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SECTION XIV.
ABSORBENT POWDERS.
A lady's toilet-table is incomplete without a box of some absorbent powder; indeed, from our earliest infancy, powder is used for drying the skin with the greatest benefit; no wonder that its use is continued in advanced years, if, by slight modifications in its composition, it can be employed not only as an absorbent, but as a means of "personal adornment." We are quite within limits in stating that many ton-weights of such powders are used in this country annually. They are principally composed of various starches, prepared from wheat, potatoes, and various nuts, mixed more or less with powdered talc—of Hauey, steatite (soap-stone), French chalk, oxide of bismuth, and oxide of zinc, &c. The most popular is what is termed
VIOLET POWDER.
Wheat starch, 12 lbs. Orris-root powder, 2 lbs. Otto of lemon, 1/2 oz. " bergamot, 3/4 oz. " cloves, 2 drachms.
ROSE FACE POWDER.
Wheat starch, 7 lbs. Rose Pink, 1/2 drachm. Otto of rose, 2 drachms. " santal, 2 "
PLAIN OR UNSCENTED HAIR POWDER
Is pure wheat starch.
FACE POWDER.
Starch, 1 lb. Oxide of Bismuth, 4 oz.
PERLE POWDER.
French chalk, 1 lb. Oxide of bismuth, 1 oz. Oxide of zinc, 1 oz.
BLANC DE PERLE
Is pure oxide of bismuth in powder.
FRENCH BLANC
Is levigated talc passed through a silk sieve.
This is the best face powder made, particularly as it does not discolor from emanation of the skin or impure atmosphere.
LIQUID BLANC (FOR THEATRICAL USE).
The use of a white paint by actresses and dancers, is absolutely necessary; great exertion produces a florid complexion, which is incompatible with certain scenic effects, and requires a cosmetic to subdue it.
Madame V——, during her stage career, has probably consumed more than half a hundredweight of oxide of bismuth, prepared thus:—
Rose or orange-flower water, 1 pint. Oxide of bismuth, 4 oz.
Mixed by long trituration.
CALCINED TALC
Is also extensively used as a toilet powder, and is sold under various names; it is not so unctuous as the ordinary kind.
ROUGE AND RED PAINTS.
These preparations are in demand, not only for theatrical use, but by private individuals. Various shades of color are made, to suit the complexions of the blonde and brunette. One of the best kind is that termed
BLOOM OF ROSES.
Strong liquid ammonia, 1/2 oz. Finest carmine, 1/4 oz. Rose-water, 1 pint. Esprit de rose (triple), 1/2 oz.
Place the carmine into a pint bottle, and pour on it the ammonia; allow them to remain together, with occasional agitation, for two days; then add the rose-water and esprit, and well mix. Place the bottle in a quiet situation for a week; any precipitate of impurities from the carmine will subside; the supernatant "Bloom of Roses" is then to be bottled for sale. If the carmine was perfectly pure there would be no precipitate; nearly all the carmine purchased from the makers is more or less sophisticated, its enormous price being a premium to its adulteration.
Carmine cannot be manufactured profitably on a small scale for commercial purposes; four or five manufacturers supply the whole of Europe! M. Titard, Rue Grenier St. Lazare, Paris, produces, without doubt, the finest article; singular enough, however, the principal operative in the establishment is an old Englishman.
"The preparation of the finest carmine is still a mystery, because, on the one hand, its consumption being very limited, few persons are engaged in its manufacture, and, upon the other, the raw material being costly, extensive experiments on it cannot be conveniently made."—DR. URE.
In the Encyclopedie Roret will be found no less than a dozen recipes for preparing carmine; the number of formulae will convince the most superficial reader that the true form is yet withheld.
Analysis has taught us its exact composition; but a certain dexterity of manipulation and proper temperature are indispensable to complete success.
Most of the recipes given by Dr. Ure, and others, are from this source; but as they possess no practical value we refrain from reprinting them.
TOILET ROUGES.
Are prepared of different shades by mixing fine carmine with talc powder, in different proportions, say, one drachm of carmine to two ounces of talc, or one of carmine to three of talc, and so on. These rouges are sold in powder, and also in cake or china pots; for the latter the rouge is mixed with a minute portion of solution of gum tragacanth. M. Titard prepares a great variety of rouges. In some instances the coloring-matter of the cochineal is spread upon thick paper and dried very gradually; it then assumes a beautiful green tint. This curious optical effect is also observed in "pink saucers." What is known as Chinese book rouge is evidently made in the same way, and has been imported into this country for many years.
When the bronze green cards are moistened with a piece of damp cotton wool, and applied to the lips or cheeks, the color assumes a beautiful rosy hue. Common sorts of rouge, called "theatre rouge," are made from the Brazil-wood lake; another kind is derived from the safflower (Carthamus tinctorius); from this plant also is made
PINK SAUCERS.
The safflower is washed in water until the yellow coloring-matter is removed; the carthamine or color principle is then dissolved out by a weak solution of carbonate of soda; the coloring is then precipitated into the saucers by the addition of sulphuric acid to the solution.
