88 Report of Schimmel § Co. April/October 1917. 



1.9 cm. diameter and in point of fact determined the melting point by the following 

 methods: — 



1. According to the thermometer-bulb method. 



The thermometer is cooled down to zero and is than quickly dipped into liquid 

 anethole of 12°, with the object of forming a coating and to enable the anethole to melt 

 at a temperature of about 16°. Under these conditions, he found the melting point to 

 be about 15.7 to 15.9°. 



2. According to the opacity method. 



One places the anethole, previously cooled down to +9°, in a water-bath of 14° 

 and raises the temperature every quarter of an hour by 1° while stirring the anethole 

 and water continually at the same time. The temperature at which the liquid becomes 

 quite opaque is then the melting point of anethole. By this means, Meldrum observed 

 a melting point of 17°. 



He determined the congelation-point by stirring continually in an air-bath of 8 to 12° 

 and by this means observed an average value of 15.36° (greatest divergence 0.6°). 



Occasionally, anethole congeals suddenly at 10°, at other times, however, only 

 after having been stirred for 10 minutes; this depends on the temperature at which 

 the solid anethole was liquefied. If the thermometer and the anethole have been heated 

 up to 20° for 10 minutes, all the little crystals floating in the liquid have had time 

 to dissolve, and in consequence the liquid must be cooled down to a considerable 

 extent to enable it to become solid again. On the other hand, anethole which has 

 been liquefied at 17° only congeals at a higher temperature owing to the presence 

 of very finely divided solid particles. The higher the temperature of liquefaction was, 

 the more the liquid must be cooled down. In making the determination on the water- 

 bath, while stirring continually, Meldrum found a congelation-point of 13.8 to 14.7°, 

 on an average 14.1° (divergence 1.2°). The magnitude of the divergence depends on 

 the temperature of the air and water-bath, as is apparent from a table also issued in 

 this paper. Withal, the anethole had been liquefied at a temperature above 18°; if 

 the liquefaction took place at a temperature of 17°, it congealed at about 15.5° 

 (divergence 0.5°). In these last experiments, traces of finely-divided solid substance 

 were present in the liquid. 



Hereupon the anethole was liquefied until about 2 per cent, remained solid and 

 then the mass was stirred in an air bath, whereby the congelation point of 14.7° was 

 observed (deviation 0.6°). 



In making the determination . in a tube of about 2.5 cm. diameter, the congelation 

 point was 14.7° (deviation 0.2°), on using a larger quantity (200 g.) of anethole 14.7°. 

 Even after heating for 20 minutes at 110°, the congelation point of anethole was not 

 modified. 



Anethole which had remained for 5 months in sealed glass vessels and had been 

 exposed to light at ordinary room temperature became solid at about 5.5°. 



We have only reported these observations of Meldrum in order to show what 

 nonsense is sometimed published, as the paper itself is absolutely valueless. We do 

 not know if it was the fault of the anethole or of the manner in which Meldrum worked, 

 in any case the publication is so involved that one cannot make head or tail of it. 

 We have the impression that the observations must have been made with an exceed- 

 ingly inferior sort of anethole, yet Meldrum's statement that his purveyor gave the 

 melting point of the anethole as being at 22° is contrary to this, besides which the 

 preparation, as far as Meldrum could determine, was pure. How he controlled its 

 purity is, however, not apparent from his publication. 



