Febeuaey 7, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



209 



is meant, as two pages further on an abstract on 

 Calcium Phosphide is printed 'Phosphite,' but 

 these are mere printer's errors ; the book is 

 full of such.) In the directions no reference is 

 made to a filtration or other mode of separation 

 of phosphoric acid formed from the by-pro- 

 duct. The same criticism applies to the next 

 method, ' Phosphoric acid from calcium phos- 

 phate,' though both the original articles mention 

 the modes of separation, and careful attention 

 to details is necessary in a laboratory manual. 



On page 174 is an abstract of an article by E. 

 J. Maumen6, entitled ' Chydrazaine or Protoxide 

 of Ammonia.' The attention of the present 

 writer was attracted by the statement at the 

 end of the abstract, that ' on evaporating 

 Chydrazaine nitrate, nitric acid, nitrogen per- 

 oxide, nitrogen and a compound having the 

 composition N2H2 are evolved.' 



Suprised at finding the long-sought-for dii- 

 mide as a by-product in a preparation for college 

 students, the original article was consulted. 

 Maumene is responsible for diimide and chydra- 

 zaine, and this is not the place to offer any 

 further criticism of his work than to call the 

 attention of the authors to the fact that the 

 existence of chydrazaine has not been confirmed. 

 Maumene uses a solution of potassium perman- 

 ganate and sulphuric acid. He says, 'je les 

 versais doucement dans une dissolution faite a 

 I'avance de 111 grammes ammonium oxalate 

 r6el, c6st a dire 111 x ^=141.2 sel cristallise 

 bien sec; le melange etait fait avec soin dans mon 

 melangeur ; necessaire en pareil cas.' The au- 

 thors abstract this in these words. ' ' A solu- 

 tion of potassium per maganate (158 grams) and 

 sulphuric acid (40 grams SO3) is added to dried 

 crystallized ammonium oxalate (141.2 grams), 

 the whole well mixed." Comment is unneces- 

 sary. 



If this review be deemed harsh, the writer 

 pleads that no one should publish a laboratory 

 manual of preparations without knowing that 

 the preparation of all substances described is 

 not too diflBcult for students, and that the di- 

 rections given are good and clear. By careful 

 revision and excision, the authors can make 

 their manual very valuable, as it contains an 

 abundance of excellent matter. 



E. Renouf. 



A Handbook of Industrial Organic Chemistry. 

 By Samuel P. Sadtlee, Ph. D., F. C. S. 

 2d Edition, revised and enlarged. Philadel- 

 phia, J. B. Lippincott Co. 1895. 8vo., 

 pp. 537. 



That a second edition of this work should be 

 called for within four years after the first ap- 

 peared is evidence that the book has met gen- 

 eral approval and satisfies the requirements it 

 was intended to fill. The dearth of works of 

 this class in the English language has been felt 

 by instructors of technical chemistry for a long 

 time, and consequently this volume, enlarged 

 and improved and brought up to date, will be 

 received with pleasure by every teacher of the 

 subject. The chemical manufacturer and gen- 

 eral reader will also find this an excellent work, 

 neither too brief in its treatment of the several 

 subjects, nor too abstruse in dealing with the 

 minor details of processes or apparatus, and hap- 

 pily within the reach of modest pocket books. 

 There is no change in the manner or order of 

 treatment of the various industries from that 

 adopted in the first edition, but numerous addi- 

 tions and corrections have been made in the 

 text. The bibliographical lists at the close o' 

 the several chapters have been entirely revised, 

 added to and brought up to the present time. 

 This feature of the book is one of its most valu- 

 able points, since it places at the disposal of the 

 reader a very complete list of works on any of 

 these industries, should he desire more detailed 

 accounts of processes or apparatus, thus saving 

 him hours of laborious search through library or 

 publishers' catalogues. 



The numerous tables of statistics have been 

 corrected and increased with the latest data 

 obtainable and add much to the value of the 

 book. In the appendix new tables showing the 

 chemical and physical constants of oils, fats 

 and waxes have been added. 



The schematic tables of the various processes, 

 scattered through the book are a great assist- 

 ance to the reader, by showing at a glance the 

 connections between different parts of the pro- 

 cesses and also aiding to refresh the memory in 

 reviewing the work. 



The subjects treated are briefly : Petroleum 

 and Mineral Oils, Fats and Fatty Oils, Essential 

 Oils, Resins, Cane Sugar Industry, Starch and 



