4/2 



NA TURE 



[JUNE 17, iqcQ 



purine; iiliyl elhr-r. The vapours of the nicohul were 

 passed ihrou^'h a tube containing gently ignited precipitated 

 alumina at a temperature not exceeding atjo" C. Quanti- 

 tative yields of ethyl ether in a high state of purity were 

 obtained. Above 21)0° the ether itself was dehydrated, with 

 formation of ethylene. In the case of me'lhvl alcohol, 

 methyl ether was formed even at higher temperatures. 



On .Monday afternoon a joint meeting of the section of 

 organic chemistry with the section for colouring matters 

 was held for the discussion of fluorescence and colour in 

 relation to chemical constitution. Dr. Kauffmann advo- 

 cated an extension of the " auxochrome " theorv to account 

 for fluorescence. Analogous terni.s, such as " fluorogen," 

 " fluorophore," " luminophore, " " luminogen," were 

 suggested. Contributions to this theory were adduced by 

 Dr. Ley. A theory of selective absorption as conditioned 

 by conjugate linkage was advanced by Dr. Hewitt. This 

 theory is founded on considerations of the atomic attrac- 

 tions produced by changes in dynamic conditions. W'iih 

 increase in the number of conjugated double linkages in 

 a chain the oscillation frequency is diminished, although 

 the atomic forces involved in the dynamic change are not 

 increased in proportion to the number of double linkages. 

 Other contributions to the theory of colour were introduced 

 by Prof. Green, Dr. Morgan, aiid Dr. .Mascarelli. 



On Tuesday morning, June i, papers on miscellaneous 

 subjects were communicated to the section of organic 

 chemistry. Dr. V.. Biilmann stated that only two stereo- 

 isomers of cinnamic acid were known, namelv[ the ordinary 

 variety .-jnd an iso-acid, which, however, is trimorphous. 

 The ordinary variety was shown to be fumaroid, while 

 the iso-acid was the maleinoid form. Description of the 

 refractometric determination of the solubility of ethyl ether 

 in water was given by Mr. Y. Osaka, and the existence 

 of gaseous compounds of carbon and nitrogen other than 

 cyanogen w^as discussed by M. A. P. I.idofT, who asserted 

 the probability of the existence of a gas " oxan," CNO. 

 In the afternoon of the same day the contributions dealt 

 with compounds of therapeutic interest. Dr. Power gave 

 a striking account of his exhaustive researches on the 

 composition of ialap, and showed that the products obtained 

 from jalap resin are all mixtures of indefinite constitution. 

 M. \. Ciuyot described several new syntheses of vanillin. 

 depending on the condensation of aromatic compounds 

 with esters of ketonic acids, such as mesoxalic acid, with 

 formation of the corresponding carbinols. The relations 

 between physiological action and constitution of certain 

 series of compounds were discussed by Dr. Jowett, who 

 pointed out the uncertainty of predictions as to the effect 

 on the human organism. M. F. Garelli gave an account 

 of the production of soaps by the interaction of fats, 

 sodium chloride, and ammonia] which, if practicable on 

 a commercial scale, may prove to be of great industrial 

 importance. 



A large number of papers were contributed to the 

 section for colouring matters, and many were discussed 

 at length by the meetings. The dyeing 'effect of dyes in 

 aqueous solution upon inorganic matters, such as sand was 

 described by Mr. Dreaper. It was shown that basic' dyes 

 were absorbed to a greater extent than acid dves, while 

 the addition of salt caused a considerable incre.ise' in the 

 dyeing action. The decolorising action of various forms 

 of charcoal was discussed by Prof. Knecht, who pointed 

 Out that ihe absorptive power depended entirely upon the 

 amoimt of organic in. purity present in the charcoal, and 

 that the purer the sample the less absorbent action is 

 observed. The samo author, in a joint paper with Mr. 

 Batey, adduced evidence, based upon conductivity and 

 ebullioscopic determinations, to prove that certain dye- 

 stuflfs do_ not behave as colloids in aqueous solution. 

