71
deep violet. To obtain comparable tints it is essentially Ceresin 1s prepared from ozokerit, and is chiefly manunecessary
 to operate under the same conditions, and to facured in Austria. The total yield of ozokerit in
measure exactly the quantities of acid and of peroxide Gallicia, in 1875, amounted to 20 million kilos. Italy
employed. In spite of these precautions, in the case of takes the first rank in the utilisation of bees’-wax, the
ores, the tone of the colouration seems to vary with the yearly production of the kingdom being estimated at from
state of oxidation of the manganese. This readtion has 6 to 7 million kilos. The wax blcached in Venice is conheen
 applied by M. Leclerc for the determination of man- sidered the best, and its excellence is ascribed to the
ganese in soils and ashes, and subsequeatly M. Boussin- fa@ of its immunity from the dust of the main land.
gault has used it for irons and steels, These two "The Condition of the Public Laboratories of
savants employed a standard solution of mercurous France, — An important and interesting paper. The
nitrate, which, if poured into the violet liquor containing author maintains that, as far as the applications of
the manganese, reduces the permanganic acid and de- chemistry to the arts and manufa&ures are concerned,
colourises the liquor. Up to 0°300 per cent of manganese France can only claim the third rank.
the quantity of the reducing liquid employed to produce Tropaolin as an Alkalimetric Indicator.—The rethis
 deco ouration appears proportional to the percentage action 1s said to be far from sufficiently distiné for use in
of manganese ; above this it is no longer proportional. volumetric analysi -
( rs 2 ysis.
The author has sought to utilise this method, but unsuc- No. 2
cessfully, the majority of the steels now manufactured by co. . - 29. .
the Bessemer and Martin processes containing more than This issue contains an account of the oil and fat manuo'500
 per cent of manganese. On the other hand, in f{acture as represented at the Paris Exhibition.
case of cast-irons and ores, he has merely obtained irre- Process for the Detection of Alcohol in Ethereal
gular and confliting results. On substituting for the Oils.—A Drechsler.—The author uses a solution of 1
mercurous nitrate a solution of arsenious acid analogous part potassium bichromate in 10 parts of nitric acid of
to that eraployed in chlorimetry the results appeared spec. grav. 1°30. This new reagent shows the presence
better, and the author has thought the method applic- even of the smallest traces of alcohol in ethereal oils, as
able for determining tolerably high proportions of man- on its addition there is evolved, along with the specific
ganese. As the hydrochloric solution of arsenious acid odour of the oil, the well-known pungent smell of nitrite
is difficult to prepare and often forms a deposit in the of ethyl-oxide, whilst, at the same time, a very charaerbottles
 he has finally adopted the arsenite of soda. istic change of colour occurs, which is very different, ac-Fermentation
 of Beer.—P. Muller.—An account of cording to the quality of the different ethereal oils, and is
the vegetable growths which modify alcoholic fermenta- Dest observed by using for the experiment small porcelain
tion, capsules shaped like a watch-glass. Five to six drops of
the oil in question are poured into a capsule, 2 or 3 drops
of the reagent are added, and the whole is let stand. In
certain oils a remarkably beautiful play of colour appears
in the mixture,
Lustre and Colour of Potassium.—Dr. Erckmann.
—As a leture experiment, the author introduces a piece
of potassium, of the size of a pea, into a small test-tube,
heats to fusion, turns the glass round and round till the
metal congeals, and then seals up the tube. The greater
part of the potassium is deposited on the sides of the tube
as a specular metallic coating, resembling silver, and can
be exhibited during leQures, &c. The other alkaline
metals may be similarly treated.
[t is reported from Munich that a case of arsenical
poisoning has occurred in a man who has been suffering
iom a disease of the eyes, and who has for a long time
worn a green silk screen over his face.

CueEMICAL NEWS, ; 2
August 5, 275. } Chemical Notices from Foreign Sources

Chemiker Zeitung.
No. 27.
In this issue is an interesting account of the manufacture
 of a fine quality of lamp-black,—so-called diamond
black—by the combustion of the natural gas issuing from
two wells at Gambier, in Ohio. The yearly production is
about 16 tons, and the quality is excellent,
The % Germanic Museum * at Niirnberg has been recently
 enriched with a number of mathematical and
physical instruments and apparatus.
Amber is found in Roumania. It differs in colour from
that obtained on the coasts of the Baltic, being occasionally
 rose, red, brown, blue, green, and black. Specimens
are occasionally found containing veins and spots resembling
 silver and gold in colour. In chemical com.
position and probable origin the Roumanian amber does
not differ from the Prussian.
A rich deposit of coal has been discovered at Chala
Alta, near Olazco, in Peru. The quantity is calculated
as sufficient for the entire wants of South America for a
long time.
Tartar in Wines.—Dr. M. Bichner.— The author
finds that, on submitting wine to a low temperature,
almost half the tartar present is deposited, and is not redissolved
 on a subsequent rise of temperature. A low
pecentage of tartar is no proof that water has been added.
The percentage of tartar bears no dire proportion to the
percentage of ash.—(Dingler’s Polytech. Sournal)
. Metallic tungsten, chemically pure, is now manufactured
in Hanover at a very low price.
No, 28.
Chemical Industry at the Paris Exhibition.—Dr. C.
Deite.—The author here treats of petroleum, mineral wax,
or teresih, bees’-wax, and turpentine. He considers that
the Russian mineral oil from the wells of the Caucasus
will never be able to compete with the American, both
On account of the difficulty of transport and of the in.
ferior quality. The Gallician petroleum may, in course
of time, prove a formidable rival to the American.

Biedermann's Central-blait,
Heft 2.
Water-Examination and Water-Pollution.—Dr. H.
Vobl, Dr. F. Fischer, and J. P. Dahlem.—-Dr. Vohl has
examined the waters of the Rhine, between Cologne and
Mihlheim, with particular reference to the putrid matters
introduced by cesspools, privies, domestic and industrial
residues. As the material for his investigations, he
selected the incrustations and residual waters from the
boilers of steam-boats, which ply upon certain parts of the
river only, choosing those only where no compositions
are used to prevent deposits. In the incrustations, the
presence of arsenic was distin@ly recognised, derived
doubtless from the waste waters of dye and colourworks.
 The tests applied for other poisonous metallic
oxides, such as copper, lead, and zinc, gave negative results.
A not ineonsiderable amount of phosphoric acid owes its
presence, according to Dr. Vohl, to the influx of excrementitious
 liquids. The existence of fatty acids in the
concretions proves the contamination of the water with
soap-lyes, In the concentrated residual waters were
found considerable quantities of chlorine and nitrites, a
proof that the river receives large quantities of animal
refuse. The presence of sulphuretted hydrogen indicates.