566 
Varietie 
j  Am.  Jour.  Pharm . 
\      Dec.  1875 
Copper  Alloy  that  will  Adhere  to  Glass. — The  following  alloy  of  copper 
will  attach  itself  fiimly  to  surfaces  of  metal,  glass,  or  porcelain  :  Twenty  to 
thirty  parts  of  finely  blended  copper  (made  by  reduction  of  oxide  of  copper  with 
hydrogen  or  precipitation  from  solution  of  its  sulphate  with  zinc)  are  made  into  a 
paste  with  oil  of  vitriol.  To  this  seventy  parts  of  mercury  are  added  and  well 
triturated.  The  acid  is  then  washed  out  with  boiling  water  and  the  compound 
allowed  to  cool.  In  ten  or  twelve  hours  it  becomes  sufliciently  hard  to  receive  a 
brilliant  polish,  and  to  scratch  the  surface  of  the  gold.  When  heated,  it  is  plastic, 
but  does  not  contract  on  cooling. — Amer.  Gas-Light  Jour.,  Oct.  2. 
Uninflammable  Products. — It  is  well  known  that  certain  substances,  notably 
phosphate  of  ammonia,  incorporated  in  the  fibers  of  tissues  render  the  same 
incombustible,  or,  rather,  admit  of  their  burning  very  slowly  and  carbonizing  with 
the  production  of  flame.  M.  L'Abbe  Mauran,  says  La  Nature,  has  recently 
discovered  that  a  mixture  of  borax,  sulphate  of  soda,  and  boracic  acid,  in  suitable 
proportions,  while  rendering  cloth  uninflammable,  will  also  prevent  any  alteration  of 
color,  flexibility,  or  lasting  qualities  through  the  effect  of  combustion. — Ibid. 
Poisoning  by  Bichromate  of  Potassium. — A  photographer  in  London 
recently  drank  a  quantity  of  a  strong  solution  of  bichromate  of  potassium,  having 
mistaken  the  jug  for  another  which  contained  ale.  The  physician  called  in  found 
him  very  prostrate,  sweating  profusely,  and  comj)laining  of  severe  abdominal 
pains.  He  was  also  slightly  purged,  the  evacuations  being  of  a  greenish-yellow 
color.  The  pupils  were  dilated,  and  the  pulse  very  weak  and  fluttering  Sulphate 
of  zinc  in  water  was  administered  two  or  three  times,  until  vomiting  and  active 
purgation  had  been  induced.  Subsequently  olive-oil  was  given  him.  He  remained 
very  weak  for  some  time,  and  the  stomach  could  only  tolerate  the  mildest  food, — 
British  Medical  Journal,  Amer.  Drug.  Circ,  Oct. 
Picric  Acid,  obtained  by  the  action  of  nitric  acid  upon  carbolic  acid,  or,  better, 
by  treating  crystallized  phenic  sulphate  of  sodium  with  nitric  acid,  is  a  yellow  sub- 
stance, crystallizing  in  foliated  structure,  difficultly  soluble  in  cold,  readily  in  hot 
water,  and  also  soluble  in  alcohol.  Picric  acid  has  strong  tinctorial  properties,  and 
has  long  been  used  as  a  dye  for  silk  and  woolens,  to  which  it  imparts  a  beautiful 
rich  yellow,  when  mordanted  with  alum  or  tartar.  In  France,  annually,  some  80  to 
100  tons  of  picric  acid  are  prepared,  but  the  bulk  is  used  for  the  manufacture  of 
picrate  gunpowder.  The  ammonia  salt  of  the  trinitro-resylic  acid  is  met  with  in 
the  trade  as  Victoria  yellow,  as  a  dye  material.  Picric  acid  has  lately  been  em- 
ployed to  give  a  bitter  to  beer.  To  detect  this  adulteration,  Brunner  recommends 
acidulating  the  beer  with  hydrochloric  acid,  and  plunging  therein  a  fragment  of 
woolen  thread,  and  digesting  the  same  in  a  bain  marie.  After  the  thread  is  removed, 
it  is  heated  with  a  solution  of  ammonia.  The  latter  is  filtered,  evaporated  in  a  bain 
marie  to  small  volume,  and  a  few  drops  of  cyanide  of  potassium  are  added.  The 
presence  of  0-015  grain  of  picric  acid  in  a  pint  of  beer  is  determined  by  a  red 
color  being  produced,  due  to  the  formation  of  isopurpurate  of  potash.    The  yield  of 
