NON-OCCURRENCE  OF  IODINE  IN  MILKS,  EGGS,  &C. 
521 
as  of  sufficient  importance  to  undertake  it  himself  with  great 
care. 
Goitre  does  not  occur  in  Gottingen,  whilst  in  some  of  the 
neighboring  villages,  in  Lengden,  for  instance,  it  is  very  frequent- 
ly met  with.  If  the  want  of  iodine  in  the  air  were  the  cause  of 
the  evil,  it  might  be  expected  that  a  difference  would  be  presented 
between  the  quantity  of  iodine  contained  in  the  air  of  Gottingen 
and  that  of  Lengden.  The  author  therefore  examined  first  the 
air  of  Gottingen ;  he  allowed  4000  litres  of  air  to  pass  in  small 
bubbles  through  a  stratum  of  solution  of  caustic  soda  18  inches  in 
thickness,  adding  quick  lime  to  the  solution  from  time  to  time  to 
remove  the  carbonic  acid  which  was  taken  up  by  it.  The  appa- 
ratus was  so  arranged  that  the  passage  of  4000  litres  of  air  re- 
quired nearly  a  whole  week,  so  that  no  iodine  could  be  lost. 
Nevertheless,  on  testing  for  iodine,  a  negative  result  was  obtained 
so  that  an  investigation  of  the  air  of  Lengden  must  appear  per- 
fectly unnecessary.* 
The  author  has  sought  for  iodine  in  cow's  milk  and  hen's  eggs 
with  a  similar  result.  Thus  no  trace  of  iodine  was  to  be  found 
in  12  eggs  or  in  600  or  6700  grms.  of  milk.  The  fluids  in  which 
the  iodine  must  be  concentrated  amounted  in  all  cases  only  to  a 
few  centimetres  ;  for  testing  them,  cold  starch-paste  and  pure  ni- 
tric acid  into  which  nitrous  acid  had  previously  been  passed  were 
employed. 
The  author  does  not  deny,  that,  by  the  employment  of  still 
larger  quantities  of  milk  and  eggs,  the  exhibition  of  iodine  may 
perhaps  be  possible  and  that  under  certain  circumstances  iodine 
may  also  occur  in  the  atmosphere,  especially  in  the  neighborhood 
of  manufactories  and  chemical  laboratories  ;  but  from  his  experi- 
ments he  considers  that  he  may  draw  the  conclusion,  that  Cha- 
tin's  statements  are  to  be  considered  as  erroneous  throughout, 
and  that  the  absence  of  iodine  in  the  air  cannot  be  the  cause  of 
goitre  and  cretinism. — Qhemical  Gazette,  Sept.  1853,  from  NdcJi- 
richten  von  der  Gresellsch.  der  Wiss.  zu  Grottingen,  1853,  p.  131. 
*The  same  result  was  obtained  by  Mr.  S.  Macadam  of  Edinburgh  (see 
Chem.  Gaz.  for  Ang.  2,  1832,)  with  whose  researches  the  author  does  not 
appear  to  be  acquainted. — Ed.  [See  also  page  64  of  this  volume  for  the 
same  paper.] 
