ON  THE  OIL  OF  CAMPHOR. 
265 
polarized  light  to  the  right,  and  that  this  deviation  is  in- 
creased by  a  trace  of  boracic  acid  ;  therefore  the  identity  of  it 
with  the  natural  acid  is  also  established  by  the  optical  proper- 
ties. 
Liebig's  discovery  may  throw  some  light  on  certain  organic 
processes  within  the  vegetable  cells.  Unripe  grapes  contain 
tartaric  acid,  which  gradually  disappears,  giving  place  to  sugar, 
a  carbohydrate  in  the  ripe  grapes,  and  inasmuch  as  by  oxida- 
tion of  carbohydrates  tartaric  acid  may  be  produced,  we  may 
assume,  that  by  the  reverse  process,  the  plant  may  transform 
tartaric  acid  into  sugar.  In  compliance  with  the  elementary 
composition  of  tartaric  acid,  it  may,  according  to  Liebig,  be 
viewed  as  oxalic  acid,  one  half  of  which  has  been  transformed 
into,  or  which  is  copulated  with  a  carbohydrate.  Similar  rela- 
tions are  doubtless  existing  between  malic  and  citric  acid,  and 
the  non-azotized  products,  starch,  pectin,  &c,  which  occur  with 
these  acids  in  the  same  plants. 
Late  experiments  performed  in  Liebig's  laboratory,  have  led 
to  the  unlooked  for  results,  that  by  a  simple  oxidation,  namely, 
on  heating  with  black  oxide  of  manganese,  malic  acid  will  yield 
aldehyde  and  citric  acid,  aceton.  Malic  acid  may  be  considered 
as  oxalic  acid  copulated  with  aldehyde  :  2  C4  H2  04=  2  C2 
03-fC4  H4  02,  and  pyrocitric  acid,  which  is  generated  by  the 
influence  of  heat  upon  citric  acid,  as  oxalic  acid  copulated  with 
aceton:  C5  H3  04=C2  03+C3  H3  0. 
Further  investigations  in  this  direction  will  no  doubt  throw 
some  light  on  physiological  processes,  hitherto  not  understood. — 
Buchners  JSf.  Rep.  viii.  515,  516.  J.  M.  M. 
ON  THE  OIL  OF  CAMPHOR. 
By  M.  Lallemand. 
Some  years  ago  M.  Biot  submitted  to  M.  Lallemand  two 
vegetable  products  for  examination.  The  first  was  the  oil  of  the 
JDryobalanops  Camphora  collected  by  the  well  known  Dutch 
savant,  Dr.  Junguhn,  whilst  jurneying  in  the  north-west  of  the 
island  of  Sumatra.  The  second,  already  known  as  oil  of  cam- 
phor,  had  been  extracted  from  the  Laurus  Camphora,  a  plant 
which  also  furnishes  the  camphor  of  Japan.     "  The  results  at 
