228 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. LIV. No. 1393 



circuiting. If, however, the precipitator is op- 

 erated at a temperature near the boiling point of 

 water a certain amount of oil and water is pre- 

 cipitated with the pitch so that a thin liquid is pre- 

 cipitated which does not cause short circuiting. 

 By the application of the precipitator in this way 

 it is hoped to be able to provide a pyroligneous 

 acid direct from the condenser in sufficient purity 

 so that it will not have to be redistilled to remove 

 the tar. 



Alcoliol and chemical industries: J. M. Doran. 

 The present and future development of our chem- 

 ical industries, notably our dye industry, is inti- 

 mately bound up with our alcohol industry. The 

 eighteenth amendment to the Constitution and the 

 Volstead Act affect this key industry far more 

 vitally than the average chemist is aware. Title 

 III. of the National Prohibition Act accords spe- 

 cial treatment under the law to industrial alcohol 

 but overshadowing all are the prohibition features 

 of Title II. of the same act wherein alcohol is de- 

 fined as intoxicating liquor and subject to the re- 

 strictions surrounding intoxicating liquor. In order 

 to free the alcohol industry and dependent and 

 allied chemical industries from the strangling 

 rules surrounding liquor under which no industry 

 can prosper, it is of utmost importance that alcohol 

 be divested of its beverage character. The handling 

 and use of pure alcohol in any industry is now a 

 liability rather than an asset. Under the denatur- 

 ing provisions of the National Prohibition Act it 

 is possible both to enforce prohibition and assure 

 the healthy development of industrial alcohol. The 

 solution of this problem is essential if we are to 

 have a healthy chemical industry. 



Tlie caustic calcination cf dolomite and its use 

 in sorrel cements: G. A. Bole and J. B. Shaw. 

 Magnesium limestones can not be burned success- 

 fully by present methods as the calcium carbonate 

 gives rise to free lime which is detrimental to the 

 sorrel reaction. The pressure of carbon dioxide 

 may be so regulated as to prevent the liberation of 

 free lime. An oxide produced at 700 to 750° C. 

 is superior to that burned at any other temperature- 

 data given. All dolomites do not act alike in cal- 

 cining but some dissociate at a much lower tem- 

 perature than others. The conclusion is drawn 

 that when properly burned, i.e., temperature and 

 pressure controlled, some dolomites, but not all, 

 will produce an oxide well suited for stucco mixes. 

 Valuation of oil-tearing seeds ty free fatty add 

 of the oil: Lehman Johnson. The petrolic ether 

 extract from 16 grams of cotton seed thoroughly 



dried at 103° C. was titrated for free fatty acid 

 and found to bear a true relation to the free fatty 

 acid of the hydraulieally expressed oil. This test 

 will serve to determine the quality and proximate 

 refining loss where the alkaline method of refining 

 is to be employed on the oil. It is suggested as a 

 more scientific and fairer method of valuing cotton 

 seed than the ' ' out and count ' ' of damaged seed 

 method now in use. It is probably applicable to 

 other oil-bearing seeds. 



Tlie detection of carton monoxide: C. E. Hoovek. 

 Carbon monoxide reacts at ordinary temperature 

 with mixtures of iodine pentoxide and fuming sul- 

 furic acid to give carbon dioxide and iodine or 

 compounds of oxides of iodine and sulfur. With 

 excess of sulfur trioxide colors are obtained vary- 

 ing with the concentration of carbon monoxide 

 from pale green to dark brown. This reaction has 

 been applied to the detection of carbon monoxide 

 and other reducing gases. In the laboratory 

 simple apparatus enables one to determine carbon 

 monoxide quantitatively when present in amounts 

 varying from .01 per cent, to 1 per cent. Two 

 simple portable devices have been constructed by 

 means of which an approximate quantitative de- 

 termination of carbon monoxide from .03 per cent, 

 to 1 per cent, can be carried out in thirty seconds. 



Microscopic illumination toith reference to Brown- 

 ian movement and combination lightning : A. Sil- 

 verman. Brownian movement can be studied 

 against a black background by direct illumination 

 from a ring lamp surrounding the objective. This 

 results in a marked contrast and gives unusual 

 definition to the particles. Second, the use of 

 combination lighting from the ring lamp for opaque 

 objects imbedded in transparent media results in 

 the desired contrast between the object and me- 

 dium and shows the details of the object itself by 

 the reflected light. This is accomplished by placing 

 the concave mirror parallel to the stage of the 

 microscope so that the light travels through the 

 transparent medium to the substage reflector and 

 is sent up again to produce the contrast. The de- 

 tails in the opaque object are obtained by the 

 direct light from above. 



The relation of structures to free alkali in 

 sodium silicate solutions: Willi.am Stericker. 

 Although the general opinion is that solutions of 

 sodium silicate contain large quantities of free 

 alkali, they probably do not. The misconception 

 is due to a lack of a satisfactory method for the 

 determination of the degree of hydrolysis. Ultra- 

 microscopic examination proves that sodium silicate 



