50  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.     { A  f^yfrni!11' 
MAPLE  SUGAR. 
The  Production  of  Maple  Sugar,  G.  H.  Grimm  {Cult,  and  Country 
Gent.,  6 1  (1896),  No.  2247,  p.  146). — The  author  urges  the  neces- 
sity of  absolute  cleanliness  in  everything  connected  with  the  pro- 
cess;  the  sap  should  come  in  contact  with  tin  only;  tin  spouts 
should  be  used ;  and  the  buckets  should  be  covered.  The  sap 
should  be  evaporated  as  soon  as  possible  after  it  leaves  the  tree. 
With  suitable  apparatus  a  barrel  of  sap  can  be  converted  into  a  gal- 
lon of  syrup  weighing  1 1  pounds  in  20  minutes.  This  syrup  will  make 
8  pounds  of  sugar.  The  natural  color  of  the  syrup  is  a  translucent 
white  ;  if  it  weighs  less  than  1 1  pounds  per  gallon  it  will  ferment ;  if 
more,  it  will  crystallize.  The  syrup  is  far  superior  to  that  from  re- 
melted  sugar. 
In  putting  it  up  for  the  market  it  should  be  poured  into  tin  cans 
at  830  C,  and  hermetically  sealed.  It  will  keep  better  in  an  attic 
than  in  a  cellar,  unless  the  cellar  is  very  dry. 
GOLD  AND  SILVER  IN  SEA  WATER. 
Gold  and  silver  in  sea-water  may  not  be  plentiful  enough  to  war- 
rant the  formation  of  limited  companies  to  extract  them,  yet 
those  metals  exist  in  the  ocean  in  appreciable  amounts.  Professor 
A.  Liversidge,  in  a  long  paper  read  before  the  Royal  Society  of 
New  South  Wales  {vide  Chemical  News,  Sept.  18,  et  seqi),  gives  the 
results  of  some  experiments  made  with  the  object  of  determining 
the  amount  of  precious  metal  in  the  sea-water  off  the  coast  of  New 
South  Wales.  The  evidence  obtained  indicated  the  presence  of 
gold  in  the  proportion  of  about  0-5  to  1  grain  per  ton,  or  in  round 
numbers  from  1 30  to  260  tons  of  gold  per  cubic  mile.  Assuming  that 
the  cubic  contents  of  the  whole  of  the  ocean  equal  400,000,000  cubic 
miles,  the  above  proportion  would  be  equivalent  to  a  total  amount 
of  100,000,000,000  tons  of  gold.  With  regard  to  silver,  Malaguti 
obtained  o  0005  gm.  from  50  litres  of  sea-water,  representing  more 
than  40  tons  per  cubic  mile.  The  metal  sheathings  of  vessels  have 
been  proved  to  remove  both  gold  and  silver  from  sea-water,  that 
from  one  old  trader  yielding  silver,  4  ozs.  15  dwts.  9  2  grs.,  and  gold, 
I  dwt.  2  4  grs.  per  ton,  together  with  a  good  deal  of  iodine.  Muntz 
metal  sheathings  from  the  piles  of  wharves  have  also  yielded  con- 
siderable proportions  of  both  gold  c~nd  silver. — Pharmaceutical 
Journal,  October  i?9  i8q6. 
