A^ciober,Pi9oam"}     Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  497 
of  soda  and  from  hydral-cellulose  by  absence  of  aldehyde  proper- 
ties. It  can  be  formed  direct  from  cellulose  by  treatment  of  the 
latter  with  Schweitzer's  reagent. 
The  writers  then  compared  the  three  substances  by  attempted 
incorporation  of  the  nitro-group,  and  they  all  formed  the  same 
nitro-cellulose,  which  analysis  showed  to  be  nitro-hydro-cellulose. 
Molecular  weight  estimations  pointed  to  6C6H10O5  -{-  H20  as  the 
formula  of  hydral-cellulose,  while  cellulose  is  (C6H]0O5)12. 
To  this  information  von  Faber  and  Tollens  (Ber.  Dtsch.  Chem.  Ges.f 
1899,  2589)  add  that  the  above-mentioned  oxy-cellulose  consists 
of  a  combination  of  cellulose  with  a  derivative,  which  the  investi- 
gators call  celloxin.  This  has  not  been  isolated,  but  its  decompo- 
sition into  iso-saccharic  and  dioxy-butyric  acids,  when  oxy-cellulose 
is  cooked  with  water  (the  cellulose  portion  remaining  unchanged), 
seems  to  point  to  the  formula  C6H10O6  or  C6H806.  H.  V.  A. 
CHEMICAL  IDENTIFICATION  OF  COTTON  FIBRE. 
A  simple  test  for  cotton  based  on  the  conversion  of  its  cellulose 
into  an  aldehyde  carbohydrate  and  subsequent  application  of  an 
aldehyde  color  test  has  been  devised  by  E.  Jandrier  (Ann.  Chim. 
Analyt ,  through  Schzv.  Wochenschr.  fur  PJiarm.  und  Chem.y  1899, 
489). 
It  consists  in  heating  1  gramme  of  the  suspected  fabric  (after 
careful  washing!)  with  sulphuric  acid,  specific  gravity,  I ■  1 61 ,  on  a 
water-bath  for  a  half  hour,  diluting  to  1  litre  ;  mixing  about  2 
c.c.  of  this  solution  with  0  0 1  gramme  resorcin  and  pouring  into 
concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  so  as  to  form  a  separate  layer. 
At  the  point  of  contact  an  orange  ring  is  formed  if  cotton  is 
present.  Other  phenols  show  similar  reaction,  the  tint  being 
different,  however.  The  reaction  shows  even  when  the  fabric  is 
colored.  H.  V.  A. 
AUTUMNAL  CHANGE  OF  LEAF  CONSTITUENTS. 
It  has  been  noticed  that  the  leaves  of  trees  have  less  potassium, 
phosphoric  acid  and  nitrogen  and  more  silicic  acid  and  lime  in  the 
fall  than  in  the  early  summer,  and,  concerning  the  cause,  there 
have  been  different  theories ;  the  last  being  that  the  autumnal  rains 
wash  the  soluble  salts  out  of  the  leaves.  The  latest  investigators, 
Tollens  and  Jucker  (Bcr.  Dtsch.  Chan.  Ges.,  through  hliarm.  Zt , 
