412 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol. 43 



per cent of normal acid being formed in tlie proportion of about 5 parts of 

 lactic to 1 part of acetic acid. The extent of fermentation was about the 

 same with tlie two sugars, about one-half of the sugar being consumed in 15 

 days. Mannose fermented more slowly than glucose or galactose, and yielded 

 nearly equal quantities of volatile and nonvolatile acid. Fructose disappeared 

 completely in from 4 to 6 days with the formation of mannitol, volatile and 

 nonvolatile acids, and CO2. 



Tlie disaccharids sucrose, maltose, and lactose were not completely fermented, 

 sucrose being the most available and lactose the least. The products of reac- 

 tion were chiefly volatile aBd nonvolatile acids, the latter predominating. 

 Raffinose and melezitose were not fermented. 



Mannitol was slowly broken down, yielding almost equal amounts of lactic 

 and acetic acids. Glycerol and the glucosid salicin fermented slowly and 

 esculin not at all. Starch, inulin, and cellulose were not fennented, while xylan 

 was decomposed very slowly. Of the acids, succinic, tartaric, and citric were *. 

 not attacked, while pyruvic, lactic, and malic were fermented. | 



Carbon as an adsorbent, R. E. Liesegang {Ghem. Ztg., 44 {1020), No. 13, j 

 pp. 89, 90). — This is a review of the literature on the use of carbon as an 

 adsorbent from 1914 to 1919, inclusive. The references are arranged under the 

 headings of the theory of adsorption with carbon, methods for testing adsorb- 

 ing properties, preparation of carbons with strong adsorption properties, appli- 

 cations, and theoretical studies. A list of 44 references to the literature is 

 included. 



Vegetable decolorizing carbons, A. B. Bradley (Jour. Soc. Chem. Indus., 

 38 (1919), No. 22, pp. 396T-39ST). — A study of the effect of various factors on 

 the percentage of color absorbed from solutions of raw Barbados and Mozam- 

 bique sugars by the vegetable decolorizing carbon Norit is reported, with the 

 following results: 



The percentage of color removed was found to increase quite rapidly with 

 a decrease in the size of the grain of the carbon up to a certain limit of size 

 (about 94-mesh), after which the increased efficiency was relatively small. 

 This is thought to indicate that the apparent difference in efficiency of dif- 

 ferent carbons may be partly due to the size of the carbon grain. Experiments 

 undertaken to determine the effect of increasing percentage of decolorizing 

 carbon on the amount of color removed from sugar solutions indicate that the 

 greater part of the coloring matter can be removed by small amounts of the 

 carbon, after which the finer, more soluble color particles can be removed to 

 a considerable extent by boiling with colloidal substances, such as casein or 

 gelatin. 



For increasing temperatures up to 70° C. a marked increase in the per- 

 centage of sugar removed for each 10° was noted, after which the additional 

 color absorbed was very small. Increasing concentration of the sugar solution 

 up to a total sugar content of 40 per cent decreased the decolorizing efiiciency 

 quite rapidly, after which the loss of efficiency was not nearly so marked. 

 An increase in the acidity of the sugar solution, whether due to organic or 

 inorganic acids, was found to increase the decolorizing efficiency in a degree 

 proportional to the degree of acidity. 



The ash of calcium-containing soaps, E. Lantos (Chem. Ztg., 4-i (1920), 

 No. 5, p. 35).— Attention is called to the fact that if organic substances con- 

 taining calcium are ashed to whiteness in the usual way the calcium is left in 

 the form of the carbonate instead of the oxid. To overcome this, the author 

 recommends adding a small amount of ammonium nitrate to the substance and 

 heating before the blast lamp. The ashing is said to require a much shorter 

 time and to conTcrt completely the calcium into the oxid. 



