Am.  Jour.  Phairn. ) 
Oct.,  1882.  ( 
Practical  Notes. 
517 
often  determined  by  heating  at  100°  to  110°  until  the  residue  ceases 
to  lose  more  than  1  mgrm.  per  hour,  while  others  mention  that  on 
heating  for  8  to  10  hours  at  100°  to  110°,  it  is  completely  volatilized. 
(See  "  Amer.  Jour,  Phar.,"  1877,  p.  371 ;  1878,  pp.  278,  377. 
Couttolenc  finds  that  glycerin  is  obtained  in  the  anhydrous  state 
when  heated  for  five  hours  at  90°,  but  at  this  temperature  a  surface  of 
one  square  centimeter  is  said  to  lose  3*17  mgrms.  glycerin.  According 
to  Barbsehe  two  drops  of  phenol  in  8,000  to  10,000  parts  of  water  gives 
a  distinct  blue  coloration  with  one  drop  of  a  solution  of  ferric  chloride, 
which  is  destroyed  by  the  addition  of  6  to  8  drops  of  glycerin.  This 
reaction  is  recommended  for  detecting  glycerin  in  wine  and  beer. 
It  is  shown  that  the  same  reaction  is  obtained  with  sugar,  gum 
arabic,  etc.,  hence  its  application  for  detecting  glycerin  in  wine  and 
beer  is  not  practicable. — Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  August,  1882 ;  from  Dlrigl, 
polyt.  J. 
Contributions  to  the  Chemistry  of  Bile.  By  G.  Hiifner. — The 
remarkable  behavior  of  the  galls  of  Tubingen  cattle  with  ether  and 
hydrochloric  acid  has  already  been  noticed  by  the  author.  It  was 
thought  that  a  study  of  the  relative  quantities  of  glycocholic  and  tauro- 
cholic  acids  in  dilFerent  samples  of  bile  would  explain  why  some 
crystallized  at  once  on  addition  of  ether  and  hydrochloric  acid,  and 
other  kinds  refused  to  do  so.  To  this  end,  ten  samples  of  bile  were 
analyzed,  six  of  which  gave  a  rapid  crystallization  of  glycocholic  acid, 
one  a  weak  one,  and  three  none  at  all ;  it  was  found  that  the  quantities 
■of  taurocholic  and  glycocholic  acids  respectively  were  as  one  to  five  in 
the  samples  from  which  the  latter  acid  crystallized  rapidly,  and  about 
equal  in  those  where  no  crystallization  at  all  occured.  That  this  result 
had  nothing  to  do  with  the  question  as  to  the  absolute  increase  or 
decrease  in  quantity  of  each  acid  in  the  bile  was  shown  by  the  fact 
that  dilution  in  the  one  case  did  not  put  a  stop  to  crystallization,  whilst 
in  the  other  concentration  did  no#  induce  it. 
Again,  experiments  with  mixtures  of  the  pure  salts  of  taurocholic 
and  glycocholic  acids  showed  that  the  relative  proportion  of  the  two 
acids  present  in  solution  together  had  very  little,  if  any  effect  on  the 
■crystallization  of  the  latter.  Hence  those  biles  in  which  there  is  no 
appearance  of  crystallization  of  glycocholic  acid  on  addition  of  ether 
and  hydrochloric  acid,  must  contain  some  other  body,  the  presence  of 
which  is  possibly  dependent  on  the  nature  of  the  animaFs  diet,  and 
which  prevents  the  crystallization  of  glycocholic  acid  under  those  (con- 
ditions.— Joar.  Chem.  Soc,,  August,  1882  ;  from      pr.  Cheni. 
