INDIGO, ARTIFICIAL PRODUCTION OF. INSANITY A DEFENSE FOR CRIME. 429 



thylic ether of the ortho acid is saponified with 

 dilute soda lye, thus being converted into me- 

 thylic alcohol and the soda salt of the acid, 

 from which salt the acid is set free by substi- 

 tution of another acid. The acid, when dried, 

 is converted into dibromo-ortho-nitro-cinnamic 

 acid by the absorption of liquid or gaseous bro- 

 mine. The bromine is then released by an 

 alkali taking with it two atoms of hydrogen to 

 form hydrobroraic acid. The abstraction of 

 the hydrogen converts the nitro-cinnamic acid 

 into a new substance, which is nitro-phenyl- 

 propriolic acid. 



The recovery of the expensive chemical mate- 

 rials used, such as methylic alcohol and bro- 

 mine, necessitates a large outlay for apparatus 

 and labor. Like all such complicated chemical 

 processes, when carried out on an industrial 

 scale, it is exceedingly difficult to obtain the 

 materials in a state of purity and to prevent 

 the reactions from being accompanied by sec- 

 ondary reactions, which spoil the product. 

 Toluole is always accompanied by the homo- 

 logues xylol and cumol, and in nitrating and 

 bromiding substitution products will be formed 

 instead of the isomer desired, unless expensive 

 methods of purification are resorted to. At tho 

 present stage of the new industry it is impos- 

 sible to produce indigo by the artificial process 

 to compete in price with the natural indigo. 

 Ortho-nitro-phenyl-propriolic acid yields true 

 indigo ; this can be converted into indigo car- 

 mine, and acts iu all respects like the natural dye, 

 while the color is handsomer than that of the 

 best Bengal indigo. It is possible that, among 

 the numerous combinations which may be made, 

 some other body may be discovered which will 

 possess as valuable coloring properties as in- 

 digo, and whose production will be attended 

 with fewer difficulties. Meanwhile, the arti- 

 ficial production of the nitro-phenyl-propriolic 

 acid, notwithstanding its expensiveness, is es- 

 tablished on a firm commercial basis because 

 of a valuable adaptation which makes it more 

 desirable to the calico-printer than natural in- 

 digo. Indigo can be prepared for direct print- 

 ing on calico by an expensive process which 

 was known to but few. Most calico-printers 

 resorted to the still more troublesome method 

 of dyeing the goods in the indigo-vat and then 

 biting out the spots which were to be printed 

 in other colors. The discovery of the new 

 compound from which indigo can be easily de- 

 veloped does away with all this labor. The 

 nitro-phenyl-propriolic acid is mixed into a 

 paste, with which the figures are printed upon 

 the calico. It is converted into indigo-blue by 

 the abstraction of one of the atoms of oxygen, 

 differing from reduced indigo, or indigo-white, 

 which is reconverted by the absorption of an 

 oxygen-atom. The deepest shades can be pro- 

 duced from the new material either by mixing 

 it with the reducing agent, or preferably by 

 impregnating the fabric with the reducing 

 agent, before printing. The reducing agents 

 first used were grape and milk sugars. Heat 



was required with these to develop the color, 

 and great difficulty was experienced in regu- 

 lating the temperature and time of exposure. 

 Xanthogenate of potassium is now employed, 

 with which the color develops spontaneously 

 in the cold in from twelve to twenty-four hours. 

 By first impregnating the fabric with the re- 

 ducing agent the color develops in the fiber, 

 whereas if it is mixed with the printing mate- 

 rial the color forms too rapidly. The reduc- 

 ing agents act only in alkaline solutions ; but 

 the weaker the alkali the more perfect the 

 color, so that alkaline salts, like borax, are 

 preferred. A disadvantage of the new mate- 

 rial, which may yet be overcome, is that the 

 color can not be developed by superheated 

 steam ; hence, it is impossible to use it in con- 

 junction with the steam dyes. 



INSANITY AS A DEFENSE FOR CRIME. 

 The shooting of President Garfield, and the de- 

 fense set up in behalf of the assassin, occasioned 

 a fresh discussion of the relations of insanity 

 to crime, the validity of the plea of insanity as 

 a defense in murder cases, and the measure of 

 evidence required to establish it. This was not 

 only made the subject of general discussion, 

 but received an unusual degree of attention as 

 a matter for judicial interpretation. (For vari- 

 ous expert opinions, and the application of legal 

 principles in Guiteau's case, the reader is re- 

 ferred to the article in this volume on Gui- 

 TEATT'S TRIAL.) 



The discussion has turned largely upon ques- 

 tions as to what really constitutes insanity, 

 how far its various phases destroy responsibil- 

 ity in those affected by it, whether the insane 

 of various classes should be held amenable to 

 punishment for their acts, and what are the 

 legal requirements as to proof when a plea of 

 insanity is set up. Dr. E. C. Seguin defines 

 six categories of persons subject to mental 

 aberration, who are liable to commit crimes 

 during its continuance. First are those liable 

 to attacks of epilepsy. The epileptic conditions 

 are usually of short duration, and accompa- 

 nied by hallucinations of sight and hearing, 

 and followed by complete amnesia, the patient 

 having no recollection of what he has said or 

 done during the attack. Second are cases of 

 transitory mania or fury, in which the patient 

 acts upon an irresistible impulse. Dr. Seguin 

 considers genuine cases of this class as exceed- 

 ingly rare, and says that it covers many in- 

 stances of " sham " insanity, pleaded in de- 

 fense of crime. In tho third class are those 

 who commit criminal acts in the course of 

 simple functional insanity, as mania and mel- 

 ancholia, under the influence of hallucinations 

 and delusions. These persons believe firmly 

 in the state of things presented in their delu- 

 sions, and act upon it without any ability to 

 reason upon the consequences. They simply 

 act in accordance with the unreal conditions 

 which to them seem real. The fourth cate- 

 gory includes those who are at first subject to 

 very little general intellectual disorder, but 



