OBSERYER AND RECORD 



OP AGRICULTURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. 



EDITED BY D. PEIRCE. 



No. 1 1 ] 



Philadelphia, Monday, Augusts, I83». 



[Vol. I, 



The object of this paper is to concentrate and preserve, in a form suitable for future 

 reference, the most useful and interesting articles on the aforesaid subjects. Each 

 number will contain sixteen octavo pages, printed on good paper, and when a suffi- 

 cient amount is published to form a volume of convenient size, an alphabetical table 

 of contents will be published and forwarded to subscribers, in order for binding. 

 This number, shows the general plan of the work. 



Published monthly, for one dollar a year, payable in advance; six copies to the 

 same address for five dollars. Q^ Letters may be addressed to the Editor, in every 

 instance post paid, No. 71 N. Fourth street, care of T. E. Chapman. 



Subscr7ptio7is receivedat T. E. Chapman's Bookstore, 7i JK^. Fourthst. — andby W. J Welding, 17 South Fifth at. 



M. COZZI S METHOD OF OBTAINING 

 CREOSOTE. 



A quantity of tar is to be placed in an 

 alembic, and heated; the products of the 

 distillation to be collected in a cylindri- 

 cal vessel half filled with water. 



These products consist of acetic acid, 

 eupione, parufine, and at the last, creo- 

 sote, which is recognised by its specific 

 gravity being greater than that of the 

 water. 



The impure creosote is to be separated 

 from the other products, which are 

 lighter, by means of a syphon, and sul- 

 phuric acid diluted with half its weight 

 of water is to be added to it when sepa- 

 rated; the creosote now occupies the sur- 

 face of this liquid, which is heavier. 

 This mixture is to be heated and having 

 been caused to pass through a boiling 

 mixture of acid and water, is to be collected 

 and placed in a wide mouthed bottle, 

 which is to be one-third full. It is to 

 be left thus exposed to the contact of the 

 air for three days, the air being frequently 

 changed by opening the bottle. 



This product, composed in great part 

 of creosote as experiment will prove, 

 when distilled a second time in a retort, 

 heated by means of the flame of alcohol, 

 will give a reddish colored product. 

 This product will, by three repetitions 

 of this process, afibrd creosote as limpid 

 as water, of an oleaginous consistence, 

 strongly refracting light of a specific gra- 

 vity of 1.007, and boiling at 205° R. 

 The creosote obtained by the method 

 11 



of M. Cozzi, has a peculiar odor and 

 burning taste; it coagulates albumen, has 

 no action upon the paper of turnsol, or 

 upon turmeric paper; it is soluble in 

 water; in acetic acid, and in alcohol; 100 

 parts of water at 20° dissolves a quarter 

 part. 



M. Cozzi has proven that this process 

 is economical, and that as much creosote 

 as would cost eighteen francs, by another 

 method, may be obtained for 13.50 fr. 

 by this method. 



M. Cozzi says that creosote may be 

 used: 1. To preserve animal aliments, 

 and to prevent the putrefaction of dead 

 bodies of men and animals. 2. To dis- 

 solve caoutchouc, gumlac, mastic, turpen- 

 tine, copal, amber, and other resins, and 

 to form with these solutions, coverings 

 which do not crack, and varnishes which 

 have a brilliancy not to be obtained by 

 the use of alcohol and the volatile oils. 

 3. To dissolve coloring matters and fur- 

 nish solutions which may be used in 

 dying. 



He has already used creosote for the 

 preservation of wood; the experiments 

 on this point have been submitted to the 

 Society for the Encouragement of the 

 Useful Arts. 



Journ. cle Chim. Med. 



A VALUABLE GREEN COLOR EXTRACTED 

 FROM COFFEE BERRIES. 



An unchangeable emerald green color 

 is obtained as follows: a certain quantity 

 of coffee is boiled in river water; spoiled 



