lead to errors. When abundant quantities of oil are used it may 

 happen that the products of combustion carry along a small quantity 

 of uncombusted hydrocyanic acid, and the latter is absorbed by the 

 water present on the internal walls of the beaker. When the silver 

 nitrate test is carried out, cloudiness will, under these conditions, occur 

 even with pure oils, which cloudiness, however, is not caused by silver 

 chloride, but by silver cyanide. We have repeatedly succeeded in 

 detecting the hydrocyanic acid in such cases also by the Prussian 

 blue reaction. 



Contrary to silver chloride, the opalescence or cloudiness produced 

 by silver cyanide disappears when the liquid is heated nearly up to 

 boiling point, and a clear solution is obtained, whilst under the same 

 conditions the cloudiness due to silver chloride remains. By these 

 means we have succeeded in almost every case in differ entiating the 

 two compounds. 



In order to avoid such errors, it cannot be too strongly recom- 

 mended not to let the result of the examination depend upon only 

 one single reaction, but to carry out a whole series of tests, — if 

 need be alternately with a pure oil — and only from these draw a 

 final conclusion. As the above-mentioned drawback does not by any 

 means occur in every case, the total result will certainly not suffer 

 in this manner. 



It is further an advantage to proceed in this way 1 ), that a piece 

 of filterpaper, not too large (say about 2 X 2 1 / 2 inches), folded in 

 the manner of a pipe-light, is saturated with the oil, the excess of 

 the latter thrown off by shaking the paper twice with the hand, the 

 paper placed on a small porcelain dish and ignited, then immediately 

 covered over with the beaker moistened on the inside, and the beaker 

 left in that position for another minute after the flame is extinguished. 

 The beaker is rinsed with 10 cc. water. In this manner we have 

 always obtained reliable results, and we can therefore recommend the 

 above-described method of working. 



Almond Oil, pressed (from apricot>kernels). The apricot 

 harvest in Syria in 1902 was a failure, though not to such an extent 

 as in 1 90 1. In consequence of the small stocks at the principal markets, 

 the 1903 fruit was bought at comparatively high prices, which would 

 probably have been driven up still higher if the Californian kernels 

 had not prevented this. 



The total production of Syria in the year 1903 is estimated at 

 4000 to 5000 bales. An interesting fact appearing in the report of the 

 German Consulate at Damascus is, that whereas previously France was 



1 ) For details compare also Gildemeister and Hoffmann, "The Volatile 

 Oils", p. 440. 