Cotton wool and crape being colored in the same way are used for the same purpose, the former being sold as Spanish wool, the latter as Crepon rouge.
SECTION XV.
TOOTH POWDERS AND MOUTH WASHES.
TOOTH powders, regarded as a means merely of cleansing the teeth, are most commonly placed among cosmetics; but this should not be, as they assist greatly in preserving a healthy and regular condition of the dental machinery, and so aid in perfecting as much as possible the act of mastication. In this manner, they may be considered as most useful, although it is true, subordinate medicinal agents. By a careful and prudent use of them, some of the most frequent causes of early loss of the teeth may be prevented; these are, the deposition of tartar, the swelling of the gums, and an undue acidity of the saliva. The effect resulting from accumulation of the tartar is well known to most persons, and it has been distinctly shown that swelling of the substance of the gums will hasten the expulsion of the teeth from their sockets; and the action of the saliva, if unduly acid, is known to be at least injurious, if not destructive. Now, the daily employment of a tooth powder sufficiently hard, so as to exert a tolerable degree of friction upon the teeth, without, at the same time, injuring the enamel of the teeth, will, in most cases, almost always prevent the tartar accumulating in such a degree as to cause subsequent injury to the teeth; and a flaccid, spongy, relaxed condition of the gums may be prevented or overcome by adding to such a tooth powder, some tonic and astringent ingredient. A tooth powder containing charcoal and cinchona bark, will accomplish these results in most cases, and therefore dentists generally recommend such. Still, there are objections to the use of charcoal; it is too hard and resisting, its color is objectionable, and it is perfectly insoluble by the saliva, it is apt to become lodged between the teeth, and there to collect decomposing animal and vegetable matter around such particles as may be fixed in this position. Cinchona bark, too, is often stringy, and has a bitter, disagreeable taste. M. Mialhe highly recommends the following formula:—
MIALHE'S TOOTH POWDER.
Sugar of milk, one thousand parts; lake, ten parts; pure tannin, fifteen parts; oil of mint, oil of aniseed, and oil of orange flowers, so much as to impart an agreeable flavor to the composition.
His directions for the preparation of this tooth powder, are, to rub well the lake with the tannin, and gradually add the sugar of milk, previously powdered and sifted; and lastly, the essential oils are to be carefully mixed with the powdered substances. Experience has convinced him of the efficacy of this tooth powder, the habitual employment of which, will suffice to preserve the gums and teeth in a healthy state. For those who are troubled with excessive relaxation and sponginess of the gums, he recommends the following astringent preparation:—
MIALHE'S DENTIFRICE.
Alcohol, one thousand parts; genuine kino, one hundred parts; rhatany root, one hundred parts; tincture of balsam of tolu, two parts; tincture of gum benzoin, two parts; essential oil of canella, two parts; essential oil of mint, two parts; essential oil of aniseed, one part.
The kino and the rhatany root are to be macerated in the alcohol for seven or eight days; and after filtration, the other articles are to be added. A teaspoonful of this preparation mixed in three or four spoonfuls of water, should be used to rinse the mouth, after the use of the tooth powder.
CAMPHORATED CHALK.
Precipitated chalk, 1 lb. Powdered orris-root, 1/2 lb. Powdered camphor, 1/4 lb.
Reduce the camphor to powder by rubbing it in a mortar with a little spirit, then sift the whole well together. On account of the volatility of camphor, the powder should always be sold in bottles, or at least in boxes lined with tinfoil.
QUININE TOOTH POWDER.
Precipitated chalk, 1 lb. Starch Powder, 1/2 lb. Orris powder, 1/2 lb. Sulphate of quinine, 1 drachm.
After sifting, it is ready for sale.
PREPARED CHARCOAL.
Fresh-made charcoal in fine powder, 7 lbs. Prepared chalk, 1 lb. Orris-root, 1 lb. Catechu, 1/2 lb. Cassia bark, 1/2 lb. Myrrh, 1/4 lb.
Sift.
PERUVIAN BARK POWDER.
Peruvian bark in powder, 1/2 lb. Bole Ammoniac, 1 lb. Orris powder, 1 lb. Cassia bark, 1/2 lb. Powdered myrrh, 1/2 lb. Precipitated chalk, 1/2 lb. Otto of cloves, 3/4 oz.
HOMOEOPATHIC CHALK.
Precipitated chalk, 1 lb. Powder orris, 1 oz. " starch, 1 oz.
CUTTLE FISH POWDER.
Powdered cuttle-fish, 1/2 lb. Precipitated chalk, 1 lb. Powder orris, 1/2 lb. Otto of lemons, 1 oz. " neroli, 1/2 drachm.
BORAX AND MYRRH TOOTH POWDER.
Precipitated chalk, 1 lb. Borax powder, 1/2 lb. Myrrh powder, 1/4 lb. Orris, 1/4 lb.
FARINA PIESSE'S POWDER.
