4o 
The  Origin  of  Fusel  Oil. 
j  Am.  Jour.  1'harm. 
I     January,  19C(i. 
tually.  Indeed,  he  is  quite  an  artist,  having  a  fine  collection  of  water 
colors  of  Swiss,  German  and  Italian  scenery  which  he  has  painted 
during  his  summer  vacations.  On  one  occasion,  when  he  had  a  pic- 
lure  nearly  finished,  an  American  traveler  offered  him  50  francs  for 
the  painting.  In  this  case  his  younger  daughter  had  more  of  an 
eye  to  business  than  the  Professor,  for  she  asked  "  Why  did  you  not 
take  it?  you  could  paint  another." 
In  society  he  is  usually  the  life  of  the  company.  He  is  a  liberal 
entertainer,  not  only  of  his  many  friends  in  Berne,  but  also  of  his 
students.  One  of  his  favorite  pastimes  is  to  go  with  his  class  for  a 
tramp  over  the  mountains,  or  coasting  down  the  beautiful  mountains 
in  winter.  It  is  an  inspiration  to  find  a  man  who  accomplishes  .so 
much  and  still  finds  time  for  recreation.  It  would  be  better  for  more 
of  us  if  we  would  follow  his  example. 
Ann  Arbor. 
ON  THE  ORIGIN  OF  FUSEL  OIL  IN  SPIRITS.1 
By  SamueIv  P.  Sadtler,  Ph.D. 
The  growing  importance  of  fusel  oil,  which  was  at  one  time  a 
waste  product  in  the  spirit  industry,  but  is  now  eagerly  sought  for, 
because  of  its  importance  as  a  solvent,  and  as  a  raw  material  for  the 
manufacture  of  amyl  acetate,  another  solvent  of  the  greatest  tech- 
nical importance  because  of  its  solvent  power  for  pyroxylin  and  use 
in  artificial  fruit  ethers,  has  led  to  a  number  of  experiments  within 
recent  years,  with  a  view  of  finding  out  how  the  natural  production 
could  be  increased,  or,  if  possible,  a  means  of  producing  it  inde- 
pendently of  the  alcoholic  fermentation. 
A  paper  has  just  been  read  before  the  Society  of  German  Natu- 
ralists and  Physicians  (the  equivalent  of  our  American  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science)  at  its  annual  meeting  held  from 
the  24th  to  the  30th  of  September,  1905,  which  seems  to  have  defi- 
nitely solved  the  question  of  its  origin,  and  at  the  same  time  to  have 
indicated  the  way  by  which  an  important  industry  may  be  started, 
and  the  valuable  product  obtained  in  larger  amount  and  probably 
at  a  greatly  reduced  price. 
The  author.  Dr.  Felix  Ehrlich,  of  Berlin,  states  his  results  as 
follows  : 
1  From  the  Chemical  Engineer,  December,  1905. 
