THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS 
[July G, 1872. 
may be accounted for. But this theory is not borne out 
by my experiments. When silver-leaf is suspended 
•over pure sulphur it does not tarnish more rapidly than 
■when suspended in the air, and its conversion into the 
sulphide by the roll sulphur may be explained by the 
fact that that substance contains free sulphurous and 
hydrosulphurous acids, and sulphuretted hydrogen, 
which are constantly escaping from it. When pure 
sulphur is applied to the loaves of plants, no evidence 
of oxidation can be detected by either litmus, or starch 
and iodine paper. If oxidation were to take place under 
such circumstances, the product, if sulphurous acid in 
the first instance, would be immediately converted into 
sulphuric acid by further oxidation, and it could not 
escape detection. Further precipitated sulphur, being- 
in a much finer state of division than sublimed sulphur, 
would be more easily oxidized, and ought to prove the 
more potent agent; but practically it is found to be the 
least so. 
Sulphur in various form3 is used by medical men 
.and veterinary surgeons for the destruction of the itch 
and other insects, and in the treatment of various dis¬ 
eases (as ringworms), caused, or accompanied by fungus 
growths, infesting the skin and hair of men and animals; 
but sulphurous acid, in solution, is in many instances 
substituted for them on account of its more certain ac¬ 
tion. Many surgeons, indeed, believe that the beneficial 
action of sulphur ointment in the treatment of itch, is 
to be attributed to the grease of which it is made, rather 
than to the sulphur it contains, and this is probably 
true, as the quantity of sulphurous acid is exceedingly 
small, and I find the action of the ointment is remark¬ 
ably increased when the sulphur has been strongly 
impregnated with acid previous to being made into 
ointment, and this is equally true of its other applica¬ 
tions in medicine. 
In addition to its destructive action on organized 
bodies, sulphurous acid possesses a powerful chemical 
action on the organic and inorganic products of decom¬ 
posing animal and vegetable substances, and the ema¬ 
nations from persons and animals suffering from 
infectious diseases: hence it is one of the most potent 
and valuable disinfectants we possess, and it appears to 
prevent the spread of smallpox, diphtheria, cattle plague, 
etc. Its qualities as a deodorizer are also very consi¬ 
derable. It attacks and destroys sulphuretted hydrogen, 
and neutralizes the strong smell of ammonia and other 
alkaline bases, but without losing its antiseptic pro¬ 
perties, or destroying their manurial value. (Crookes.) 
From my experiments and observations, and from the 
well-known properties of sulphurous acid, I conclude, 
therefore, that it is the acid, accidentally present in the 
sulphur, which is the active agent in the destruction of 
mildews and blights, and that the sulphur is only the 
medium for its application. This is a fact, not only of 
scientific interest, but of great practical and commercial 
importance, for under the mistaken impression that the 
sulphur itself is the active agent, great care and expense 
have been incurred to secure its freedom from acidity, 
which is by no means necessary. 
Sulphur, like charcoal and many other substances, 
possesses the power of absorbing a large quantity of 
sulphurous acid, and by a modification in the refining 
process the acidity may be considerably increased, and 
the quantity, of sulphur correspondingly diminished, and 
a more certain and uniform agent produced. For horti¬ 
cultural purposes, however, it is necessary to limit the 
quantity of sulphurous acid, or it will prove destructive 
to the plant as well as the parasite. This limit I have 
.established practically by experiments made on rose 
trees infested with mildew, and as the rose mildew is 
with difficulty destroyed by common sulphur, except by 
repeated applications, this preparation (to which I have 
given the name of sulphozone, for reasons given above), 
may be considered to be of the maximum strength, and 
four or five times stronger and more potent than sub¬ 
limed sulphur. In substituting it, therefore, for sulphur’ 
a great saving will be effected in the cost of sulphur, its 
carriage, and "the time and labour of applying it. There 
will, moreover, be the additional advantage of not loading 
the foliage with a large quantity of sulphur powder, 
which must in some measure impair its health by its 
mere mechanical presence, and in the case of hops, the 
brewers will have less ground for objecting to the quality 
of the produce. Sulphozone, being a fine dry powder 
like sulphur, may be applied in a similar manner, and 
with the same apparatus, care being taken to use a much 
smaller quantity (7. c. about a quarter of that of sul¬ 
phur). 
For medical, veterinary and sanitary purposes, a very 
strong sulphozone has been prepared to take the place of 
sulphur in the officinal preparation, and for use. as a 
disinfecting powder. This substance is exceedingly 
destructive to organic life, and is not adapted for horti¬ 
cultural purposes except for dressing the stems and 
branches of deciduous trees in the winter, and for de¬ 
stroying insects where it can exert no deleterious influence 
on surrounding vegetation, or for disinfecting and 
deodorizing manure heaps, etc., for which purpose it is 
better adapted than any other disinfecting powder, as 
the sulphurous acid fixes the ammonia—the most valu¬ 
able constituent of manure—and makes it available for 
gardening and farming purposes, while chlorine and. 
other disinfectants destroy it, and reduce the value, of 
the manure in proportion to the extent of their action 
in deodorizing it.— Gardeners' Chronicle. 
DETECTION AND ESTIMATION OF PARAFFIN IN 
STEARIN CANDLES. 
BY M. HOCK.* 
Makers of stearin candles mix paraffin with the fatty 
mass in quantities tip to 20 per cent. Paraffin candle 
makers also mix stearic acid with their paraffin and at¬ 
tribute valuable properties to such a mixture, as far. as 
candle-making is concerned. The attempt to determine 
if paraffin be present, and if so, to get some approximate 
idea of the quantity, in a sample of stearin and vice versa 
by means of the comparison of the melting-point and 
specific gravity of such a mixture is shown to be useless, 
as these vary according to the source from which the 
paraffin is obtained, as also in the case of the stearic 
acid, since the pure commercial article is by no means a 
chemically pure article. 
A good method for detecting the presence of stearic 
acid in paraffin has been devised by R. Wagner, viz. 
by treating a boiling solution of the paraffin in alcohol 
with an alcoholic solution of neutral lead acetate, when, 
if stearic acid be present, a dense floccular precipitate 
appears, but none if it be absent. The best method, and 
one which can be used quantitatively as well as qualita¬ 
tively, is described as follows :—Not less than five grams 
of the candle arc taken and treated with warm solution 
of potassium hydrate, which must not be too concen¬ 
trated. A soap is formed with the stearic acid, whilst 
the paraffin is left unaltered. Sodium chloride is thrown 
into the solution, whereby the soap is separated out as a 
soda soap, and in precipitating takes down the paraffin 
with it. The soap obtained is thrown on the filter and 
washed with cold water or very dilute spirits of wine. 
Thus, firstly, the sodium chloride is washed out, and 
finally, the soap is brought into solution and likewise 
washed through the filter, leaving the paraffin, which is 
then dried at a temperature below 35° C. so as not to 
fuse it. The paraffin is then treated on the filter with 
ether, and after repeated washing with this solvent, the 
ethereal solution is carefully evaporated in a weighed 
porcelain crucible, in the water-bath, at a low tempera¬ 
ture. The residue consisting of the paraffin is then 
weighed, and the stearic acid is estimated by difference. 
—Journal of the Chemical Society . 
* Dingl. Polyt. J., cciii, 313—315, 