Precipitated chalk, 2 lbs. Orris-root, 2 lbs. Rose pink, 1 drachm. Very fine powdered sugar, 1/2 lb. Otto of neroli, 1/2 drachm. " lemons, 1/4 oz. " bergamot, 1/4 oz. " orange-peel, 1/4 oz. " rosemary, 1 drachm.
ROSE TOOTH POWDER.
Precipitated chalk, 1 lb. Orris, 1/2 lb. Rose pink, 2 drachms. Otto of rose, 1 drachm. " santal, 1/4 drachm.
OPIATE TOOTH PASTE.
Honey, 1/2 lb. Chalk, 1/2 lb. Orris, 1/2 lb. Rose Pink, 2 drachms. Otto of cloves, } " nutmeg, } each, 1/2 drachm. " rose, } Simple syrup, enough to form a paste.
MOUTH WASHES.
VIOLET MOUTH WASH.
Tincture of orris, 1/2 pint. Esprit de rose, 1/2 pint. Spirit, 1/2 pint. Otto of almonds, 5 drops.
EAU BOTOT.
Tincture of cedar wood, 1 pint. " myrrh, 1/4 pint. " rhatany, 1/4 pint. Otto of peppermint, 5 drops.
All these tinctures should be made with grape spirit, or at least with pale unsweetened brandy.
BOTANIC STYPTIC.
Rectified spirit, 1 quart. Rhatany root, } Gum myrrh, } of each, 2 oz. Whole cloves, }
Macerate for fourteen days, and strain.
TINCTURE OF MYRRH AND BORAX.
Spirits of wine, 1 quart. Borax, } Honey, } of each, 1 oz. Gum myrrh, 1 oz. Red sanders wood, 1 oz.
Rub the honey and borax well together in a mortar, then gradually add the spirit, which should not be stronger than .920, i.e. proof spirit, the myrrh, and sanders wood, and macerate for fourteen days.
TINCTURE OF MYRRH WITH EAU DE COLOGNE.
Eau de Cologne, 1 quart. Gum myrrh, 1 oz.
Macerate for fourteen days, and filter.
CAMPHORATED EAU DE COLOGNE.
Eau de Cologne, 1 quart. Camphor, 5 oz.
SECTION XVI.
HAIR WASHES.
ROSEMARY WATER.
Rosemary free from stalk, 10 lbs. Water, 12 gallons.
Draw off by distillation ten gallons for use in perfumery manufacture.
ROSEMARY HAIR WASH.
Rosemary water, 1 gallon. Rectified spirit, 1/2 pint. Pearlash, 1 oz.
Tinted with brown coloring.
ATHENIAN WATER.
Rose-water, 1 gallon. Alcohol, 1 pint. Sassafras wood, 1/4 lb. Pearlash, 1 oz.
Boil the wood in the rose-water in a glass vessel; then, when cold, add the pearlash and spirit.
VEGETABLE OR BOTANIC EXTRACT.
Rose-water, } Rectified spirits, } of each, 2 quarts. Extrait de fleur d'orange, } " jasmin, } " acacia, } of each, 1/4 pint. " rose, } " tubereuse, } Extract of vanilla, 1/2 pint.
This is a very beautifully-scented hair wash. It retails at a price commensurate with its cost.
ASTRINGENT EXTRACT OF ROSES AND ROSEMARY.
Rosemary water, 2 quarts. Esprit de rose, 1/2 pint. Rectified spirit, 1-1/2 pint. Extract of vanilla, 1 quart. Magnesia to clear it, 2 oz.
Filter through paper.
SAPONACEOUS WASH.
Rectified spirit, 1 pint. Rose-water, 1 gallon. Extract of rondeletia, 1/2 pint. Transparent soap, 1/2 oz. Hay saffron, 1/2 drachm.
Shave up the soap very fine; boil it and the saffron in a quart of the rose-water; when dissolved, add the remainder of the water, then the spirit, finally the rondeletia, which is used by way of perfume. After standing for two or three days, it is fit for bottling. By transmitted light it is transparent, but by reflected light the liquid has a pearly and singular wavy appearance when shaken. A similar preparation is called Egg Julep.
BANDOLINES.
Various preparations are used to assist in dressing the hair in any particular form. Some persons use for that purpose a hard pomatum containing wax, made up into rolls, called thence Baton Fixeteur. The little "feathers" of hair, with which some ladies are troubled, are by the aid of these batons made to lie down smooth. For their formula, see p. 224, 225.
The liquid bandolines are principally of a gummy nature, being made either with Iceland moss, or linseed and water variously perfumed, also by boiling quince-seed with water. Perfumers, however, chiefly make bandoline from gum tragacanth, which exudes from a shrub of that name which grows plentifully in Greece and Turkey.
ROSE BANDOLINE.
Gum tragacanth, 6 oz. Rose-water, 1 gallon. Otto of roses, 1/2 oz.
Steep the gum in the water for a day or so. As it swells and forms a thick gelatinous mass, it must from time to time be well agitated. After about forty-eight hours' maceration it is then to be squeezed through a coarse clean linen cloth, and again left to stand for a few days, and passed through a linen cloth a second time, to insure uniformity of consistency; when this is the case, the otto of rose is to be thoroughly incorporated. The cheap bandoline is made without the otto; for colored bandoline, it is to be tinted with ammoniacal solution of carmine, i.e. Bloom of Roses. See p. 236.
