386 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION. 



September,. 



RECENT PROGRESS IN DENDRO-CHEMISTRY. 



REVIEW OF RECENT ARTICI.ES IN LEADING CHEMICAL JOURNALvS. 



By William H. Krug, 



Bureau of Chemistry, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



CONCERNING Benzoin. E. Knoe- 

 venagel and J. Arndts (Ber. 

 deutsch. Chem. Ges., 35, 1982). A 

 study of the action of alkalies on gum 

 benzoin. The authors find that when 

 benzoin is digested with a 60 to 80 per 

 cent solution of an alkali in a closed 

 vessel as much as 40 per cent of the 

 gum is converted into benzyl alcohol 

 and benzoic acid w^hen the alcohol is 

 removed by means of water vapor. 

 Prolonged action both at low and high 

 temperatures produces toluylene hy- 

 drate, hydro-benzoin, and a body hav- 

 ing the formula CigHj^O^,. 



Sucrose in the Seeds of Gingko biloba 

 and Camellia Iheifera. U.Suzuki (Bull. 

 Coll. Agr. Tokio, 4, 350). The seed 

 of Gingko biloba contain almost 6 per 

 cent soluble sugars, chiefly sucrose, 

 while those of Camellia tlieifera were 

 found to contain 5 per cent. 



The Volatile Oil of the Wood of Oyp- 

 tomeria Japonica. C. Kimoto (Bull. 

 Coll. Agr. Tokio, 4, 403). The wood, 

 which has an odor resembling pepper- 

 mint and is used in the manufacture of 

 sake-casks so as to impart a certain 

 aroma to the beverage, contains an 

 ethereal oil which the author isolated 

 by distillation with steam and purified 

 by fractionation. The fraction possess- 

 ing the most pleasant odor was obtained 

 between 260 and 270 C, and had the 

 elementary formula C,H^g. The au- 

 thor supposes that this fraction resem- 

 bles camphor and suggests the name 

 sugiol. It is a neutral oil, almost in- 

 soluble in water, soluble in alcohol, 

 ether, and chloroform, B. P. = 264, 



Kaki-Shibu. M. Tsukamoto (Bull. 

 Coll. Agr. Tokio, 4, 329). The juice 

 of the unripe fruit of the kaki tree, 

 Diospyros kaki, L, is used in Japan for 

 the impregnation of fish nets and wrap- 



ping papers and renders these more 

 durable. Author finds the value of this 

 juice to depend on a peculiar tannin in- 

 soluble in water and alcohol and soluble 

 in dilute acids. It becomes insoluble as- 

 soon as the volatile acids present in the 

 juice are removed by evaporation, and 

 thus forms a thin coating which protects 

 the material. 



Constituents of the Flowers of the 

 Coffee Tree. E. Graf (Ztsch. oeffentl. 

 Chem. 8 (1892), 148). The flowers 

 were obtained from trees twenty years- 

 old growing in Reunion. They were 

 yellowish brown, had an intensely bit- 

 ter taste, and were found to contain 

 caffeine (0.92 per cent), phytosterol, a 

 reducing sugar, and probably caffetannic 

 acid. 



Transmigration in Woody Plants. 

 G. Andre (Compt. rend., 134, 15 14). 

 A study of the variations occurring in 

 the organic and inorganic constituents- 

 during the development of the branches 

 and leaves of the horse-chestnut. The 

 investigation covered the period em- 

 braced by the completion of the length 

 growth and the falling of the leaves. 



The Detection of Ground Wood in 

 Chemical Pulp. J. Hertkorn (Chem. 

 Ztg. , 26, 632). The reaction given by 

 Kaiser (Chem. Ztg., 26, 335) is more 

 or less common to all alkyl-sulphuric- 

 acids and aromatic sulphonic acids. 

 The latter especially, from benzol on 

 and inclusive of anthracene oil, give in- 

 tense colorations with ground wood, 

 while chemical pulp and Swedish filter 

 paper in most cases are not colored. 

 The blue or red color is more intense 

 the more concentrated the reagent. The 

 most intense color is obtained when the 

 reagent is prepared by heating the 

 hydrocarbon with the sulphuric acid 

 until sulphurous acid is formed. In 

 this ca.se a slight color is obtained with- 



