102 



CHEMISTRY. 



the ordinary pressure, but the action reaches 

 its maximum at five atmospheres, when beech 

 wood loses 26-7 per cent, of its weight, of which 

 11 per cent, becomes sugar. There are also pro- 

 duced dextrines, precipitable by alcohol. No 

 vanilline is obtained from the aqueous or ethe- 

 real extracts, or from the dried residues. 



New Substances. A new alkaloid, to which 

 the name taxine is applied, has been extracted 

 and isolated by Drs. Hilger and Brande, of Er- 

 langen, from the leaves, seeds, and young shoots 

 of the yew tree. It was obtained after the usual 

 extraction processes as a white powder of ex- 

 tremely bitter taste, which melted at 82 C. On 

 heating the melted taxine partly sublimes as a 

 white cloud which condenses in drops that so- 

 lidify on cooling. At the same time it evolves a 

 characteristic odor. It is dissolved with diffi- 

 culty in water, chloroform, and benzene, but 

 read'ily in alcohol and ether. It forms with acids 

 salts readily soluble in water. Analyses show 

 that its formula is most probably C 37 H 62 OioN. 

 It belongs to the class of nitrile bases. 



A. C. Griffith describes the extraction from 

 the urine in a case of mumps where the parotid 

 and submaxillary glands and kidneys were in- 

 volved of an alkaloid, or ptomaine, which crystal- 

 lizes in white prismatic needles that are soluble 

 in water, ether, and chloroform. It has a neu- 

 tral reaction and a slightly bitter taste, forms 

 a yellow crystalline platinochloride, a pale-yel- 

 low aurochloride, and a white crystalline hydro- 

 chloride. Its composition gives the formula 

 C 8 Hi 3 N 8 2 , and it is classified as propylglyco 

 cyamine, forming with the glyco, methylglyco, 

 and ethylglyco cyamines a homologous series 

 of oxygenated bases related to the ureides. It 

 is poisonous, producing in a cat nervous excite- 

 ment, cessation of the salivary flow, convulsions, 

 and death. It is not found in normal urine, and 

 is therefore probably produced during the course 

 of the disease. 



A new acid, the first member of a series pos- 

 sessing the generic formula CnH 2n a 2 , derived 

 from the saturated hexa-hydride of benzene, has 

 been isolated by Dr. Ossian Aschan from the 

 natural oil of Baku. It is a stable liquid of 

 strongly acid properties colorless, thick, of un- 

 pleasant and persistent odor, and does not solidify 

 at 10 C. Its strength is indicated by the fact 

 that it readily decomposes calcium chloride, with 

 evolution of hydrochloric acid and the formation 

 of a calcium salt. The potassium, sodium, and 

 calcium salts are described. 



A new stannic acid is described by Spring as 

 formed by the action of barium peroxide on 

 stannous chloride. A turbid liquid was obtained 

 from which barium chloride was dialized out by 

 a process requiring three months, leaving, after 

 evaporation of the residual colloidal jelly, a white 

 mass corresponding, on analysis, to the formula 

 HaSna0 7 . The author calls it hyperstannic 

 acid, and regards it as proof of the existence of 

 hyperstannic oxide, Sn0 8 . 



A yellow coloring matter existing in the taigu 

 wood of Paraguay, was described in 1857 by 

 Amoudon, under the name of taiguic acid. A 

 similar matter was extracted by Stein from the 

 green-heart of Surinam, and described by him 

 as greenhartin. These substances were proved 

 by Paterno, in 1879, to be identical with the lapa- 



chic acid obtained by Sienert from the lapacho 

 tree of South America; and more recently S. C. 

 Hooker and W. H. Greene have found the same 

 substance in the bethabarra wood of South Afri- 

 ca. Concentrated sulphuric acid forms from it 

 a compound crystallizing in red needles, which 

 has the same percentage composition as lapachic 

 acid. It has been named lapa-chone. It is in- 

 soluble in alkaline carbonates, and is soluble in 

 caustic alkalies only after boiling for some time. 

 The properties and constitution of these sub- 

 stances have been investigated by Hooker and 

 Greene and also by Paterno, who will continue 

 the investigation. 



A new coloring matter from pyrogallol and 

 benzotrichloride is described by Drs. Doebner 

 and Foerster, of Halle. It is obtained by fusing 

 the two substances at 160 C. ; its composition is 

 represented by the empirical formula Cs 8 H 2 40ii, 

 and it is called pyrogallolbenzein. 



A series of derivatives of the unknown tri- 

 hydrocyanic acid H 3 C 8 N3 has been prepared by 

 Prof. Krafft and Dr. Von Han sen, of Heidel- 

 berg. Tri-cyanogen chloride, C S N 3 C1 S . and the 

 corresponding bromide have long been known, 

 and the radicle C 3 N 3 is supposed to exist in the 

 ferro- and ferri-cyanides. The authors, without 

 having isolated the hydride itself, have succeeded 

 in preparing derivatives containing organic rad- 

 icles instead of hydrogen. Among these are 

 methyl diphenyl tricyanide ; the hydrochloride ; 

 the platinochloride, in ruby-red crystals ; and the 

 ethyl and propyl compounds. 



The elementary nature of the earth, Ya, dis- 

 covered by M. de Marignac and named gado- 

 linium has been denied by Mr. W. Crookes, who 

 holds that it consists of samaria, with the green- 

 ish blue of yttria and some of the other yttria 

 bands added to it. M. de Marignac has conse- 

 quently subjected gadolinium to a fresh analysis. 

 His conclusion, which is sustained by M. de Bois- 

 baudran, is that, although the impurities are not 

 yet entirely eliminated, gadolinium may still be 

 regarded as a new element. 



Traces of a new element, X, of Mendeleefs 

 eleventh series, are asserted by Dr. Anton Green- 

 wald to be present in the assumed elements tellu- 

 rium, antimony, and copper. The new element 

 is on the one hand related to tellurium, and on 

 the other hand very closely to bismuth. It is 

 probably identical with the element of Group VI, 

 Series 11, and having the approximate atomic 

 weight 212, and also with Dr. B. Brauner's au- 

 striacum recently discovered in tellurium. The 

 author gives the wave length of 16 rays of the 

 new substance observed in the ultra-violet be- 

 tween 2,768-9 and 2,159-7. 



A new compound, containing aluminum in a 

 lower state of oxidation, corresponding to fer- 

 rous iron, has been obtained by Prof. Hampe- 

 Clausthal. It is a double fluoride of sodium and 

 aluminum, 2NaF, AlF a . In appearance it very 

 much resembles cryolite, and must therefore be 

 regarded as sodium aluminous fluoride. 



Cuprous oxide is obtained when cupric oxide 

 is heated to redness. It is found by G. H. Bailey 

 and W. B. Hopkins that a further quantity of 

 oxygen is given off at higher temperatures, and 

 an oxide having the composition Cu 2 is formed. 

 This is insoluble in mineral acids, and even in 

 aqua regia, but can be converted into a soluble 