ALMOND BANDOLINE
Is made precisely as the above, scenting with a quarter of an ounce of otto of almonds in place of the roses.
"Nor the sweet smell Of different flowers in odor and in hue Can make me any longer story tell."
Shakspeare.
APPENDIX.
* * * * *
MANUFACTURE OF GLYCERINE.
Glycerine is generally made on the large scale, on the one hand, by directly saponifying oil with the oxide of lead, or, on the other, from the "waste liquor" of soap manufacturers. To obtain glycerine by means of the first of these methods is the reverse of simple, and at the same time somewhat expensive; and by means of the second process, the difficulty of entirely separating the saline matters of the waste liquor renders it next to impossible to procure a perfectly pure result. To meet both these difficulties, and to meet the steadily increasing demand for glycerine, Dr. Campbell Morfit recommends the following process, which, he asserts, he has found, by experience, to combine the desirable advantages of economy as regards time, trouble, and expense. One hundred pounds of oil, tallow, lard, or stearin are to be placed in a clean iron-bound barrel, and melted by the direct application of a current of steam. Whilst still fluid and warm, add to it fifteen pounds of lime, previously slaked, and made into a milky mixture with two and a half gallons of water; then cover the vessel, and continue the steaming for several hours, or until the saponification shall be completed. This may be known when a sample of the soap when cold gives a smooth and bright surface on being scraped with the finger-nail, and at the same time, breaks with a crackling noise. By this process the fat or oil is decomposed, its acids uniting with the lime to form insoluble lime-soap, while the eliminated glycerine remains in solution in the water along with the excess of the lime. After it has been sufficiently boiled, it is allowed to cool and to settle, and it is then to be strained.
The strained liquid contains only the glycerine and excess of lime, and requires to be carefully concentrated by heated steam. During evaporation, a portion of the lime is deposited, on account of its lesser solubility in hot than in cold water. The residue is removed by treating the evaporated liquid with a current of carbonic acid gas, boiling by heated steam to convert a soluble bicarbonate of lime that may have been formed into insoluble neutral carbonate, decanting or straining off the clear supernatant liquid from the precipitated carbonate of lime, and evaporating still further, as before, if necessary, so as to drive off any excess of water. As nothing fixed or injurious is employed in this process, glycerine, prepared in this manner, may be depended upon for its almost absolute purity.
M. Jahn's process is as follows:—
Take of finely-powdered litharge five pounds, and olive oil nine pounds. Boil them together over a gentle fire, constantly stirring, with the addition occasionally of a small quantity of warm water, until the compound has the consistence of plaster. Jahn boils this plaster for half an hour with an equal weight of water, keeping it at the same time constantly stirred. When cold, he pours off the supernatant fluid, and repeats the boiling three times at least with a fresh portion of water. The sweet fluids which result are mixed, and evaporated to six pounds, and sulphuretted hydrogen conducted through them as long as sulphuret of lead is precipitated. The liquid filtered from the sulphuret of lead is to be reduced to a thin syrupy consistence by evaporation. To remove the brown coloring matter, it must be treated with purified animal charcoal. However, this agent does not prevent the glycerine becoming slightly colored upon further evaporation. It possesses also still a slight smell and taste of lead plaster, which may be removed by diluting it with water, and by digestion with animal charcoal, and some fresh burnt-wood charcoal. After filtration, this liquid must be evaporated until it has acquired a specific gravity of 1.21, when it will be found to be free from smell, and of a pale yellow color. For the preparation of glycerine, distilled water is necessary, to prevent it being contaminated with the impurities of common water. Jahn obtained, by this method, from the above quantity of lead plaster, upwards of seven ounces of glycerine.—Archives der Pharmacie.
* * * * *
TEST FOR ALCOHOL IN ESSENTIAL OILS.
J.J. Bernoulli recommends for this purpose acetate of potash. When to an ethereal oil, contaminated with alcohol, dry acetate of potash is added, this salt dissolves in the alcohol, and forms a solution from which the volatile oil separates. If the oil be free from alcohol, this salt remains dry therein.
Wittstein, who speaks highly of this test, has suggested the following method of applying it as the best:—In a dry test-tube, about half an inch in diameter, and five or six inches long, put no more than eight grains of powdered dry acetate of potash; then fill the tube two-thirds full with the essential oil to be examined. The contents of the tube must be well stirred with a glass rod, taking care not to allow the salt to rise above the oil; afterwards set aside for a short time. If the salt be found at the bottom of the tube dry, it is evident that the oil contains no spirit. Oftentimes, instead of the dry salt, beneath the oil is found a clear syrupy fluid, which is a solution of the salt in the spirit, with which the oil was mixed. When the oil contains only a little spirit, a small portion of the solid salt will be found under the syrupy solution. Many essential oils frequently contain a trace of water, which does not materially interfere with this test, because, although the acetate of potash becomes moist thereby, it still retains its pulverent form.
