AM'oJcn;  i872RH' }  Presence  of  Albumen  in  Neutral  Fats,  etc.  463 
Solution  of  Oleate  of  Aconitina. 
Take  of 
Aconitina,      ......      2  grains. 
Oleic  Acid,  98  " 
On  economical  grounds  there  can  be  no  objection  to  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  oleates,  as  large  quantities  of  oleic  acid  can  be  obtained 
at  a  cheap  rate,  but  the  chief  consideration  is  whether  they  present 
any  advantages  as  remedial  agents  beyond  those  of  the  same  kind  al- 
ready in  use.  This  is  a  question  for  the  therapeutist,  and  must  be 
left  to  the  physician  and  surgeon  to  decide. 
My  thanks  are  due  to  Mr.  A.  Higgins,  of  the  Borough,  for  the 
oleic  acid  used  in  the  above  experiments. — Pharm.  Journ.  and  Trans. , 
Aug.  24,  1872. 
ON  THE  PRESENCE  OF  ALBUMEN  IN  NEUTRAL  FATS,  AND  A 
NEW  METHOD  OF  OBTAINING  STEARIC  AND  PALMITIC 
ACIDS.* 
By  W.  Lant  Carpenter,  B.A.,  B.Sc,  F.C.S. 
In  the  International  Exhibition  of  1871,  there  were  exhibited  sev- 
eral specimens  of  stearic  acid,  etc.,  by  Prof.  J.  C.  A.  Bock,  of  Copen- 
hagen. It  was  stated  that  they  were  produced  by  a  new  process, 
which  possessed  very  many  advantages  over  any  other  known  method. 
The  author  of  this  paper,  having  twice  visited  Copenhagen  to  study 
the  process,  and  having  extended  its  application  to  neutral  fats  other 
than  tallow,  in  England,  thought  that  an  account  of  the  scientific  as- 
pects of  it  might  not  be  uninteresting  to  members  of  the  Section.  The 
inventor,  Professor  and  State  Councillor,  Bock,  of  Copenhagen,  was 
by  profession  a  medical  man,  formerly  attached  to  the  Danish  Court, 
and  a  man  of  high  culture  and  education,  though  but  little  known  in 
England.  He  had  been  led  up  to  his  invention  by  patient  microscop- 
ical and  chemical  study  of  the  properties  of  neutral  fats,  and  reflection 
upon  the  reasons  of  the  disadvantages  of  methods  hitherto  practiced. 
These  disadvantages  Mr.  Carpenter  pointed  out  at  some  length  in  his 
paper.  Hitherto,  when  fats  were  decomposed  by  alkali,  a  considera- 
ble excess  of  alkali  above  the  theoretical  quantity  was  required,  un- 
less the  operation  were  conducted  under  very  great  pressure,  when 
*  Abstract  of  a  Paper  read  before  the  British  Association,  Brighton  Meet- 
ing, Section  B. 
