September 24, 1870.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
25 7 
benzol molecule are replaced. Thus, in the first, or 
ortho scries, the hydrogen atoms in benzol, being num¬ 
bered in regular succession, are replaced in the same 
regular succession; in the second, or meta series, the 
order is 1, 2, 3, 5, etc.; whilst the third, or para series, 
take open order, as 1, 2, 4, o, etc. Thus we have— 
Ortho series. Para series. Meta series. 
C ia H e O ia IIexa- fMellitic or 
basic (Benzolhexacarbonic. 
C n H 0 O 10 Penta Unknown. 
r tr n TWr.>> f Pyroinellitic or Isopyromellitic. Unknown. 
'-' 10 8 8 L ‘ • (Benzoltetracarbonie. 
r tt n tv j Trimesinic or Hemimellitic. Triraellitic. 
0 8 11 • • • j Benzoltriearbonie. 
r tt n n; 1 Phthalic or Isophthalic. Tetraphthalic. 
881 ' * ‘ iBenzoldicarbonic. 
p tt n T. r J Benzoic or 
7 0 2 x ’ (Benzolinonocarbonic. 
Amongst the most interesting series of new organic 
bodies are those in which tetrad silicon partly replaces 
carbon. Our knowledge of these substances is gradually 
becoming more complete; the last new member prepared 
by Friedel and Ladenburg is silico-propionic acid— 
c,h 5 
Si 0 2 H 
the first of a series of carbo-silicic acids containing the 
radical Si0 2 H. The interesting researches of Mat- 
thiessen and Wright on morphine and codeine have 
thrown a new light on the constitution of these opium 
alkaloids. Treated with hydrochloric acid morphine 
loses one molecule of water, and gives rise to a new base 
called apomorphine, thus :— 
C 17 II 19 N0 3 = HoO + Cj-Hj-N 0 2 , 
Morphine. Apomorphine. 
which differs in a remarkable manner from morphine, 
both in its chemical and physiological actions, being- 
soluble in alcohol, ether and chloroform, whereas mor¬ 
phine is nearly insoluble, and acting as the most power¬ 
ful emetic known, one-tenth of a grain producing 
vomiting in less than ten minutes. Codeine, which 
only differs from morphine by CH 2 , also yields apomor¬ 
phine on treatment, at a high temperature with hydro¬ 
chloric acid, methyl chloride being at the same time 
eliminated. 
An important application of the dehydrating and car¬ 
bon-condensing power of zinc chloride, long known in 
its action on alcohol to produce ether, has been made by 
Kekule in the reduplication of aldehyde to form croton 
aldehyde with loss of water: 2 (C 2 II 4 0) —H 2 0=C 4 H c 0. 
This croton aldehyde is also probably formed as an in¬ 
termediate product in the manufacture of chloral from 
aldehyde, and gives rise to the formation of croton chlo¬ 
ral, C 4 H 3 C1 3 0. 
The discovery of the sedative properties of chloral 
hydrate by Liebreich marks an era in medical chemistry 
second only to the discovery of the anaesthetic properties 
of chloroform. Chloral not only combines with water 
to form a solid hydrate but also forms solid alcoholates; 
but these bodies appear to possess quite different me¬ 
dicinal properties from the hydrate, and it is important 
that no alcoholate should be present in the official pre¬ 
paration. 
The chemistry of colouring matters has lately received 
an enormous impetus in the practical working of the 
brilliant discovery of the production of artificial aliza¬ 
rine, the colouring matter of madder, by Messrs. Graebe 
and Liobermann. This discovery, announced at our last 
meeting,* is of the highest importance—whether we re¬ 
gard its scientific interest or its practical and commercial 
value—and it differs from all the former results which 
have been brought about by the application of science 
to the production of colouring matter, inasmuch as this 
has reference to the artificial production of a natural 
vegetable colouring substance, which has been used as a 
dye from time immemorial, and which is still employed 
in enormous quantities for the production of the pink, 
purple and black colours which are seen everywhere on 
printed calicoes. During the past year much progress 
has been made in the practical working of the processes 
by which this colouring matter is obtained from the hy¬ 
drocarbon anthracene contained in coal tar, and new and 
more economical plans for effecting the transformation 
have been independently proposed by Perkin and Caro, 
and Schorlemmer and Dale. The theoretical investiga¬ 
tion of the reaction—and especially of the nature of some 
other peculiar products formed in addition to alizarine, 
which render the artificial colouring matter different 
from natural alizarine—has been carried out by Mr. 
Perkin, and especially by Dr. Schunck. As we are pro¬ 
mised papers on this subject from both these gentlemen, 
I need not at present enter further into those interesting- 
questions. 
The surest proof of perfection in a manufacture is the 
degree in which the waste products are utilized, and in 
which the processes are made continuous. One by one 
the imperfections of the original discovery are made to 
disappear, and the products which were wasted become 
sources of profit, while in many cases their utilization 
alone renders possible the continuance of the manufacture 
in the midst of a rapidly-increasing district. The section 
will have the opportunity of inspecting the practical 
working of at least two of the most valuable of these 
new processes which have lately been introduced into 
our most important chemical manufacture—that of alkali. 
The first of these has been at work for some time, it is 
that of the recovery of sulphur from the vat waste, that 
bete noire of the alkali makers and of their neighbours. 
Dr. Mond has now, I believe, satisfactorily solved the 
difficult problem of economically regaining the sulphur 
by oxidizing the insoluble monosulphide of calcium in 
the lixiviating vat itself to the soluble hyposulphite, and 
decomposing this by hydrochloric acid when all the sul¬ 
phur is deposited as a white powder. The second of 
these discoveries relates to the recovery or regeneration 
of the black oxide of manganese used for the evolution 
of chlorine in the manufacture of bleaching powder. 
This subject has long attracted the attention of chemists, 
and a feasible, though somewhat costly, process, that of 
Dunlop, has been at work for some time at Messrs. Ten¬ 
nant’s works at St. Rollox. During the last year a very 
beautifully simple and economical process proposed by 
Mr. Weldon, and first successfully carried out on a prac¬ 
tical scale at Messrs. Gamble’s works at St. Helen’s, has 
quickly obtained recognition, and is now wofked by 
more than thirty-seven firms throughout the kingdom. 
The principle upon which this process depends was ex¬ 
plained by Mr. Weldon at the Exeter meeting. It de¬ 
pends on the fact that although when alone the lower 
oxides of manganese cannot be oxidized by air and steam 
under the ordinary pressure to the state of dioxide, yet 
that this is possible when one molecule of lime is present 
to each molecule of oxide of manganese. The manganous 
oxide is precipitated from the still liquors with the above 
excess of lime, and by the action of steam and air on 
this, a black powder, consisting of a compound of man¬ 
ganese dioxide and lime, Mn0 2 CaO, or calcium man- 
g-anite, is formed. This, of course, is capable of again 
generating chlorine on addition of hydrochloric acid, 
and thus the chlorine process is made continuous with 
a working loss of only 2f per cent, of manganese. The 
section will have the advantage of seeing Mond’s process 
at work at Messrs. Hutchinson’s, and Weldon’s process 
at Messrs. Gaskell, Deacon and Co.’s, at Widnes. A 
third process, which may possibly still further revolu¬ 
tionize the manufacture of bleaching powder, is the 
direct production of chlorine from hydrochloric acid 
without the use of manganese at all. In presence of 
oxygen and of certain metallic oxides, such as oxide.of 
copper, hydrochloric acid gas parts at a red heat with 
all its hydrogen, water and chlorine being formed. This- 
interesting reaction is employed by its discoverer, Mr. 
