

 is obtained. Drying at 100'-' C. does not lead to satisfactory results." 



The results are given of a comparison on a number of common oils of 

 tlie above process with tlie iodin absorption by Hiibl, calculating the 

 bromin absorption into the iodin equivalent by the factor 1.587. " In 

 most cases the iodin figure calculated fi-om the gravimetric bromin 

 absori)tion is in satisfactory approximation to the Hiibl number," but 

 in the case of castor and linseed oils, which contain more oxygen than 

 ordinary oils, " the figures are substantially different." 



The determination of lecithin in seeds, E. Sohulze {Ztschr. 

 Physiol. Chem.,20, Nos. 1 and 2, pp. 225-232-, 3, p. 252).— A reply to the 

 criticism made by Von Bitto (E. S. R., 6, p. 270), that extraction as pre- 

 scribed by Schulze (once with ether and twice with alcohol) does not 

 dissolve all of the lecithin, but that to do this requires extraction 30 

 times with ethyl alcohol or I'O with methyl alcohol. Schulze insists that 

 liis method is sufficient provided the material is finely pulverized, and 

 reports some experiments which appear to support his claim. He 

 states further that 2 samples of methyl alcohol bought for the pure arti- 

 cle could not be used for the extraction, since they dissolved from seeds 

 other substances containing phosphorous besides lecithin, which were 

 insoluble in ether, and at the boiling point dissolved small quantities 

 of water-free sodium phosphate and potassium phosphate. 



Coloring matter in California red wines, W. D. Bigelow {Jour. 

 Amer. Chem. aS'oc, 17 {1S95), N^o. 3, pp. 211-216). — Ninety-four samples of 

 California red wines were examined with the aid of the reagents com- 

 monly employed in the examination of European red wines. The 

 reactions obtained were not always the same as those obtained with 

 European wines; for instance, a gray, or yellowish or orange-gray pre- 

 cipitate or solution was sometimes obtained with reagents which are 

 said to give green or grayish-green with French wines. On the other 

 hand, no reactions were obtained which are said to be characteristic 

 of wines colored with vegetable pigments. — w. D. bigelow. 



Remarks on the spectrum of argon and of the aurora borealis, Berthelot 



{Compt. Rend., 120 {1895), No. 12, pp. 662, 663). 



The forms of nitrogen in meat, E. Salkowski and E. GiESKE (Centbl. med. fFisa., 

 1894, pp. 833-835 ; aba. in Chem. Centbh, 1895, I, No. 3, p. 162). 



Investigation of the fat of oats, P. S. Moljawko-Wistozki (Dia». St. Petersburg, 

 1S94; Pharm. Ztschr. Busdand, S3, pp. 646, 647; aba. in Chem. Centbl., 1894, II, No. SS, 

 p. 018). 



The transformation of starch into dextrin and maltose, Duclaux {Ann. Inat. 

 Pasipur, 9 {1895), No. 3, pp. 214-223).— A. critical review- 



