242  Abstracts  of  Chemical  Theses.        { Am^°%iSarm' 
Diluted  Nitrohydrochloric  Acid  (A.  A.  Piatt). — In  view  of 
the  time  required  in  its  preparation  and  the  poor  keeping  qualities  of 
the  diluted  acid,  it  is  recommended  that  it  be  prepared  when  required 
by  simply  diluting  the  strong  acid.  Six  samples  were  obtained  in 
drug  stores,  and  assayed  for  free  chlorine,  One  sample,  known  to 
have  been  prepared  within  a  few  days,  assayed  1.542  per  cent.  CI; 
the  others  from  0.257  to  0.514  per  cent.,  average  0.334  per  cent. 
Experiments  were  made  to  ascertain  the  effects  of  heat  in  hasten- 
ing the  preparation  of  the  acid.  The  reaction  appeared  to  be  com- 
plete in  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  and,  after  dilution,  assayed  the  same 
percentage  of  free  CI  as  an  acid  made  in  the  usual  way  and  allowed 
to  stand  for  twenty-four  hours  before  dilution,  namely,  1.5  to  2  per 
cent.  The  freshly  made  diluted  acid  deteriorated  rapidly  on  stand- 
ing in  a  warm  place  exposed  to  light. 
Diluted  nitrohydrochloric  acid  made  by  diluting  some  specimens 
of  the  strong  acid  obtained  from  drug  stores  assayed  from  1.565 
per  cent,  to  5.5  per  cent,  free  CI. 
Some  Points  of  Difference  between  Gum  and  Wood  Tur- 
pentine (S.  S.  Jacobs). — Specific  gravity  and  refractive  index  pre- 
sented no  essential  difference.  As  to  optical  rotation,  either  gum  or 
wood  turpentine  may  rotate  to  the  right  or  left,  depending  upon  its 
source.  In  carrying  out  fractional  distillation  the  chief  point  of 
difference  appears  to  be  that  oil  from  the  gum  ceases  to  distil  at 
165 0  C,  while  the  wood  variety  continues  to  distil  up  to  185 0  C, 
leaving  in  either  case  a  very  small  residue.  The  specific  gravity, 
optical  rotation,  and  refractive  index  of  the  different  fractions  were 
too  variable  for  definite  conclusions  to  be  drawn  therefrom.  The 
only  distinctive  difference  between  the  fractions  of  the  two  varieties 
appears  to  be  the  characteristic  odor  peculiar  to  each. 
Sulphurated  Lime  (P.  M.  Davis.) — Of  five  samples  assayed, 
only  one,  taken  from  a  sealed  package  obtained  from  a  wholesale 
house,  contained  as  much  as  55  per  cent,  calcium  sulphide.  The 
author  experienced  great  .  difficulty  in  preparing  a  satisfactory 
sample  from  commercial  calcium  sulphate,  but  had  no  difficulty 
when  a  chemically  pure  sulphate  was  used. 
Stramonium  (H.  W.  Eakle). — Leaves  were  collected  from 
plants,  full  grown  but  before  flowering,  others  from  plants  after 
flowering  but  before  deterioration,  and  others  were  obtained  in  the 
wholesale  market  with  time  of  collection  not  stated.  Tinctures  were 
prepared  from  the  recently  dried  leaves  and  were  then  assayed. 
