14  Abstracts  from  the  French  Journals.     {^'^- j^n.^m!''"^' 
and  cod-liver  oils  give  a  milky  mixture,  which  is  also  the  case  with 
butter  when  thus  treated.  Mr.  Labiche  mixes  equal  parts  of  the  oil 
and  a  saturated  solution  of  neutral  acetate  of  lead,  and  adds  ammonia, 
stirring  briskly.  The  acetate  decomposes  and  the  nascent  oxide  reacts 
upon  the  oil.  Then  the  red  color  appears.  After  standing,  the  sur- 
face turns  orange-red  and  the  lower  portion  becomes  grumous.  If 
20  per  cent,  of  cotton-seed  oil  be  present  the  coloration  appears  at 
once ;  lesser  quantities  show  on  the  surface  after  the  mixture  has 
reuiained  standing  for  a  time. — Union  Ph.,  'Nov.,  1887. 
Capric  Acid. — A  new  source  of  this  acid  has  been  found  by  A. 
and  P.  Buisine  {Acad,  des  Sci.,  Oct.  10),  in  the  washings  of  w^ools. 
When  these  Avaters  are  slightly  acidulated,  a  complex,  fatty  matter  is 
separated,  which  is  found  mixed  with  fat  acids  in  saponification  with 
potash ;  and  also  neutral  fatty  principles  are  present,  held  in  emul- 
sion in  the  liquid.  This  fat  is  the  first  matter  from  which  we  extract 
capric  acid  ;  it  gives  about  five  per  cent.  But  capric  acid  in  quantity 
is  not  present  in  the  fresh  washings  of  wools ;  they  must  be  old,  i.  e., 
have  undergone  fermentation  before  much  of  the  acid  can  be  found. 
The  authors  state  that  this  ^^augmentation  is  due  to  the  action  of  mi- 
crobes, for  it  is  not  found  in  sterilized  waters.'^  They  say  further- 
more '^that  this  formation  of  a  fat  acid  by  microbes  is  interesting, 
froai  the  fact  that  up  to  this  time  we  have  had  no  knowledge  concerning 
the  mode  of  generation  of  fatty  substances."  lloniteur  Scientijique, 
Nov.  1887. 
Distillation  of  Citric  Acid  with  Glycerin. — In  a  note  to 
the  Acad.  des.  Sci.,  Clermont  and  Chautard  report  as  follows :  "The 
formation  of  pyruvin  as  the  unique  product  of  the  distillation  of  a 
mixture  of  citric  acid  and  glycerin,  is  a  curious  and  unexpected  result. 
We  know  that  pyruvin  is  obtained  from  the  distillation  of  tartaric 
acid  with  glycerin,  and  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  we  get  the 
same  substance  under  the  same  conditions,  from  so  different  a  com- 
pound as  citric  acid.  Erhardt  succeeded  in  preparing  pyruvin  by  dis- 
tilling glyceric  acid  with  glycerin.  It  appears  probable  that  in  our 
operation  the  pyruvin  originates  in  this  way,  and  that  the  glyceric  acid 
is  formed  in  the  course  of  the  reaction  at  the  expense  of  the  glycerin 
or  the  acrolein.  We  could  isolate  no  other  product  in  our  process. 
We  sought  carefully  for  the  pyrocitric  acids,  but  could  find  no  trace. 
We  were  obliged  to  admit  that  the  citric  acid  was  entirely  destroyed." 
Moniteur  Scientijique,  Nov.  1887. 