A still more certain result may be obtained by distillation in a water-bath. All the essential oils which have a higher boiling-point than spirit, remain in the retort, whilst the spirit passes into the receiver with only a trace of the oil, where the alcohol may be recognized by the smell and taste. Should, however, a doubt exist, add to the distillate a little acetate of potash and strong sulphuric acid, and heat the mixture in a test-tube to the boiling-point, when the characteristic odor of acetic ether will be manifest, if any alcohol be present.
* * * * *
DETECTION OF POPPY AND OTHER DRYING OILS IN ALMOND AND OLIVE OILS.
It is known that the olein of the drying oils may be distinguished from the olein of those oils which remain greasy in the air by the first not being convertible into elaidic acid, consequently it does not become solid. Professor Wimmer has recently proposed a convenient method for the formation of elaidin, which is applicable for the purpose of detecting the adulteration of almond and olive oils with drying oils. He produces nitrous acid by treating iron filings in a glass bottle with nitric acid. The vapor of nitrous acid is conducted through a glass tube into water, upon which the oil to be tested is placed. If the oil of almonds or olives contains only a small quantity of poppy oil when thus treated, it is entirely converted into crystallized elaidin, whilst the poppy oil swims on the top in drops.
* * * * *
COLORING MATTER OF VOLATILE OILS.
BY G.E. SACHSSE.
It is well known that most ethereal oils are colorless; however, there are a great number colored, some of which are blue, some green, and some yellow. Up to the present time the question has not been decided, whether it is the necessary property of ethereal oils to have a color, or whether their color is not due to the presence of some coloring matter which can be removed. It is most probable that their color arises from the presence of a foreign substance, as the colored ethereal oils can at first, by careful distillation, be obtained colorless, whilst later the colored portion passes over. Subsequent appearances lead to the solution of the question, and are certain evidence that ethereal oils, when they are colored, owe their color to peculiar substances which, by certain conditions, may be communicated from one oil to another. When a mixture of oils of wormwood, lemons, and cloves is subjected to distillation, the previously green-colored oil of wormwood passes over, at the commencement, colorless, while, towards the end of the distillation, after the receiver has been frequently charged, the oil of cloves distils over in very dense drops of a dark green color. It therefore appears that the green coloring matter of the oil of wormwood has been transferred to the oil of cloves.—Zeitschrift fuer Pharmacie.
* * * * *
ARTIFICIAL PREPARATION OF OIL OF CINNAMON.
BY A. STRECKER.
Some years since, Strecker has shown that styrone, which is obtained when styracine is treated with potash, is the alcohol of cinnamic acid. Wolff has converted this alcohol by oxidizing agents into cinnamic acid. The author has now proved that under the same conditions by which ordinary alcohol affords aldehyde, styrone affords the aldehyde of cinnamic acid, that is, oil of cinnamon. It is only necessary to moisten platinum black with styrone, and let it remain in the air some days, when by means of the bisulphite of potash the aldehyde double compound may be obtained in crystals, which should be washed in ether. By the addition of diluted sulphuric acid, the aldehyde of cinnamic acid is afterwards procured pure. These crystals also dissolve in nitric acid, and then form after a few moments crystals of the nitrate of the hyduret of cinnamyle. The conversion of styrone into the hyduret of cinnamyle by the action of the platinum black is shown by the following equation:
C{18}H{10}O{2} + 2 O = C{18}H{8}O{2} + 2 HO.—Comptes Rendus.
* * * * *
DETECTION OF SPIKE OIL AND TURPENTINE IN LAVENDER OIL
BY DR. J. GASTELL.
There are two kinds of lavender oil known in commerce; one, which is very dear, and is obtained from the flowers of the Lavandula vera; the other is much cheaper, and is prepared from the flowers of the Lavandula spica. The latter is generally termed oil of spike. In the south of France, whether the oil be distilled from the flowers of the Lavandula vera or Lavandula spica, it is named oil of lavender.
By the distillation of the whole plant or only the stalk and the leaves, a small quantity of oil is obtained, which is rich in camphor, and is there called oil of spike. Pure oil of lavender should have a specific gravity from .876 to .880, and be completely soluble in five parts of alcohol of a specific gravity of .894. A greater specific gravity shows that it is mixed with oil of spike; and a less solubility, that it contains oil of turpentine.
* * * * *
DIFFERENT ORANGE-FLOWER WATERS FOUND IN COMMERCE
BY M. LEGUAY.
There are three sorts of orange-flower waters found in commerce. The first is distilled from the flowers; the second is made with distilled water and neroli; and the third is distilled from the leaves, the stems, and the young unripe fruit of the orange tree. The first may be easily distinguished by the addition of a few drops of sulphuric acid to some of the water in a tube; a fine rose color is almost immediately produced. The second also gives the same color when it is freshly prepared; but after a certain time, two or three months at the farthest, this color is no longer produced, and the aroma disappears completely. The third is not discolored by the addition of the sulphuric acid; it has scarcely any odor, and that rather an odor of the lemon plant than of orange-flowers.—Bulletin de la Societe Pharmaceutique d'Indre et Loire.