 M. r,. Vignon gave an account of his experiments in 

 relation to the theory of dyeing. The conclusions drawn 

 were that the fabric behaves as a porous body endowed 

 with chemical properties : that the ionised dyes are fixed 

 in the fabric by chemical action ; while the insoluble dve- 

 stufl's in water behave as colloids, and are fixed by 

 mole-ular attraction. A description of the various and 

 important uses of formaldehyde sodium bisulphite in the 

 dyeing industry was furnished bv MM. Baumann and 

 Ihesmar. .M. T. Valette discussed the influence of the 

 various bleaching and fat-removing agents upon the dye- 

 NO. 2068, VOL. 80] 



ing properties of wool, and stated that of all such agents 

 lime gave the most satisfactory results, while chlorine 

 gave good results, but weakenid the fabric. .An account 

 of the chemistry of aniline black was given by Prof, 

 (jreen, in whiih he described his process of oxidation of 

 aniline by atmospheric oxygen by the catalytic influence 

 of a paradiamine associated with a copper salt. .An 

 explanation of the formation of hydrocyanic acid during 

 the oxidation of aromatic nitro-compounds by ammonium 

 persulphate w.is communicated by .MM. Seyewitz and 

 Poizat. Dr. Cain described a method of acetylation 0/ 

 diamines of the benzidine type in cold alcoholic solution, 

 by which monoacetyl derivatives could be prepared in good 

 yield. Th<> same author described new dyeslufls of the 

 methylene-blue type derived from paranilrosomethyl- 

 ethylaniline. Mr. (i. .A. Prochazka stated that the receni 

 legislation in the I'nited States permitting the use of duty- 

 frif alcohol for the inanuf.icture of coal-t.ar dyes has been 

 rendiTi'd valueless owing to the unreasonable regulations 

 of the Inland Revenue. 



In the section for physiological chemistry the sectional 

 mi'eliiigs were held on .Saturday, May zq, at L'niversity 

 College, for the purpose of demonstrations. Two papers 

 on colloids were included in this section, both of which 

 were of considerable importance, namely, that of Dr. 

 W. B. Hardy, who discussed the source of the electric 

 charge on colloidal particles, and that of Dr. \V. M. 

 Hayliss, who dealt with the general prop<Tties of colloids 

 as exhibited by certain dyesluffs. Dr. II. Bcchold also 

 considered the nature of colloids from a physiological point 

 of view. The part played by adsorption in the mechanisms 

 of the animal organism was described by Prof. H. 

 Freundlich. Prof. Hans Meyer discussed the pharmaco- 

 logical action of the lipoids. 



The use of a 15 per cent, to 25 per cent, solution of 

 hydrofluoric acid at 100" C. was recommended by Dr. L. 

 Ilugounenq for the hydrolysis of proteins. Less oxidation 

 and humic decomposition was observed in the employment 

 of this reagent than in the hydrolysis by means of 25 per 

 cent, sulphuric or hydrochloric acid. Moreover, by this 

 method certain natural polypeptides of considerable 

 importance were detected among the products of hydro- 

 lysis. .A monograph on nucleic acid was contributed bv 

 Dr. H. Steudcl. 



In the sirtion for agricultural chemistry the chief sub- 

 ject of discussion was the employment of artificial nitro- 

 genous manures. .A paper on the employment of cultures 

 of leguminous b.acteria was communicated by Dr. H. 

 von Feilit/.en, of the .Swedish Society for the Cultivation 

 of Peat Land. It was stated that cultures such as 

 " nitragin " and " nitro-bactcrine " produced absolutely 

 no effect, and that Ihe only certain method is inoculation 

 with naturally favourable soils. .M. M. .A. Vivien showed 

 that the loss of nitrogen from dung-hills is accelerated by 

 the presence of inorganic substances such as sodium 

 nitrate and ralcium carbonate. The reactions of dicyandi- 

 amide were sl.ited by Prof. Prianichnikow to indicate that 

 it may be regarded as cyanoguanidinc. 



In the section for hygiene several papers upon the 

 sterilisation of drinking-water were communicated. The 

 majority of these dealt with the action of ozone, which 

 appears to have a considerable germicidal action, and can 

 be utilised at no great expense. Papers on the purification 

 of sewage were contributed by Dr. W. E. .Adeney, \Ir. 

 J. H. Johnston, and M. J. Begault. In reference to 

 lead poisoning, a communication from Mr. K. Goadby and 

 Dr. F. \V. Goodbody proved that by far the greater. por- 

 tion of the lead pri'sent in the system of operatives suffer- 

 ing from lead poisoning enters by the lungs. The con- 

 dition of the p.itii'nt is considerably aggravated by the 

 inclusion of alcohol in the diet. The experiments described 

 in Ihe paper were carried out on cats. 



In the section for physical and electrochemistry the most 

 striking event was a lecture and demonstration by Prof. 

 Bernthsen on the oxidation of atmospheric nitrogen by the 

 flaming electric arc, with formation of nitrogen peroxide, 

 followed by an account of the process for the manuf.acture 

 of calcium cyanamide by Prof. Caro. Since the forma- 

 tion of calcium cyan.imide is an exothermic reaction, much 

 less power is required than for the oxidation of nitrogen. 

 From this substance ammonia can be 4)roduccd, which can 



