1888-89.] ii5 



preparation of acetic acid from its elements. Since then nume- 

 rous other discoveries have been made in synthetic organic 

 chemistry. That of Alizarine is the one which has had the 

 greatest effect upon our arts and manufactures, having revo- 

 lutionised the trade of Turkey red dyeing, and having seriously 

 interfered with the cultivation of madder. It has been stated 

 that the same works and machinery can with these modern 

 dyes turn out 50 to 70 per cent, more printed calico than could 

 have been done in the old madder dyeing days. Unfortu- 

 nately, the production of Alizarine is restricted by the quantity 

 of anthracene procurable from coal tar. It is found that from 

 the distillation of two thousand tons of coal tar, only one ton of 

 anthracene is obtained, and from this substance, by a complex 

 treatment, Alizarine is produced. Indigo has also been formed 

 synthetically, but I believe that as yet the process has not been 

 accomplished with the commercial success which has attended 

 the production of Alizarine. When we consider the complex 

 processes by which these substances are formed in the labora- 

 tory, and their formation by vital force in plants, we may, to 

 use Dr. Schunk's words, say — " We stand confounded at the 

 simplicity of the apparatus employed by the plant, and are 

 obliged to confess we have no conception of the means whereby 

 the end is attained." Synthetic organic chemistry has resulted 

 in the production of numerous compounds, and an alkaloid 

 hitherto found in hemlock has been so prepared, and we may 

 reasonably hope that the artificial manufacture of such alka- 

 loids as quinine will be accomplished. In 1883, Knorr, of 

 Erlangen, obtained from aniline a new alkaloid named Anti- 

 pyrine, which has proved a potent remedy for sea-sickness. 



Recent investigations with coal tar derivatives have resulted 

 in the formation of that peculiar substance, saccharine, possess- 

 ing 250 times the sweetening power of sugar. This is now 

 manufactured in Germany on a commercial basis, and we are 

 led to believe that it may usefully take its place as a substitute 

 for sugar in certain diseases where the use of that substance in 

 food is attended with injurious results, as Saccharine is not fer- 



