Am.  Jour.  Pharm  ) 
May,  1879.  j 
Chemical  Notes. 
*33 
end  of  this  tube  dips  into  a  glass  jar  provided  with  a  side  tubulure  for 
the  escape  of  the  purified  mercury.  The  dimensions  of  this  jar  must 
be  such  that  the  mercury  standing  in  it  shall  counterbalance  the  higher 
column  of  ferric  chloride  solution  in  the  inner  narrow  tube.  The 
mercury  flows  out  of  the  side  tubulure  of  the  wider  jar  purified  and 
dry.  A  single  repetition  of  the  treatment  may  be  necessary  if  the 
mercury  was  very  impure. — Berichte  der  Chem.  Gesells.,  xii,  p.  437. 
Organic  Chemistry. — A  French  chemist,  Forcraud,  who  with  the 
aid  of  silver-ultramarine  had  already  prepared  the  ultramarines  of  dif- 
ferent metals,  has  succeeded  in  preparing  organic  ultramarines  containing 
the  alcohol  radicles  in  the  place  of  the  silver.  Ethyl-ultramaiine  thus 
prepared  forms  a  gray  powder,  which  when  heated  decomposes  readily 
with  evolution  of  ethyl-sulphide,  and  which  when  heated  with  chloride 
of  sodium  changes  into  the  ordinary  blue  ultramarine. — Berichte  der 
Chem.  Gesells..  xii,  p.  376,  from  Comptes  Rendus. 
Chinolin,  C9H7N,  is  an  artificial  alkaloid  prepared  by  the  destructive 
distillation  of  quinia,  cinchonia  with  potassium  hydrate.  Its  synthesis 
has  just  been  effected  by  W.  Koenigs,  thus  bringing  us  a  step  nearer 
that  future  possibility,  the  artificial  production  of  the  cinchona  alka- 
loids. Ally  1  anilin  is  passed  over  oxide  of  lead,  which  has  been  heated 
to  a  faint  red  glow.  An  oily  distillate  is  thus  obtained,  possessing  the 
odor  of  benzonitrile.  This  is  treated  with  dilute  sulphuric  acid  and 
filtered  from  difficultly  soluble  anilin  salts,  shaken  up  with  ether,  and 
treated  with  solution  of  potassium  bichromate  and  sulphuric  acid  until 
no  further  change  takes  place.  The  filtrate  is  made  alkaline  and  dis- 
tilled in  a  current  of  steam,  when  the  chinolin  comes  over  with  the 
first  drops  of  water. — Berichte  der  Chem.  Gesells.,  xii,  p.  453. 
H.  Weidel  has  studied  the  oxydation  products  of  berberina,  and 
describes  an  acid  formed  by  the  action  of  nitric  acid  upon  the  alkaloid, 
which  acid  he  calls  berberonic  acid.  It  is  obtained  in  the  form  of  hard, 
nearly  colorless  prisms,  of  a  glassy  lustre,  difficultly  soluble  in  cold, 
easily  soluble  in  hot  water.  Analyses  of  the  purified  crystals  dried  at 
iio°C.  yield  results  corresponding  to  the  formula  C8H5N06 ;  dried  in 
the  air,  the  crystals  contain  two  molecules  of  water  of  crystallization. 
A  characteristic  reaction  for  berberonic  acid  is  the  deep  red  color,  with 
a  slight  blueish  shade,  that  its  aqueous  solutions  show  on  the  addition  of 
sulphate  of  iron.  This  reaction,  however,  is  shared  by  oxycinchom-  , 
eronic  and  pyridendicarbonic  acids.     If  the  lime  salt  of  berberonic  acid 