* * * * *
A FORMULA FOR CONCENTRATED ELDER-FLOWER WATER.
Krembs recommends the following process for making a concentrated elder-flower water, from which he states the ordinary water can be extemporaneously prepared, of excellent quality, and of uniform strength:—2 lbs. of the flowers are to be distilled with water until that which passes into the receiver has lost nearly all perfume. This will generally happen when from 15 to 18 pounds have passed over. To the distillate, 2 lbs. of alcohol are to be added, and the mixture distilled until about 5 lbs. are collected. This liquor contains all the odor of the flowers. To make the ordinary water, 2 ounces of the concentrated water are to be added to 10 ounces of distilled water.—Buchner's Report.
* * * * *
PRACTICAL REMARKS ON SPIRIT OF WINE.
BY THOMAS ARNALL.
The strength of spirit of wine is, by law, regulated by proof spirit (sp. gr. .920) as a standard; and accordingly as it is either stronger or weaker than the above, it is called so much per cent. above or below proof. The term per cent. is used in this instance in a rather peculiar sense. Thus, spirit of wine at 56 per cent. overproof, signifies that 100 gallons of it are equal to 156 gallons of proof spirit; while a spirit at 20 per cent. underproof, signifies that 100 gallons are equal to 80 gallons at proof. The rectified spirit of the Pharmacopoeia is 56 per cent. overproof, and may be reduced to proof by strictly adhering to the directions there given, viz., to mix five measures with three of water. The result, however, will not be eight measures of proof spirit; in consequence of the contraction which ensues, there will be a deficiency of about [Symbol: oz.]iv in each gallon. This must be borne in mind in preparing tinctures.
During a long series of experiments on the preparation of ethers, it appeared a desideratum to find a ready method of ascertaining how much spirit of any density would be equal to one chemical equivalent of absolute alcohol. By a modification of a rule employed by the Excise, this question may be easily solved. The Excise rule is as follows:—
To reduce from any given strength to any required strength, add the overproof per centage to 100, or subtract the underproof per centage from 100. Multiply the result by the quantity of spirit, and divide the product by the number obtained by adding the required per centage overproof, or subtracting the required per centage underproof, to or from 100, as the case may be. The result will give the measure of the spirit at the strength required.
Thus, suppose you wished to reduce 10 gallons of spirit, at 54 overproof, down to proof, add 54 to 100 = 154; multiply by the quantity, 10 gallons (154 x 10) = 1540. The required strength being proof, of course there is nothing either to add to or take from 100; therefore, 1540 divided by 100 = 15.4 gallons at proof; showing that 10 gallons must be made to measure 15 gallons, 3 pints, 4 fl. oz., by the addition of water.
To ascertain what quantity of spirit of any given strength will contain one equivalent of absolute alcohol. Add the overproof per centage of the given spirit to 100, as before; and with the number thus obtained divide 4062.183. The result gives in gallons the quantity equal to four equivalents (46 x 4).
Example.—How much spirit at 54 per cent. overproof is equal to 1 equivalent of absolute alcohol?
Here,
54 + 100 = 154 and 4062.183 = 26.3778 galls., or 26 galls. 3 pts. ———— 154
which, divided by 4, gives 6 gallons, 4 pints, 15 oz.
Suppose the spirit to be 60 overproof,—
4062.183 {one-fourth of which is equal then ————— = 25.388 gallons, {to 6 gallons, 2 pints, (100 + 60) {15-1/2 oz.
This rule is founded on the following data. As a gallon of water weighs 10 lbs., it is obvious that the specific gravity of any liquid multiplied by 10 will give the weight of one gallon. The specific gravity of absolute alcohol is 0.793811; hence, the weight of one gallon will be 7.93811 lbs., and its strength is estimated at 75.25 overproof.
4 equivalents of alcohol = 46 x 4 = 184,
and
23.17936 gallons x 7.93811 lbs. per gallon, also = 184.0003094.
Hence it appears that 23.17936 gallons of absolute alcohol are equal to 4 equivalents. By adding the overproof per centage (75.25) to 100, and multiplying by the quantity (23.17936 gallons) we get the constant number 4062.183.
The rule might have been calculated so as to show at once the equivalent, without dividing by 4; but it would have required several more places of decimals; it will give the required quantity to a fraction of a fluid drachm.
* * * * *
PURIFICATION OF SPIRITS BY FILTRATION.
BY MR. W. SCHAEFFER.
Instead of resorting to repeated distillations for effecting the purification of spirits, Mr. Schaeffer proposes the use of a filter. In a suitable vessel, the form of which is not material, a filtering bed is constructed in the following manner:—On a false perforated bottom, covered with woollen or other fabric, a layer of about six inches of well-washed and very clean river sand is placed; next about twelve inches of granular charcoal, preferring that made from birch; on the charcoal is placed a layer of about one inch of wheat, boiled to such an extent as to cause it to swell as large as possible, and so that it will readily crush between the fingers. Above this is laid about ten inches of charcoal, then about one inch of broken oyster shells, and then about two inches more of charcoal, over which is placed a layer of woollen or other fabric, and over it a perforated partition, on to which the spirit to be filtered is poured; the filter is kept covered, and in order that the spirit may flow freely into the compartment of the filter below the filtering materials, a tube connects such lower compartment with the upper compartment of the filter, so that the air may pass freely between the lower and upper compartments of the filter. On each, of the several strata above described, it is desirable to place a layer of filtering paper.
