628 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



or 7.3 ounces of gum Damara, or 1.94 of copal, or 1.16 of shellac, 

 or .73 of caoutchouc, while gutta percha digested iu it for several 

 6ays was not sensibly affected. This oil may be considered 

 the type of about 20 oils from Australian leaves, which are suita- 

 ble for general application in the arts. 



Creosote. 



Dr. A. E. Hoffman, after experimenting with a compound which 

 he purchased under the name of beechwood tar, decided that creo- 

 sote was impure carbolic (phenic) acid. Van Gorup Basanez dis- 

 putes this, and says that beechwood tar creosote has long since 

 disappeared from German commerce. It is Avell known that phe- 

 nic acid is sometimes sold for creosote. Both have antiseptic 

 properties. 



Hydeated Peroxide of Copper. 



C. Wetzein, in a note to the French Academy, says when perox- 

 ide of hydrogen is added to a solution of ammonia, sulphate of 

 copper, there is a lively disengagement of oxygen, and an olive- 

 green precipitate is produced, which is doubtless identical with 

 the peroxide of copper obtained by Thenard and Boettger. The 

 author describes several of its reactions. 



Glycoxine. 



^. Sichel has formed a new glycerole by mixing four parts of 



3''olk of eggs and five parts of pure glycerine in a mortar. The 



mass has the consistency of honey, and is unctuous, like fiit 



bodies. It was unaltered l)y an exposure to the air for three 



years. Applied to the skin, it forms a varnish impervious to 



the air. 



Sorghum. 



Henry Erni, chemist in the Department of Agriculture, has 

 analyzed two new varieties of Chinese sugar cane, marked 3 and 4. 

 One hundred parts of No. 3 contained 4.38 parts of uncrystalliza- 

 ble sugar, and 7.86 parts of cane sugar, the total of the two sugars 

 being 12,24 ; specific gravity of the juice, 1.083. One hundred 

 parts of No. 4 yielded 3#60 parts of uucrystallizable sugar, and 

 5.94 parts of cane sugar — total of the two sugars, 9.54 ; specific 

 gravity of the juice, 1.075. 



An important matter to the farmer, under the existing internal 

 revenue laws, is the sale of sorghum molasses to the vinegar manu- 

 facturer. One barrel of thick molasses, diluted with water until 



