454 
Current  Literature. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1 918. 
CURRENT  LITERATURE. 
SCIENTIFIC  AND  TECHNICAL  ABSTRACTS. 
Destruction  of  the  Organic  Matter  in  Urine. — Two  Grms. 
of  magnesium  nitrate  are  dissolved  in  20  Cc.  of  the  urine,  and  the 
solution  evaporated  gently  until  a  yellowish-brown  residue  is  ob- 
tained. This  is  strongly  ignited,  and  the  charcoal  then  rapidly  burns 
to  a  white  residue.  The  amounts  of  sulphur  estimated  in  the  residue 
agree  closely  with  those  obtained  by  fusion  with  the  ordinary  fusion 
mixtures,  and  the  method  has  the  advantage  that  the  oxidation  pro- 
ceeds less  violently,  and  that  less  foreign  material  is  introduced. 
Calcium  nitrate  may  be  used  instead  of  magnesium  nitrate,  but  is 
less  rapid  in  its  action.  (L.  Cordier,  /.  Pharm.  Chim.,  191 7,  16, 
363-367.    From  The  Analyst.) 
Catalytical  Bleaching  of  Oils. — The  use  of  catalytic  agents, 
such  as  finely  divided  nickel  in  the  hydrogenation  of  oils,  says  the 
Oil  and  Color  Trade  Journal,  53  (1918),  123,  having  proved  so  suc- 
cessful, it  is  probable  that  the  employment  of  these  in  other  direc- 
tions may  follow  as  a  matter  of  course.  In  the  bleaching  of  oils, 
for  instance,  catalytic  agents  such  as  finely  divided  lead  and  animal 
charcoal  have  been  of  service,  as  well  as  oleate  of  manganese,  etc. 
In  a  paper  recently  published  in  a  contemporary,  experiments  were 
described  showing  the  influence  of  several  catalytic  agents  upon 
tallow,  palm  oil  and  beeswax  when  a  current  of  air  is  blown  through 
the  melted  material.  The  catalysts  employed  were  air-bleached  palm 
oil,  oleates  of  manganese,  copper,  cobalt,  lead,  iron  and  nickel,  the 
silkstone  soap  of  A.  Finlay  and  Company,  Belfast,  and  the  cobalt 
soap  preparation  from  the  latter.  In  the  case  of  the  palm  oil, 
bleaching  occurred  both  with  and  without  the  catalysts,  but  with  the 
latter  the  time  requisite  for  bleaching  was  shortened,  especially  with 
cobalt  and  manganese  salts.  The  experiments  with  beeswax  and 
tallow  were  not  so  successful.  (From  the  Journal  of  Industrial  and 
Engineering  Chemistry.) 
Test  for  Albumin  in  Body  Fluids. — Leone's  reagent  super- 
poses the  precipitating  properties  of  three  precipitants.    He  pours 
