AI October S"1"}    Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  485 
Jour.  Chem.  Soc,  57,  64.  According  to  this  procedure,  all  that  is 
necessary  is  to  accurately  determine  the  specific  gravity  of  the  pure 
sulphuric  acid,  at  a  definite  temperature,  preferably  at  15  or  180 
C,  for  tables  are  given  in  the  original  communication,  which  give 
the  per  cent,  of  acid,  of  certain  densities,  at  these  temperatures. 
Formulas  are  also  given  to  make  certain  calculations.  Experi- 
ments were  also  made  to  show  that  the  ordinary  C.  P.  acid  was  suf- 
ficiently pure  to  prepare  accurate  solutions  from  it. 
L.  F.  Kebler. 
LITHIUM-AMMONIUM  AND  CALCIUM-AMMONIUM. 
These  compounds  were  prepared  by  H.  Moissan,  the  former  by 
passing  a  current  of  dry  ammonia  gas  through  a  U-tube,  containing 
the  metal,  lithium,  at  the  ordinary  temperature  and  pressure.  The 
calcium-ammonium  was  prepared  by  the  same  procedure,  except 
that  the  temperature  was  not  allowed  to  rise  above  20°  C.  These 
compounds  have  the  composition  represented  by  the  formulas 
LiNH3  and  Ca(NH3)4,  respectively. — -Comp.  rend.,  12J,  685. 
L.  F.  K. 
LIME  AS  A  PRESERVATIVE  OF  CHLOROFORM. 
D.  Newman  and  Ramsay  (Lancet,  Jan.  23,  1897)  recommended 
the  use  of  lime  for  purifying  and  preserving  chloroform.  On  the 
strength  of  this  D.  Brown  made  some  experiments,  and  found  that 
lime  was  not  only  not  efficient  as  a  preservative  of  chloroform,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  hastened  its  decomposition.  Chloroform  having  a 
specific  gravity  of  1-500,  when  mixed  with  slacked  lime  showed 
marked  decomposition,  after  two  days'  exposure  to  sunlight. 
Chloroform,  whose  specific  gravity  was  reduced  to  1-497  with  alco- 
hol, to  which  slacked  lime  was  added,  showed  decomposition  after 
similar  exposure  for  five  days,  while  the  same  chloroform,  without 
the  lime,  did  not  exhibit  any  decomposition,  even  after  several 
weeks'  exposure. — 1898,  Pharm.  Jou*-.,  61,  66g. 
L.  F.  K. 
CONCERNING  COLOPHONY. 
As  a  result  of  careful  examination  of  rosin,  R.  Schick  (Ap.  Zt%, 
J899,  43,  from  Ztschr.  f.  angew.  Chem.,  1899)  takes  exception  to 
Dieterich's  statement;  that  it  consists  chiefly  of  abietinic  anhydride. 
His  results  in  the  estimation  of  the  acid  and  saponification  numbers 
