218 Scientific Intelligence. 



flames, consi stion of the natur 



emitting materia] in luminous hydrocarbon flames, and conclude- 

 that it is really solid incandescent particles of carbon. The 

 proofs he offers are: ] st, the increased lumii. 



gives to weakly luminous or non-luminous flames*, due to its well- 

 known property of separating the carbon as such. 2d, a rod held 

 in a flame is smoked only on the lower side, the side opposed to 

 the gas stream ; were the carbou there as vapor, as Frankland 

 assumes, it would be condensed by a cooling action and so all 

 around the rod. :;d, a body held in the flame is smoked even 

 when it is in a state of ignition ; this therefore cannot be con- 

 densation of a vapor. 4th, these particles can be actually seen in 

 the flame when it is made- to strike against a second flame or an 

 ignited surface, these particles aggregating together to form vis- 

 ible mas-es. 5th. the luminous portion of a flame is not very 

 transparent, no more so than the layer of smoke of the same thick- 

 iies- winch rises above a flame fed with turpentine. And t.th, 

 : , unquestionably , rA ,. their luminosity to the presence 

 of solid particles give a shadow with sunlight," precisely as do 

 hydrocarbon names; while luminous Humes composed of' ignited 

 gases and vapors only, uive no such shadow in sunlight, — Litl>'n/s 

 Anna/en, clxxxiv, 200, Dec. 1876. G. F. b. 



5. Al-ohol from f/n Lt o /v.s of th, 



that the sugar found in the beet-re 

 lea\ es, has examine 1 these lea\ • s 

 to the difficulty of preparing tin 

 juice expressed f 

 alcohol obtained, estimated the quantity of smgar. The leaves 

 employed were collected in November." and weighed 158 kilo- 

 grams. They yielded 34 to 35 liters of juice, which after 

 gave 275 cubic centimeters of alcohol of 68 per 



6. On the ]>.Uctl, llt () f onlhoiry Alrohol 

 Bkktiiklot gives the following simple method 

 presence ,.f ethyl alrohol in wood-spirit. The suspected mixture 

 is heated with tuiee it. s,du,ue ,,f <-i >n«-. -n- rated sulphuric acid. 

 and the gases evolved collected. If they consist solely of methyl 

 fth'-r. tin y will i e entirely absorbed bv water or by concentrated 

 ■id; but if alcohol be present, ethylene "will be formed 

 which is insoluble in these menstrua under these conditions while 

 it i< ai-orhed by bromine. S«, small a quantity as one or two 

 per cent of alcohol mav be recognized in this way. Acetone and 

 " Ti ' -mu ii ' dies present ii u ood-pirit. yield no ethylene.— 

 Ann. C/iiou Phys., V, ix, 54, Sept. 1876. " g. f. b. 



.. s : ,>,the*>s of AI!f tl ,t»;n.—liiintxvx, having observed that 

 A m reacting upon urea generated a substance p* nivile 

 S H 8^A, homologous with alia ,at its homo- 



logue, glyoxylic acid, by the same Id allantoin 



