Scientific  and  Technical  Abstracts 
733 
organisms,  they  act  more  efficiently  when  acid;  in  fact,  the  oxidiz- 
ing power  of  these  solutions  is  greatly  depressed  by  the  presence  of 
alkali.  They  suggest  for  treatment  of  alkaline  waters  the  simultan- 
eous addition  of  nitre  cake. 
The  variability  of  chlorinated  lime — as  it  reaches  the  consumer 
— appears  to  have  considerable  public  importance.  One  sample 
(packed  in  paper)  purchased  at  a  local  store  was  found  to  contain 
only  traces  of  available  chlorine.  The  unstable  character  of  chlorin- 
ated lime — even  at  low  temperatures — is  little  appreciated.  It  decom- 
poses very  rapidly  if  exposed  to  damp  air  or  to  carbon  dioxide. 
Solution  of  sodium  hypochlorite  keeps  much  more  satisfactorily,  so 
long  as  it  is  kept  in  a  cool  place,  protected  from  light  and  from  ac- 
cess to  carbon  dioxide. — J.  S.  C.  I.,  Feb.  28,  1921. — Through  the 
Aust.  Joum.  of  Pharm. 
Approximate  Estimation  of  Commercial  Cresol  in  Lysol. 
C.  J.  Jordan  and  F.  Southerden.  {Pharm.  J.,  1921,  106,  479-480.)  — 
Products  of  somewhat  varied  composition  are  sold  under  the  name 
"lysol,"  but  most  of  them  consist  essentially  of  a  strong  solution  of 
castor  oil  or  linseed  oil  soap  incorporated  with  commercial  cresol. 
To  estimate  the  amount  of  cresol  present  60  gm.  of  the  sample  is 
acidified  with  30  cc.  of  dilute  sulphuric  acid  and  steam-distilled  until 
the  distillate  no  longer  gives  a  blue  coloration  with  ferric  chloride. 
The  whole  distillate  is  shaken  thoroughly,  but  not  too  violently,  so 
as  to  ensure  saturation  of  the  aqueous  layer,  and  then  set  aside  for 
a  few  hours.  The  volume  of  the  cresol  layer  multiplied  by  1.04  and 
'added  to  one-fiftieth  of  the  volume  of  the  aqueous  layer  gives  the 
weight  of  cresol  in  the  portion  of  the  sample  taken.  The  method 
yielded  trustworthy  results  in  the  case  of  mixtures  containing  known 
amounts  of  cresol.  It  is  generally  agreed  that  "lysol"  should  con- 
tain 50  per  cent,  of  cresol,  but  analyses  of  ten  different  brands 
showed  that  in  some  cases  the  cresol  content  was  about  40  per  cent., 
and  in  one  sample  35  per  cent. — W.  P.  S.,  through  The  Analyst, 
Sept.,  192 1. 
Mitragynine  and  Mitraversine,  Two  New  Alkaloids  From 
Species  of  Mitragyne.  E.  Field.  Chem.  Soc.  Trans.,  192 1,  119, 
887-891. — The  residue  obtained  by  evaporating  the  alcoholic  ex- 
