446 
GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  GERMAN  JOURNALS. 
On  Vegetable  Parchment — Prof.  A.  W.  Hofmann,  publishes  in 
Ann.  d.  Ch.  and  Ph.vol.  cxii.  243 — 256,  a  report  made  to  Messrs. 
De  la  Rue  &  Co.,  of  London  about  a  year  ago.  The  parchment 
is  prepared  by  immersing  for  a  few  seconds,  at  60°  F.,  unsized 
paper  in  diluted  sulphuric  acid,  the  limits  of  dilution  for  four 
volumes  of  HO,  S03  are  between  one  and  two  vols,  water.  It  is 
afterwards  washed  in  water,  then  in  diluted  ammonia,  and  lastly 
again  in  water.  Its  composition  is  that  of  cellulose,  its  strength 
is  five  times  greater  than  the  unsized  paper,  and  f  the  strength 
of  animal  parchment,  which  otherwise  it  closely  resembles.  The 
honor  of  the  scientific  discovery  in  1847,  of  this  transformation 
of  paper,  belongs  to  Messrs.  J.  A.  Poumarede  and  L.  Figuier,  of 
Paris ;  but  the  perfection  of  the  process  is  W.  E.  Gaine's  work  ; 
the  demand  for  this  article  already  exceeds  the  supply. 
On  the  equivalent  weight  of  Manganium  and  NicJceL — Rawack 
determined  the  amount  of  water  obtained  from  Mn304,  when 
reduced  in  a  current  of  pure  hydrogen  to  MnO  ;  R.  Schneider 
ascertained  the  water  and  carbonic  acid,  yielded  by  the  pro- 
toxalate  C4Mn208-|-4HO.  The  medium  of  10  experiments  was 
27*019;  Schneider  puts  the  equivalent  weight  of  manganium 
at  27.  Agreeing  with  his  former  experiments,  Schneider  again 
found  the  weight  of  equivalent  of  Ni=29-029. — (Pogg.  Ann, 
cvii.  Ann.  d.  Ch.  and  Ph.  cxiii.) 
Synthesis  of  Salicylic  Acid. — Prof.  Kolbe  considers  salicylic 
acid  to  be  composed  of  carbonic  acid  and  oxide  of  phe- 
nyle=(HO,  C12H50)C204.  He  and  Lautemann  have  now  dis- 
covered that  salicylate  of  soda  is  formed,  on  passing  carbonic 
acid  into  hydrated  oxide  of  phenyle,  while  sodium  is  being  dis- 
solved therein  ;  hydrogen  is  evolved. — (Ann.  d.  Ch.  and  Ph„ 
cxiii.  125—127.) 
On  the  composition  of  Petroleum. — A  considerable  quantity  of 
petroleum  is  obtained  near  Sehnde,  a  village  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Hanover,  Germany.  In  its  crude  state,  it  is  greenish 
brown,  rather  thin,  of  a  disagreeable  odor,  and  contains  a  rather 
large  proportion  of  paraffin.  The  rectified  oil  was  the  subject 
of  investigations,  by  Drs.  Bussenius  and  Eisenstuck,  who  found 
