564 
Varieties, 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Dec.  1875. 
3d.  With  nitric  acid  it  strikes  a  reddish-violet  color,  which  remains  for  several 
hours. 
4th.  Frohde's  reagent  (sodium  molybdate  with  concentrated  sulphuric  acid) 
gives  an  intensely  green  coloration,  which  after  a  time  has  a  slight  violet  cast. 
5th.  With  ferric  chloride  a  pink  color  is  obtained. 
An  aqueous  solution  of  iodic  acid  (i  :  10)  gives  garnet-red.  An  alcoholic 
solution  of  the  same  acid,  a  red  — Amer.  Chem.^  Sept.,  from  Jour,  de  Pharm.  et  de  Chim. 
Peroxide  of  Iron  as  a  Generator  of  Nitric  Acid,  and  on  the  Origin  of 
Nitre  in  some  Experiments  of  Cloez. — Dr.  Leone  Pesci. — The  author's  results 
are  :  that  sesquioxide  of  iron  is  capable  of  nitrifying  ammonia  5  that,  as  Prof. 
Selmi  holds,  the  first  step  in  nitrification  is  probably  the  formation  of  nitrous  acid  5 
that  this  oxidation  is  alfected  by  the  sesquioxide  of  iron,  not  as  a  porous  body, 
condensing  oxygen  from  the  air,  but  giving  up  oxygen  of  its  own  as  proved  by  its 
reduction  out  of  contact  with  the  air  5  if  exposed  to  the  air  the  sesquioxide  is  not 
reduced,  since  the  oxygen  withdrawn  is  replaced  from  the  atmosphere.  This  explains 
the  fertilizing  action  of  compounds  containing  peroxide  of  iron.  Hence,  also, 
ochraceous  limes  are  preferable  for  artificial  nitre-beds.  Lastly,  in  the  experiment  of 
Cloez,  ammonia  was  evolved,  to  the  oxidation  of  which  rather  than  to  the  direct 
oxidation  of  atmospheric  nitrogen  must  be  ascribed  the  formation  of  nitric  acid. — 
Chem.  Ne-^Sy  Sept.  24,  from  Gaz.  Chim  Ital. 
Oleandrin  and  so-called  Pseudocurarin. — Dr.  Giro  Bettelli. — Cattle  having 
been  poisoned  by  eating  oleander-leaves,  the  author  made  an  investigation  of 
oleandrin  and  pseudocurarin,  two  poisonous  principles  present.  Oleandrin  with 
concentrated  sulphuric  acid  gives  a  splendid  orange  color,  which  on  the  application  of 
heat  passes  into  a  violet-red.  With  sulphuric  acid  and  bichromate  of  potash  it  gives 
first  an  orange,  then  a  yellowish  green,  and  finally  an  emerald  green,  which  remains 
for  some  time.  With  sulphuric  acid  and  eerie  oxide  it  gives  an  orange  which  passes 
into  w\o\t\..—Ibid.y  from  ibid. 
On  Arbutin. — Fllasiwetz  and  Habermann  have  made  a  research  upon  arbutin,  a 
glucoside  extracted  by  Kawalier  from  the  Arctostaphylos  wva-ursi,  or  bearberry.  Its 
discoverer  observed  that  it  was  easily  split  into  glucose  and  a  body  which  he  called 
arctuvin,  but  which  Strecker  asserted  to  be  hydroquinone.  The  authors  find,  how- 
ever, that  the  body  thus  obtained  is  not  pure  hydroquinone,  but  is  a  mixture  of  this 
(  OCH 
and  its  methyl  derivative,  methyl-hydroquinone  Ce         <  3    isomeric  with 
f  OH 
saligenin  Ce  H4  j  QH^  "  Hence  they  assign  to  arbutin  the  formula 
C25H34O14  and  express  its  splitting  by  ferments,  as  follows  : 
C25H  340x4+(H2  0)2  =  Ce  H6  O^  +  C7  Hs  O2  -f  (Ce  Hi^Oe  )^ 
Arbutin.  Water.    Hydroquinone.    Methyl-hydroquinone.  Glucose. 
One  hundred  parts  of  arbutin  yield  19-7  hydroquinone,  22*5  methyl-hydroquinone 
and  64'7  sugar. — Liebigs  Annalen,  clxxvii,  334,  June,  1875. — Amer.  Jour,  of  Science 
and  Arts,  October,  1875. 
