August 2G, 1871.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
173'. 
pmMnp flf Scientific Semites. 
SOCIETE DE PHARMACIE DE PARIS. 
At the Meeting- of this Society, held on the 7th of 
June, under the presidency of M. St. Martin, Messrs. 
Sandford, Evans and Hills, of the Pharmaceutical So¬ 
ciety of Great Britain, were unanimously elected corre¬ 
sponding members. 
M. Mkhu presented a specimen of cotton containing 
about one-tenth of its weight of iodine. This prepara¬ 
tion gives off the iodine in the open air, but is easily 
preserved in well-stoppered bottles. It is prepared by 
heating the cotton in a water-bath with powdered 
iodine. If the proportion of the iodine bo increased the 
fibre of the cotton is destroyed, and it becomes pulve¬ 
rulent. 
M. Mehu also presented to the Society two specimens 
of colouring matter obtained from the urine of a patient 
suffering from albuminuria and diabetes, the one violet- 
red and the other blue, approaching to indigotin. They 
had been extracted from the urine, even when putrid, 
by the simple use of solvents, such as water, alcohol, 
ether and chloroform. 
Dr. Calvert, who was present, said that in England 
a distinguished chemist, Schunck, had noticed in urine a 
colourless principle, indican, which becomes blue by 
exposure to the air, and is susceptible of yielding by 
decomposition glucose and indigotin. 
M. Roucher said that he had obtained the two colour¬ 
ing matters from urine by following the directions of 
the German chemists. He thought the blue principle 
differed from indigotin only in its crystalline form, and 
added that indican resisted putrefaction energetically. 
Dr. Calvert made some remarks on disinfectants, in 
the course of which he said that chloride of lime exer¬ 
cised a rapid but limited action. Thus, in nitrogenous 
organic matter disinfected by this substance, the putre¬ 
faction would recommence after a few days, even while 
the odour of the chloride of lime w r as still perceptible. 
Dr. De Vrij gave some of the results of his researches 
upon the cinchona alkaloids. 
M. Boergoin stated that in an investigation of phthalic 
acid, made wdth the object of preparing phenylene, he 
had found that acid to comport itself in a similar manner 
to the most stable aromatic acids, such as benzoic and 
camphoric, and that it yielded no trace of phenylene 
even when placed in conditions the most varied. 
BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCE¬ 
MENT OF SCIENCE. 
[Continued from paye 153.) 
Section B.— Chemical Science. 
After the President’s address, the reading of papers was 
commenced by Mr. Dewar reading a preliminary report 
on the “ Thermal Equivalent of the Oxides of Chlorine.” 
This was succeeded by a paper by Dr. Gladstone and 
Mr. Alfred Tribe, on “ Some Experiments on Chemical 
Dynamics.” In the discussion that followed the reading 
of this paper, some curious facts were mentioned with 
respect to the action of sugar on metallic iron. It is 
well known that it has not liitherto been possible, on 
account of this action to convey sugar in iron ships; but 
Dr. Calvert stated that he had discovered a very simple 
method which entirely prevented the action, and he had 
no doubt that henceforward sugar would be as safely 
carried in iron ships as in wooden bottoms. 
A paper on the “ Recent Progress of Chemistry in the 
United States” by Professor Wheeler, of Chicago, com¬ 
menced the next day’s proceedings; Mr. Henry Deacon 
gave an account of Iris “ Chlorine Process as applied to 
the Manufacture of Bleaching Powder on the larger 
Scale,” and a note on “ Regianic Acid,” a product derived 
from walnuts, was communicated by Dr. Phipson. 
This was followed by a paper by Dr. Calvert on the 
“Estimation of Sulphur in Coal and Coke.” The sul¬ 
phur found in coal or coke often exists in two states, 
partly as sulphuric acid combined with lime, and partit¬ 
as sulphur combined with iron; it is only the latter com¬ 
bination which lessens the commercial value of the fuel. 
By boiling the powdered coal wdth a solution of car¬ 
bonate of soda, the lime composed is decomposed, and by 
washing the sulphuric acid may be removed; in the re¬ 
sidue is contained tho sulphur, combined wdth iron, 
which is estimated by any of the methods familiar to 
chemists. 
An account of “ Some Improvements in Chlorimetry” 
w r as given by Mr. I. Smyth. In his opinion the use of 
the milky solution of bleaching powder as employed in 
the usual methods of chlorimetry is unsatisfactory, and 
he accordingly recommends that the chloride of lime be 
decomposed by a solution of carbonate of soda and fil¬ 
tered from the precipitated carbonate of lime when the 
amount of available chlorine may bo determined in the 
filtrate by any of tho usual methods. 
Professor Delffs, of Heidelberg, exhibited some splen¬ 
did Crystals of Sorbin. This body was discovered nearly 
twenty years ago by Pelouze, but hitherto nobody has 
succeeded in preparing it from the source indicated by 
the distinguished French chemist. Dr. Delffs attributed 
the want of success to the fact that it was usual to com¬ 
bine the preparation of malic acid with that of sorbin, 
and he show r ed that it is only when the production of 
the former substance is dispensed with that sorbin is 
obtained. By strictly following the method given by 
Pelouze, Dr. Delfts obtained a large quantity of fine 
crystals of sorbin, but on searching for malic acid in the 
residue, he found that not a trace w r as present. He at¬ 
tributes its absence to its combination wdth the radical 
of alcohol (the malic acid being contained in the alco¬ 
holic extract of the berries of Sorbus Aucuparia, the 
source of the body), wdicreby malate of ethyl is formed,, 
while by assimilating two atoms of water is converted 
into sorbin. It would appear therefore that no sorbin is 
contained ready formed in the fruit of Sorbus Aucuparia. 
Dr. Moffat read a paper on “ Ozonometry,” in which 
he stated that ozone test papers do not become perma¬ 
nently coloured in the neighbourhood of cesspools, and. 
that the brown coloration when found is removed by the 
products of putrefaction. He also stated that light, the 
humidity of the atmosphere, and the direction of the 
wdnd, influence the colouring of the test-paper, moisture 
with heat accelerating chemical action, while strong* 
wind causes a great quantity of ozone to impinge upon 
the test-paper in a given time. To counteract the effects 
of these, he recommended the test-paper to be kept in a 
box. He next described a tube ozonometer which he 
had had in use, and gave results obtained by an aspirator 
ozonometer, and concluded by stating that the results 
obtained by the aspirator ozonometer were not satis¬ 
factory. 
On Monday the proceedings commenced with two 
short papers by the President, Dr. Andrews, “ On the 
Dichroism of the Vapour of Iodine,” and “ On the. 
Action of Heat on Bromine.” The fine purple colour of 
the vapour of iodine arises from its transmitting freely 
the red and blue rays of the spectrum, while it absorbs 
nearly the whole of the green rays. The transmitted 
light passes freely through a red coppor or a blue cobalt 
glass. But if the iodine vapour be sufficiently dense, 
tho whole of the red rays are absorbed, and the trans¬ 
mitted rays are of a pure blue colour. They arc now 
freely transmitted as before by the cobalt glass, but will 
not pass through the red glass. The solution of iodine 
in bisulphide of carbon exhibits a similar dichroism, and 
according to its density appears either purple or blue 
when white light is transmitted through it. The alco¬ 
holic solution, on the contrary, is of a red colour, and 
