AApri?*',i87A2*M'}  Gleanings  from  the  European  Journals.  163 
GLEANINGS  FROM  THE  EUROPEAN  JOURNALS. 
By  the  Editor. 
Ferrous  Sulphate,  precipitated  by  alcohol,  contains  less  water  of 
crystallization  than  the  crystallized  salt,  and  loses  a  portion  of  it 
readily  on  exposure  to  dry  atmosphere.  G.  H.  Barckhausen  found 
that  1  gramme  of  the  crystallized  salt  required  17*2  c.  c.  of  a  solution 
of  chlorinated  lime  for  oxidation,  while  the  same  quantity  of  the 
precipitated  salt,  immediately  after  drying,  required  18-8  c.  c.  ;  after 
four  hours'  exposure  at  the  ordinary  temperature,  19*5  c.  c,  after  one 
hour's  exposure  to  about  80°  F.,  (25  to  27°  C.)  20-6  c.  c,  and  after 
another  hour,  21*4  c.  c.  of  the  same  solution  of  chlorinated  lime  were 
necessary  for  complete  oxidation. — Archiv  d.  Pharm.,  1871,  Dec, 
197. 
Commercial  Butyric  Ether  and  Butyric  Acid. — Dr.  A.  Burgemeister 
examined  butyric  ether,  sold  as  pure  from  a  well  known  factory,  and 
found  it  to  contain  small  quantities  of  water,  alcohol,  acetic  and  pro- 
pionic ethers ;  the  main  constituents  were  butyric  ether  (boiling  point 
118-120°  C.)  and  capronic  ether  (boiling  point  172°  C),  almost  equal 
in  volume  to  the  former. 
Commercial  butyric  acid,  obtained  from  the  same  firm,  yielded 
nearly  one-third  of  its  volume  of  capronic  acid.  The  formation  of 
capronic  acid  during  the  butyric  fermentation  of  sugar  in  the  presence 
of  cheese  and  under  addition  of  chalk  is  well  known,  but  that  it  is 
formed  in  such  a  large  quantity  seems  to  have  been  overlooked. — 
Ibid.,  199. 
Chlorine  in  Mixtures. —  Chlorine  water  is  best  prescribed  in  dilute 
aqueous  solution,  which,  however,  loses  its  chlorine  rapidly  in  con- 
tact with  the  atmosphere.  Since  sweetening  of  such  solutions  is  usually 
desirable,  Mylius  made  a  number  of  experiments,  which  proved  that 
syrup  of  marshmallow  present  in  the  proportion  of  1 :  6,  caused  a  loss 
of  chlorine  amounting  to  68*3  per  cent  in  five  hours,  and  honey,  under 
the  same  conditions,  a  loss  of  94*6  per  cent.  The  loss  occasioned  by 
glycerin  equalled  13*22  per  cent,  in  five  hours,  by  simple  syrup  27*2 
per  cent,  in  six  hours,  and  by  mucilage  of  gum  arabic  15*2  per  cent, 
in  the  same  time.  Comparative  experiments  of  the  effects  of  glycerin 
and  simple  syrup  indicate  that  the  latter  acts  less  rapidly  than  the 
former.  The  author  concludes  that  chlorine  water  is  best  prescribed 
in  dilute  aqueous  solutions,  sweetened  with  a  little  simple  syrup,  and 
