©HEMISTRT. 510 



^l new :Syiitliesis of Saligenin^ by William H. Greene.— Since by the re- 

 action of cliloroform or of carbon tetrachloride on an alkaline solution 

 of .sodium phenato, salicylic aldehyde may be obtained, the author ex- 

 pected to synthesize salijL>euiii, an oxybenzylio alcohol, by the action of 

 methyleu chloride on the sodium pheuate. Experiments confirmed his 

 views, though the yield of saligeniu was small, {Ghem. News, L, 7<i.) 



Action of Meialson Chloral Hydrate, by S. Cotton. — An aqueous solu- 

 tion of chloral hydrate is decomj^osed by most metals, with formation of 

 a metallic chloride. The degree of decouiposition depends upon the 

 temperature, the nature of the metal, and the state of fineness of the 

 metal used. 



Zinc decomposes chloral hydrate slowly at the ordinary temperatures, 

 but at 80° to lOOc the action goes on ra|)idly, disengaging in one hour 

 125 c. c. of gas when operating with GOO grams of metal and 10 of chlo- 

 ral. This gas is a mixture of hydrogen with formene and traces of 

 chlorine products. At the same time chloride and oxy chloride of zinc 

 are formed, the latter covering the metal and stopping the action. The 

 operation is impeded rather than quickened by amalgamating the zinc. 

 If zinc dust be used, the reaction begins vigorously at the ordinary tem- 

 perature. Iron acts very differently unless finely divided, in which case 

 -it gives the same results as the zinc. {Bull. hoc. ehim., XLii, 622,) 



New Forms of Albumose. — Profs, W. Kiihne and R. H. Chittenden in 

 a previous paper described hemialbumose, a cleatage product of the 

 albumins. In studying its req^ctions the authors noted differences of 

 solubility and inconstancy in the reactions with sodium chloride, circum 

 stances which have led them to the separation of four different forms 

 of albumose, viz : I, protalbumose; II, deuteroalbumose ; III, hetero- 

 albumose ; atid, IV, dysalbumose. These bodies were obtained in part 

 by digestion of fibrin with pepsin-hydrochloric acid, or from the com- 

 mercial " pepton " manufactuied by Witte, and in part from preserved 

 hemialbumose from the urine of a patient with osteomalachia. For de- 

 tails of j)reparation and properties we refer to the original articles. 

 {Am. Ghem. Journ., Yi, 31 and 101.) 



Investigations on Sinapine and lSinaj)ic Acid, by Ira Eemsen and Iv. D. 

 Coale. — In 1825 Henry and Garot discovered a new substance in white 

 mustard seed to which. they gave the name sulphosinapic acid. In 

 1852 von Babo and Hirschbrunn published an elaborate investigation of 

 this substance, since which practically nothing has been added to our 

 knowledge of the subject. Professors Remsen and Coale have undertaken 

 a new investigation of siuapine and its decomposition products. From 

 100 pounds of ungrouud white mustard seed they obtained 80 grams 

 I)ure sulphocyanate of sinapine, which crystallizes from water in beauti- 

 ful feathery masses. It melts at 170°. The sinapic acid is best ])re- 

 pared from this product by treating it ^vith barium hydroxide, This 



