484  Gleanings  from  the  German  Journals.  {Am"o£".yi8?Larm- 
soluble  in  water  and  dilute  alcohol,  but  almost  insoluble  in  absolute 
alcohol, ether,  chloroform  and  benzol;  it  loses  its  water  of  crystalli- 
zation at  100°  C,  and  melts,  attended  with  frothing,  at  222-2230 
C  ;  it  forms  crystallizable  salts  and  is  precipitated  by  platinic  and 
auric  chlorides  (arecaidine  platinochloride  melts  at  208-209°,  are- 
caine  platinochloride  at  213-2140;  arecaidine  aurochloride  at  197- 
1980  ;  arecaine  aurochloride  at  186-1870).  Arecoline  is  methyl- 
arecaidine,  and  it  has  been  possible  to  convert  one  into  the  other; 
ethyl-arecaidine,  called  homarecoline  C9H15N02  has  also  been  made 
and,  like  arecoline,  is  poisonous,  whereas,  arecaidine  is  not  poison- 
ous.— E.  Jahns  (Ber.  d.  D.  Chem.  Ges.),  Pharm.  Ztg.,  1891,  516. 
To  prevent  bumping  in  boiling  liquids  a  piece  of  glass  tubing  5-8 
cm.  (2-3  inches)  long  and  5-10  mm.  (T3g -f  inch)  diameter  is  closed 
at  one  end,  and  in  this  end  a  piece  of  platinum  wire  is  fused  ;  the 
wire  should  be  long  enough  to  extend  above  the  liquid ;  the  open 
end  of  the  tube  is  to  be  placed  down  in  the  liquid.  During  ebulli- 
tion the  air  in  the  tube  is  displaced  and  on  cooling  the  tube  fills 
with  the  liquid ;  before  each  operation  the  tube  must  be  freed  from 
liquid  so  that  it  is  full  of  air  when  introduced  into  the  liquid  to  be 
boiled  or  distilled.  This  device  answers  admirably  in  the  distilla- 
tion of  volatile  liquids,  also  in  boiling  liquids  holding  fine  powders 
in  suspension,  like  barium  sulphate,  etc.;  likewise  in  the  estimation 
of  volatile  fatty  acids  in  butter  analysis. — Dr.  E.  Pieszczek,  Chemi- 
ker  Ztg.,  1 891,  1 126. 
Iodine-absorption  of  fixed  oils. — To  determine  the  most  reliable 
method  of  conducting  this  analytical  operation,  Dr.  Holde  carefully 
investigated  the  several  conditions  necessary,  and  as  the  result  pub- 
lishes the  following  procedure:  Of  non-drying  oils  0-3  gram  and 
of  drying  oils  0-2  gram  are  taken  and  dissolved  in  18-20  cc.  chloro- 
form in  a  flask  of  about  300  cc.  capacity ;  to  the  non-drying  oil  50 
cc.  iodine  solution  (which  must  not  be  more  than  2  weeks  old)  are 
added,  to  the  drying  oil  60  cc.  of  an  iodine  solution  (which  must  be 
less  than  8  days  old)  are  added.  Two  determinations  of  each  oil 
should  be  made  and  the  absorption  allowed  to  proceed  for  two 
hours.  Two  blank  tests  must  be  made,  the  mean  of  the  two  giving 
the  value  of  the  iodine  solution ;  the  first  one  is  made  by  titrating 
at  once  50  cc.  of  the  iodine  solution  with  the  sodium  thiosulphate 
solution  after  adding  40  cc.  10  per  cent,  potassium-  iodide  solution, 
using  starch  solution  as  the  indicator  ;  in  the  second  one  the  iodine 
