acetylene, or with carbon dust, to the melt through an opening in the cover. He avoids excess of carbon, but does not limit the quantity of nitrogen or ammonia used. Excess of the latter is to be collected in acid, and the cyanide recovered by wellknown methods. Colné, of Pittsburg, proposed a method for production of cyanide and ammonia in the following steps carried on in a closed alkali furnace: (1) burning of air and gas, (2) dissociation of liquid hydrocarbon, (3) dissociation of alkali and formation of cyanide. In connection with this, decomposition of the cyanide with superheated steam for producing ammonia. Caro passes free nitrogen over barium or calcium carbide alone, or over these substances mixed with alkali and carbon, the whole heated in a clay retort or tube to a dark red heat. Rossel and Franck heat the carbides of aluminum, magnesium, zinc, or iron in presence of nitrogen to form the corresponding nitrides. Conroy, Hurter, and Brock convert the thiocyanate into cyanide by heating together in an autoclave under pressure, calcium thiocyanate and ferrous chloride, but preferably the thiocyanate and reduced iron in excess, with the following reaction : Fe(CNS),+2Fe Fe(CN), + 2FeS. = The residuum is treated with soda-lye and leached to obtain sodium ferrocyanide; or the mass is treated with weak hydrochloric acid, the hydrogen sulphide collected, the ferrous cyanide washed and treated with alkali. If the ferrous chloride is used in the first process the residue from the soda leach is treated with hydrochloric acid, and the resulting ferrous chloride used as indicated. The United Alkali Company have utilized the reaction of nitric acid with the thiocyanates for the production of pure cyanide. The solution of 20 to 30 per cent. thiocyanate is mixed with an excess of nitric acid and forced in fine spray into a closed vessel containing hot water and fitted with a stirring gear. Air must be vigorously excluded from the apparatus, the thiocyanate is broken up, sulphuric acid is formed, cyanogen gas is liberated and the latter after being washed to free from nitrous fumes is absorbed in an alkaline solution or cold water. Nithack, of Nordhausen, undertakes the production of nitrogen compounds by the electrolysis of water charged with air, making use of an observation of Davy to the effect that under such conditions ammonia will be formed at the cathode and nitric acid at the anode. He therefore electrolyzes water charged under pressure with air and claims to so obtain ultimately a strong solution of ammonia salt. What seems to be an improvement in the manufacture of oxalic acid has been patented in the United States and England. Woody matter is dried and heated, in vacuo, to 70° C. to remove air. Hot alkali liquor is then run in upon it, the vacuum maintained, and temperature raised to 180° C. The progress of the operation is controlled by testing a sample from time to time. When the digestion is complete oxidizing substances such as hydrogen dioxide, sodium dioxide, air, or ozonized air, are introduced while the vacuum is maintained. The resulting product is treated according to the usual process of oxalic manufacture. The industrial value of the process remains to be determined. The growing prejudice of the French medical fraternity in favor of higher value of white wines for human consumption has stimulated their production and to the extent of removing the color of wine from red grapes. To this end Martinaud extracts the juice thoroughly, aerates it until it is completely decolorized, filters it to remove the precipitated coloring-matter, and ferments the resulting liquid. The special advantage of the white wine thus made is not stated. Buchner, of Tübingen, has made the interesting discovery that the process of alcoholic fermentation is not purely physiological and part of the vital function of the yeast plant, but is due to the influence of an enzyme produced within and secreted by the living cell. He mixed beer yeast with fine sand, ground the mass till the whole was well reduced, subjected it to pressure of 500 atmospheres, and so obtained 450 grams of juice, which was yellowish, transparent, almost clear-but sometimes somewhat opalescent-having pleasant odor and containing carbon dioxide and not a little coagulable albumen. Among other enzymes there were present invertin and maltose and glycogen hydrolyzing ferments besides oxybases. When sugar is added to the juice fermentation is set up much more quickly than with fresh yeast and the liberated gas is pure carbon dioxide. Its action upon sugar is lost in two or three days, but in presence of sugar it continues five or six days. It may be dried without losing its power. Yeasts differ considerably as regards the juices they yield and the juices of some cells have no fermenting power. More interesting and valuable to the industry is the discovery of Dr. Calmette of Lille, France, of a micro-organism which has the power of converting starch directly into alcohol without the previous intervention of malt or other hydrolyzing agent. He practically applied his discovery in a distillery where 250 kilograms of grain gave 10,000 liter per cent. of alcohol (100 liters of absolute alcohol). If this operation and result can be duplicated it will eliminate from the distillery the use of malt and greatly diminish the cost of production of alcohol. The yield of alcohol reported is attractive being about as high as is ordinarily obtained in the distilleries of either this country or Germany and the new ferment will doubtless receive serious attention from those directly interested in the development of the spirit industry. The promise of the production of spirit from moss, peat, waste woody matter, etc., has not been fulfilled, and the results of Stenberg, of von Felitzen and Tollens, and of Simonsen give but little encouragement to the industry. Tollens, ascribes the unexpectedly low yields of alcohol obtained in each case to the presence of pentoses in the crude materials, which, although converted by the acid treatment, yield products incapable of alcoholic fermentation. Thus Tollens in his study of peats made determinations of the total reducing substances and of the pentoses and found that the difference