The charcoal suitable for the above purpose is not such as is obtained in the ordinary mode of preparation. It is placed in a retort or oven, and heated to a red heat until the blue flame has passed off, and the flame become red. The charcoal is then cooled in water, in which carbonate of potash has previously been dissolved, in the proportion of two ounces of carbonate to fifty gallons of water. The charcoal being deprived of the water is then reduced to a granular state, in which condition it is ready for use.
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ON ESSENTIAL OIL OR OTTO OF LEMONS.
BY JOHN S. COBB.
(Read before the Chemical Discussion Society.)
I have recently made some experiments with oil of lemons, of which the following is a short account:—
Being constantly annoyed by the deposit and alteration in my essence of lemons, I have tried various methods of remedying the inconvenience.
I first tried redistilling it, but besides the loss consequent on distilling small quantities, the flavor is thereby impaired. As the oil became brighter when heated, I anticipated that all its precipitable matter would be thrown down at a low temperature, and I applied a freezing mixture, keeping the oil at zero for some hours. No such change, however, took place.
The plan which I ultimately decided upon as the best which I had arrived at, was to shake up the oil with a little boiling water, and to leave the water in the bottle; a mucilaginous preparation forms on the top of the water, and acquires a certain tenacity, so that the oil may be poured off to nearly the last, without disturbing the deposit. Perhaps cold water would answer equally well, were it carefully agitated with the oil and allowed some time to settle. A consideration of its origin and constitution, indeed, strengthens this opinion; for although lemon otto is obtained both by distillation and expression, that which is usually found in commerce is prepared by removing the "flavedo" of lemons with a rasp, and afterwards expressing it in a hair sack, allowing the filtrate to stand, that it may deposit some of its impurities, decanting and filtering. Thus obtained it still contains a certain amount of mucilaginous matter, which undergoes spontaneous decomposition, and thus (acting, in short, as a ferment) accelerates a similar change in the oil itself. If this view of its decomposition be a correct one, we evidently, in removing this matter by means of the water, get rid of a great source of alteration, and attain the same result as we should by distillation, without its waste or deterioration in flavor.
I am, however, aware that some consider the deposit to be modified resin.[H] Some curious experiments of Saussure have shown that volatile oils absorb oxygen immediately they have been drawn from the plant, and are partially converted into a resin, which remains dissolved in the remainder of the essence.
He remarked that this property of absorbing oxygen gradually increases, until a maximum is attained, and again diminishes after a certain lapse of time. In the oil of lavender this maximum remained only seven days, during each of which it absorbed seven times its volume of oxygen. In the oil of lemons the maximum was not attained until at the end of a month; it then lasted twenty-six days; during each of which it absorbed twice its volume of oxygen. The oil of turpentine did not attain the maximum for five months, it then remained for one month, during which time it absorbed daily its own volume of oxygen.
It is the resin formed by the absorption of oxygen, and remaining dissolved in the essence, which destroys its original flavor. The oil of lemons presents a very great analogy with that of oil of turpentine, so far as regards its transformations, and its power of rotating a ray of polarized light. Authorities differ as regards this latter property. Pereira states that the oil of turpentine obtained by distillation with water, from American turpentine, has a molecular power of right-handed rotation, while the French oil of turpentine had a left-handed rotation. Oil of lemons rotates a ray of light to the right, but in France a distilled oil of lemons, sold as scouring drops for removing spots of grease, possesses quite the opposite power of rotation, and has lost all the original peculiar flavor of the oil. Oil of lemons combines with hydrochloric acid to form an artificial camphor, just in the same manner as does oil of turpentine, but its atom is only one half that of the oil of turpentine. The artificial camphor of oil of lemons is represented by the formula, C{10}H{8}HCl; the artificial camphor of oil of turpentine by C{20}H{16}HCl.
According to M. Biot, the camphor formed by the oil of lemons does not exercise any action on polarized light, whilst the oil of lemons itself rotates a ray to the right. The camphor from oil of turpentine, on the contrary, does exercise on the polarized ray the same power as the oil possessed while in its isolated state, of rotating to the left. These molecular properties establish an essential difference between the oils of turpentine and lemons, and may serve to detect adulteration and fraud. It is also a curious fact, that from the decomposition of these artificial camphors by lime, volatile oils may be obtained by distillation, isomeric with the original oils from which the camphors were formed; but in neither case has the new product any action on polarized light.
In conclusion, I would recommend that this oil, as well as all other essential oils, be kept in a cool, dark place, where no very great changes of temperature occur.
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BENZOIC ACID, AND TESTS FOR ITS PURITY.
BY W. BASTICK.
