34         Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.    { A  j^arryfi9oi.m' 
either  directly  or  in  the  form  of  capsules,  pills  (?),  lozenges  (?), 
etc.  L.  F.  K. 
GLYCERO-SODIUM  BORATE. 
This  compound  of  the  Russian  Pharmacopoeia  has  been  shown  to 
be  a  mixture  of  the  tri-  and  tetra-glycero-sodium  borate  and  not  a 
true  chemical  compound.  A  less  hygroscopic  preparation  can  be 
produced  as  follows:  Mix  120  grammes  glycerin  (sp.  gr.  1-255)  with 
IOO  grammes  of  borax  and  heat  until  the  glassy  mass  becomes 
thready.  It  is  then  partially  cooled  and  rolled  into  sticks.  This 
compound  is  tetra-glycero-sodium  borate  of  the  formula  (C3H5)4- 
(H2B03)2(HNaB03)2(OH)60,  is  readily  soluble  in  alcohol  and  water 
and  melts  at  1530  to  1540  C— E.  Schazki,  Chem.  Ztg.  Rep,,  1900, 
24,  148.  L.  F.  K. 
CRYSTALLIZATION  OF  AMORPHOUS  SUGAR. 
The  presence  of  crystals,  acting  as  nuclei,  is  conducive  to  the 
crystallization  of  amorphous  sugar.  Alkali  salts,  which  to  a  cer- 
tain extent  prevent  the  formation  of  invert  sugar,  induce  crystal, 
lization,  while  the  other  organic  salts  do  not  exert  this  influence. 
Light  assists  crystallization,  but  invert  sugar  retards  it,  and  the 
retardation  is  proportional  to  the  amount  of  invert  sugar  present. — 
F.  G.  Wiechmann,  Bull.  I' Assoc.  des  Chim.  de  Sucr.  et  de  Dist,  1900, 
17,  745.  L.  F.  K. 
THE  PREPARATION  OF  ETHYL  AND  METHYL  ALCOHOLS  FROM  THE  COR- 
RESPONDING HYDROCARBONS. 
A  German  patent  has  been  taken  out  for  the  production  of  the 
above  alcohols  by  the  direct  union  of  the  corresponding  hydrocar- 
bons and  oxygen.  These  gases  are  mixed  with  a  quantity  of 
oxygen  or  air  insufficient  for  complete  combustion  and  the  mixture 
passed  through  a  tube  containing  a  red-hot  catalytic  mass.  If  plat- 
inum is  employed  as  the  catalytic  agent,  oxidation  proceeds  too  far, 
and  the  result  is  fatty  acids  only.  The  less  energetic  catalytic 
agents,  such  as  asbestos,  pumice  stone,  the  various  forms  of  copper 
or  certain  mixtures  of  the  above,  are  the  most  suitable. — From 
y.  Soc.  Chem.  Ind.,  19,  684.  L.  F.  K. 
