98 Adaress. [Feb. 



solution the activity of the globulin is destroyed between 75° and 80° 

 C, and of the albumose between 80° and 85° C. Abrus poison resem- 

 bles snake-poison in the local lesions, in producing a fall of body-tem- 

 peratnre, fluidity of the blood and in the effect of heat upon it, but it 

 is less active. 



Messrs. K. Hazura and A. Griissner, have examined castor-oil and 

 have found (ZeitscJirift fiir angetvandte Chemie) that this oil is not a 

 single compound, as hitherto supposed, but a mixture of two isomeric 

 acids of the composition C^g Hg^ O3, one of which, ricinoleic acid, 

 yields on oxidation trioxystearic acid, whilst the other, ricinis oleic acid, 

 is a trioxystearic acid. The proportion of these acids is about one 

 of the formei" to two of the latter. As no dioxystearic acid has been ob- 

 tained from the oxidation of the liquid acids of castor-oil, it may be 

 concluded that of all the fatty oils hitherto examined, castor-oil is the 

 only one which contains no oleine. 



Messrs. Benedikt, Ehrlich and XJlzer, in the same journal, shew 

 that lac is a substance of the nature of the fats, and by successive 

 oxidations with permanganate is converted almost entirely into azelaic 

 acid and certain inferior fatty acids. 



Herr Stillmark has investigated the poisonous principle in castor- 

 oil seeds (Arbeit, d. pharmakol. List. Dorpat.) and comes to the con- 

 clusion that it is an albumenoid body, identical with " ^-phytalbumose," 

 separated from the dried juice of the Carica papaya by Dr. Sidney 

 Martin and belonging to the class of unform.ed ferments. This sub- 

 stance, which has been termed ' ricin,' is intensely poisonous and exer- 

 cises a remarkable power of coagulation of the blood. Experiments were 

 made with seeds of nine other species of Ricimis as well as with those of 

 Croton tigluim and Jatropha curus and in each case similar poisonous 

 albumenoid substances were obtained. 



In the Archives des Sciences Physiques et Nattirelles, Mons. M. C. 

 Grasbe has published an account of his examination of Indian yellow 

 (piuri or puri-ee of this country). From a memorandum drawn up, 

 after personal inspection and enquiry, by Babu T. 'N. Mukharji, the 

 present Assistant- Curator of the Economic Section of the Indian Museum, 

 quoted by the author, it appears that this substance is obtained from the 

 urine of cows fed on mangoes, and one of the principal seats of the 

 manufacture is Monghyr. As is already well known, the colouring 

 principle of this dye is a compound of euxanthinic acid with magnesium, 

 with some free euxanthone, and several experiments had been made 

 without success to prepare euxanthone by synthesis. The author has, 

 however, by means of a combination of hydroquinone and resorcin suc- 

 ceeded in obtaining an artificial euxanthone, in every respect identical 

 with that obtained from Indian yellow. 



