268  Current  Literature.  j^""-  ^7prl\''o^: 
Special  train  service  of  three  coaches  was  provided,  which  were 
well  filled — there  being  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  in  the  party. 
Souvenir  programs  were  prepared  for  the  occasion,  and  as  the  weather 
was  ideal,  the  trip  was  a  most  enjoyable  one.  The  expressions  of 
appreciation  were  universal. 
CURRENT  LITERATURE. 
SCIENTIFIC  AND  TECHNICAL  ABSTRACTS. 
Detection  of  Nicotine.— O.  Tunmann  {Apoth.  Zeit.,  33,  485, 
1918;  through  Chem.  Zeit.  Rep.,  43,  193,  19 19). — A  drop  of  the  al- 
kaloid solution  is  brought  into  contact  with  a  small  quantity  of 
^-dimethylaminobenzaldehyde  dissolved  in  a  drop  of  concentrated 
hydrochloric  acid.  Nicotine  yields  a  red  coloration  which  soon 
changes  to  violet-red;  the  reaction  may  be  obtained  with  as  little 
as  0.2  Mgm.  of  nicotine.  Pyridine,  coniine,  and  the  common  alka- 
loids do  not  interfere  with  the  test.  With  a  cold  saturated  picric 
acid  solution  containing  10  per  cent,  of  concentrated  hydrochloric 
acid,  0.0 1  Mgm.  of  nicotine  yields  a  distinct  precipitate,  while 
0.003  to  0.005  Mgm.  gives  microscopic  crystals  (these  appear  in 
about  two  minutes) ;  pure  pyridine  also  gives  crystals  with  this  test, 
but  no  amorphous  precipitate.  (From  The  Analyst,  December, 
1919.) 
Detection  of  Hydrogen  Chloride  in  Chloroform. — D. 
Vorlander  (Ber.  Deut.  Pharm.  Ges.,  28,  337,  1918;  through  Chem. 
Zeit.  Rep.,  43,  193,  1919).^ — Ten  Cc.  of  the  chloroform  are  treated 
with  a  very  small  quantity  (about  o.oi  Mgm.)  of  powdered  p- 
dimethylaminoazobenzene,  if  hydrogen  chloride  is  present  a  violet- 
red  coloration  is  obtained.  In  the  absence  of  hydrogen  chloride 
the  chloroform  is  colored  yellow.  An  excess  of  the  reagent  may  mask 
the  coloration  given  by  very  small  traces  of  hydrogen  chloride. 
The  violet-red  coloration  is  destroyed  by  free  chlorine.  (From 
The  Analyst,  December,  1919.) 
Analysis  of  Saccharin. — O.  Beyer'  {Chem.  Zeit.,  43,  537-538, 
1919).— As  the  result  of  an  examination  of  methods  which  have  been 
proposed  for  the  estimation  of  saccharin,  the  author  finds  that  only 
