424 
VOLATILE ALKALOIDS DURING PUTREFACTION. 
spatula between a fold of blotting- comes surrounded by a less greasy 
paper gives an irregular, ill-defined, halo. (The perfection of this 
greasy stain, not very marked. stain appears to vary with the 
quantity of the adulterant.) 
These tests are such as may be readily applied by a wholesale or 
retail purchaser. These are by no means all the signs easily applicable 
for distinguishing this form of adulteration. Should the present paper 
receive insertion and be acceptable to your readers, I shall be happy to 
furnish others which have resulted from my investigations on this sub¬ 
ject. It is one especially interesting to me, since it is believed that at 
Belle Isle—a nest of nuisance factories in my parish—the material for the 
adulteration of butter is manufactured to a great extent for exporta¬ 
tion. The " fresh” butters are. those chiefly and to the greatest amount 
adulterated with this fat. 
Mr. Horsley in reply, says the expense connected with 
his process is a matter of assumption merely, since a tea¬ 
spoonful of ether is amply sufficient for an experiment.— 
Chemical News. 
FORMATION OT NEW VOLATILE ALKALOIDS DURING 
PUTREFACTION. 
By F. Calvert, F.R.S., &c. 
We have previously, under the head “ Products of Slough¬ 
ing Wounds,” stated the fact that Dr. Calvert believed 
the compounds thus formed to differ from those generally 
supposed, drawing his inferences from decomposing organic 
matters. The method adopted by him he has communicated 
to the Royal Society as follows: 
Into each of a number of small barrels twenty lbs. of meat 
and fish were introduced, and, to prevent the clotting together 
of the mass, it was mixed layer by layer with pumice-stone. 
The top of each barrel was perforated in two places, one hole 
being for the purpose of admitting air, whilst through the 
other a tube was passed which reached to the bottom of the 
barrel. \ his tube was put in connexion with two bottles 
containing chloride of platinum, and these in their turn con¬ 
nected with an aspirator. By this arrangement air was made 
to circulate through the casks, so as to become charged with 
the products of putrefaction, and to convey them to the 
platinum salt. A yellow amorphous precipitate soon appeared, 
which was collected, washed with water and alcohol, and dried. 
This precipitate was found to contain C, H, and N, but, what 
is highly remarkable, sulphur and phosphorus enter into its 
