-j£Z-%Sr}  Varieties.  519 
a  certain  extent,  is  poisonous  or  not,  there  being  no  guarantee  against  the  greediness 
of  the  wine  colorer.  One  result  of  the  agitation  has  been  that  the  officers  of  octroi 
have  been  ordered  to  take  samples,  for  analysis,  of  all  red  wines  coming  into  Paris. — 
Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  Sept.  23. 
Preservation  of  Syrups  by  Salicylic  Acid. — Mr.  Lajoux,  a  Paris  pharmacien, 
has  been  making  some  experiments  with  the  object  of  ascertaining  the  minimum 
quantity  of  salicylic  acid  by  which  the  fermentation  of  syrups  can  be  prevented  dur- 
ing the  summer.  The  syrups  experimented  upon  were  red-currant,  cherry,  mul- 
berry, capillaire,  gentian  and  compound  ipecacuanha.  It  was  found  necessary  to 
add  a  quantity  of  salicylic  acid  equal  to  one  thousandth  part  of  the  weight  of  the 
sugar  in  the  syrup.  Syrups  thus  prepared  were  kept  simply  covered  with  a  sheet  of 
paper  at  a  mean  temperature  of  about  i7°C.%  At  the  end  of  two  months  they  were 
intact,  whilst  the  same  syrups,  placed  in  the  same  conditions,  but  without  salicylic 
acid,  were  completely  altered. — Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  Sept.  16. 
Test  for  Sugar. — Vidau  has  observed  that  a  mixture  of  equal  parts  of  hydro- 
chloric acid  and  oil  of  benne  [01.  Sesami),  either  in  the  cold,  or  when  slightly 
heated,  assumes  a  distinct  rose-color  in  the  presence  of  cane  or  grape  sugar,  pro- 
vided not  less  than  o'ooi  gm.  (-6^  gr.)  of  sugar  is  present  for  every  c.c.  (16*3  min.) 
of  mixture. — Journ.  de  Ph.  et  d.  Chim. 
Chromic  Inks. — As  long  ago  as  1848,  Professor  F.  Runge  invented  what  he 
called  a  chromic  ink,  from  its  containing  chromate  of  potash.  His  directions  for  its 
preparations,  published  at  the  time  in  Dinglers  Journal,  were  as  follows :  A  deco- 
ration of  logwood  is  first  made  in  the  proportion  of  10  to  80,  that  is  10  lbs.  of  log- 
wood is  boiled  with  enough  water  to  produce  80  lbs.  of  the  decoction.  To  1,000 
parts  of  this  logwood  extract,  when  cold,  is  added  1  part  of  yellow  chromate  of 
potash,  stirring  rapidly.  It  is  ready  for  use  at  once.  Gum  and  other  additions  are 
injurious,  he  says,  to  this  ink. 
The  following  year  W.  Stein  proposed  an  improvement  on  Runge's  ink,  saying 
that  the  great  fault  of  this  ink  was  that  it  soon  became  thick,  like  sour  milk.  This 
he  overcame  by  adding  four  grains  of  corrosive  sublimate  to  each  bottle.  This 
would  restore  thick  ink  to  its  pristine  quality,  and  improve  its  color  changing  it 
from  deep  indigo  blue  to  pure  black. 
In  1867,  C.  Puscher  described  a  new  ink  similar  to  the  above,  made  as  follows  : 
Boil  10  ozs.  of  logwood  in  20  ozs.  of  water,  then  boil  again  in  20  ozs.  more  of  water, 
and  mix  the  two  decoctions  ;  add  2  ozs.  of  chrome  alum  and  boil  another  quarter  of 
an  hour.    One  oz.  of  gum  arabic  is  added,  and  we  have  25  oz.  of  deep  black  ink. 
Bottger  says  that  a  simple  method  of  preventing  gelatinizing  in  chromic  ink  is  to 
add  to  the  water  in  which  the  extract  is  made  some  carbonate  of  soda.  His  method 
of  operation  is  as  follows  :  Dissolve  15  parts  of  extract  of  logwood  in  1,000  parts 
of  distilled  water  to  which  4  parts  of  carbonate  of  soda  has  been  added  at  boiling- 
heat,  and  add  1  part  of  yellow  chromate  of  potash,  dissolve  in  a  little  water. — Sci- 
entific American,  Nov.  4th. 