between the results corresponded closely with the fermentable carbohydrates as indicated. by the alcohol obtained. And Tollens' results correspond closely with those obtained by Maercker. The process of Fritsche for producing alcohol from ethylsulphuric acid obtained from washing the ethylene from coke-oven gases has not further developed notwithstanding the possible low cost of the product and this has been ascribed to the limited supply of the raw material. It is estimated that the total theoretical production from this source could not exceed 5,000,000 gallons of absolute alcohol; but it has been suggested that a further source of ethylene would be possible in the reaction between calcium carbide in an acid solution containing zinc or some other metal, whereby it is expected that the nascent hydrogen and nascent acetylene might combine with formation of the compound sought. The resulting ethylene was to be treated after the method of Fritsche for production of alcohol. The cost of operation of this process would doubtless preclude its use even with very low cost of calcium carbide and therefore of acetylene. It is impossible to say however what the future may have in store for us in this particular, for with cheap acetylene on one hand, with cheap hydrogen from the electrolytic processes of Latchinoff, Garuti, or of Schuchert & Co., together with electrical apparatus of Otto for intensifying chemical activity, cheap and abundant ethylene may still be possible. The suggestion will doubtless be attractive to those most closely interested. In every direction industrial progress is suggestive, and we may expect advancement in all directions with increasing intensity. Commercial artificial indigo, commercial artificial silk, commercial mercerized cotton in its various forms, the new colors and medicinal substances from the carbon compounds, new concentrated nutritive substances, synthetic albumen, the various toxines and extracts of animal matters of therapeutic value, all claim a large share of attention; and so do hundreds of other substances and processes in which the principles of chemistry find application to human needs but they must, for such discussion as this, be left to other hands and for other occasions in the hope that neither may be wanting to fill the gaps necessarily left by the present effort. WM. MCMURtrie. NOTE. Standard Pig Iron Samples.-The Committee appointed by the American Foundrymen's Association to prepare and distribute standard samples of pig iron drillings, reports that it is now able to distribute a range of samples that will meet the approval and indorsement of managers and chemists employed in the iron industry. The standardized samples now ready for distribution cover the following determinations: Silicon, one each of a low, medium and high range of cast iron. Sulphur, one each of a low, medium and high range of cast iron. Manganese, one each of a low, medium and high range of cast iron. Phosphorus, one each of a low, medium and high range of cast iron. Total carbon, one determination. Titanium, three determinations. In all, seventeen determinations made on four (4) samples. The samples are designated as A, B, C, and D. Sample A, which has been ground to pass a 40-mesh sieve, gives one total carbon and one graphite. Sample B gives a low silicon, a medium sulphur, a low manganese, a phosphorus which is within the Bessemer limit, and a titanium. This has been passed through a 20-mesh sieve. Sample C gives a medium silicon, high sulphur, medium manganese, medium phosphorus, and a titanium. This has also passed a 20-mesh sieve. Sample D gives a high silicon, low sulphur, high manganese, high phosphorus, and a titanium, and has passed through a 40-mesh sieve. The drillings were obtained from castings made after the plan described by Mr. West in his paper before the Pittsburg Foun drymen's Association, June, 1898. The drillings were prepared under the supervision of Prof. C. H. Benjamin, and the standardizing under that of Prof. A. W. Smith, both of the Case School of Applied Science, Cleveland. The chemists engaged in standardizing the four samples were Messrs. Booth, Garrett, and Blair, Philadelphia; Prof. A. W. Smith, Cremer and Bick nell, Cleveland, O., and Andrew S. McCreath, Harrisburg, Pa. These samples may be obtained of Thos. D. West, chairman, Sharpsville, Pa. NOTICE. E. H. The regular monthly meetings of the New York Section will be held in the Chemical Lecture Room of the College of the City of New York, 17 Lexington Avenue, at 8.15 P.M. on the following dates: January 13; February 9; March 9; April 7; May 5 ; June 9. All chemists who may be visiting New York on the dates named are cordially invited to attend these meetings. Wм. MCMURTRIE, NEW BOOKS. SOAPS. A practical manual of the manufacture of domestic, toilet, and other soaps. BY GEORGE H. HURST, F.C.S. London: Scott, Greenwood & Co.; New York: D. Van Nostrand Co. Price, $5.00. Nearly half this book is devoted to the raw materials used in the manufacture of soap. This part is very comprehensive, containing even a chapter on water as a soap material; at the same time no space is given to technically useless descriptions. of those fats and oils, which are but rarely used in soap manufacture, while the position of the commoner fats in the scale of usefulness is clearly stated. Considering the admirable arrangement of this part of the work, it is to be regretted that it is not more accurate, especially in the chemistry of the fats, for though the author has inserted abundant simple formulas and equations, many passages show that the material has been hastily compiled from the various works on this subject; for instance, with a little thought the author would have avoided the erroneous statement made on page 117 that the proportion of solid fatty acids in tallow is increased by the addition of cottonseed-oil stearin. Again, lard is said to contain thirty-five to forty per cent. of stearin with small quantities of palmitin, while actually, as a more careful search into the literature of this subject would have shown, the palmitin in lard is largely in excess of the stearin. Such errors are common in works on this subject, but it is time that they were weeded out. |