PREPARATION  OF  SUCCINIC  ACID  FROM  MALATE  OF  LIME.  351 
In  hops  which  have  been  sulphured,  it  is  impossible  to  detect 
the  sulphur  after  a  few  months. 
This  test  for  sulphurous  acid  is  not  only  one  of  the  most  deli- 
cate in  the  whole  range  of  analytical  chemistry;  it  is  also  one  of 
the  simplest  and  most  beautiful — London  Chem.  Gaz.9  from 
Kunst.  und  Gcewerbeblatt  fur  Bay  em. 
ON  THE  PREPARATION  OF  SUCCINIC  ACID  FROM  MALATE  OF 
LIME. 
By  E.  J.  Kohl. 
In  the  preparation  of  succinic  acid  from  malate  of  lime,  which 
is  obtained  from  the  juice  of  the  berries  of  the  mountain  ash, 
succinate  of  lime  is  not  always  obtained,  but  sometimes  butyrate 
and  sometime  lactate  of  lime,  with  a  larger  or  smaller  quantity 
of  succinic  acid.  The  author  has  ascertained  the  conditions 
under  which  a  favorable  result  may  be  obtained  in  the  forma- 
tion of  this  acid  in  the  fermentation  of  malate  of  lime. 
1.  Preparation  of  the  Malate  of  Lime. — -The  malic  acid  is  ob- 
tained from  the  berries  at  the  period  when  they  begin  to  turn 
red  ;  at  this  time  they  furnish  the  largest  quantity  of  acid.  The 
expressed  juice  of  the  berries  is  evaporated  to  half  its  volume, 
and  then  perfectly  clarified  by  straining  through  a  pointed  bag, 
which  is  best  made  of  flannel.  The  dark  red  fluid  thus  obtained 
is  heated  to  boiling,  and  nearly  saturated  with  milk  of  lime, 
purified  by  straining  through  a  sieve :  the  point  of  saturation  is 
indicated  by  the  dark  reddish-brown  color  of  the  fluid.  If  too 
much  lime  be  added,  the  fluid  appears  blackish-green  ;  but  this 
error  may  be  corrected  by  a  further  addition  of  juice,  for  which 
reason  it  is  as  well  to  keep  some  of  it  back.  The  boiling  is  con- 
tinued until  the  fluid  is  almost  of  the  thickness  of  a  syrup,  when 
the  malate  of  lime  separates  in  a  crystalline  form  ;  this  is  taken 
out  with  a  perforated  spoon,  and  put  into  a  vessel  in  which  a 
stage  can  be  fixed  at  a  greater  or  less  elevation,  according  to  the 
quantity  of  the  malate  of  lime,  to  allow  the  fluid  to  drain  away. 
The  salt  is  washed  in  this  vessel  by  mixing  it  with  water  and 
allowing  it  to  settle,  until  the  fluid,  which  at  first  is  reddish- 
brown,  runs  away  almost  limpid.  This  is  necessary  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  operation,  and  the  loss  thus  occasioned  is  of  no  con- 