Dr. Mohr's process for obtaining benzoic acid, which is adopted by the Prussian Pharmacopoeia, unquestionably has the reputation of being the best. According to this process, coarsely-powdered gum benzoin is to be strewed on the flat bottom of a round iron pot which has a diameter of nine inches, and a height of about two inches. On the surface of the pot is spread a piece of filtering paper, which is fastened to its rim by starch paste. A cylinder of very thick paper is attached by means of a string to the top of the iron pot. Heat is then applied by placing the pot on a plate covered with sand, over the mouth of a furnace. It must remain exposed to a gentle fire from four to six hours. Mohr usually obtains about an ounce and a half of benzoic acid from twelve ounces of gum benzoin by the first sublimation. As the gum is not exhausted by the first operation, it may be bruised when cold and again submitted to the action of heat, when a fresh portion of benzoic acid will sublime from it. This acid thus obtained, is not perfectly pure and white, and Mohr states that it is a question, in a medicinal and perfumery point of view, whether it is so valuable when perfectly pure, as when it contains a small portion of a fragrant volatile oil, which rises with it from the gum in the process of sublimation.
The London Pharmacopoeia directs that it shall be prepared by sublimation, and does not prescribe that it shall be free from this oil, to which it principally owes its agreeable odor.
By the second sublimation the whole of the benzoic acid is not volatilized. What remains in the resin may be separated by boiling it with caustic lime, and precipitating the acid from the resulting benzoate of lime with hydrochloric acid. Benzoic acid can be obtained also in the wet way, and the resin yields a greater product in this process than in the former; yet it has a less perfumery value, because it is free from the volatile oil which, as above stated, gives it its peculiar odor. The wet method devised by Scheele is as follows:—Make one ounce of freshly-burnt lime into a milk with from four to six ounces of hot water. To the milk of lime, four ounces of powdered benzoin and thirty ounces of water are to be added, and the mixture boiled for half an hour, and stirred during this operation, and afterwards strained through linen. The residue must be a second time boiled with twenty ounces of water and strained, and a third time with ten ounces; the fluid products must be mixed and evaporated to one-fourth of their volume, and sufficient hydrochloric acid added to render them slightly acid. When quite cold, the crystals are to be separated from the fluid by means of a linen strainer, upon which they are to be washed with cold water, and pressed, and then dissolved in hot distilled water, from which the crystals separate on cooling. When hydrochloric acid is added to a cold concentrated solution of the salts of benzoic acid, it is precipitated as a white powder. If the solution of the salts of this acid is too dilute and warm, none or only a portion of the benzoic acid will be separated. However, the weaker the solution is, and the more slowly it is cooled, the larger will be the crystals of this acid. In the preparation of this acid in the wet way, lime is to be preferred to every other base, because it forms insoluble combinations with the resinous constituents of the benzoin, and because it prevents the gum-resin from conglomerating into an adhesive mass, and also because an excess of this base is but slightly soluble.
Stoltze has recommended a method by which all the acid can be removed from the benzoin:—The resin is to be dissolved in spirit, to which is to be added a watery solution of carbonate of soda, decomposed previously by alcohol. The spirit is to be removed by distillation, and the remaining watery solution, from which the resin has been separated by filtration, treated with dilute sulphuric acid, to precipitate the benzoic acid. This method gives the greatest quantity of acid, but is attended with a sacrifice of time and alcohol, which renders it in an economical point of view inferior to the above process of Scheele. It is so far valuable, that the total acid contents of the resin can be determined by it.
Dr. Gregory considers the following process for obtaining benzoic acid the most productive. Dissolve benzoin in strong alcohol, by the aid of heat, and add to the solution, whilst hot, hydrochloric acid, in sufficient quantity to precipitate the resin. When the mixture is distilled, the benzoic acid passes over in the form of benzoic ether. Distillation must be continued as long as any ether passes over. Water added towards the end of the operation will facilitate the expulsion of the ether from the retort. When the ether ceases to pass over, the hot water in the retort is filtered, which deposits benzoic acid on cooling. The benzoic ether and all the distilled liquids are now treated with caustic potash until the ether is decomposed, and the solution is heated to boiling, and super-saturated with hydrochloric acid, which afterwards, on cooling, deposits, in crystals, benzoic acid.
Benzoic acid, as it exists in the resin, is the natural production of the plant from which the resin is derived. It may also be produced artificially. Abel found that when cumole (C{18}H{12}) was treated with nitric acid, so dilute that no red vapors were evolved for several days, this hydro-carbon was converted into benzoic acid. Guckelberger has, by the oxidation of casein with peroxide of manganese and sulphuric acid, obtained as one of the products benzoic acid. Albumen, fibrin, and gelatin yielded similar results when treated as above. Woehler has detected benzoic acid in Canadian castor, along with salicin. It is also formed by the oxidation of the volatile oil of bitter almonds. Benzoate of potash results when chloride of benzoyle is treated with caustic potash. Benzoic acid in the animal economy is converted into hippuric acid, which may by the action of acids, be reconverted into benzoic acid.
Benzoic acid should be completely volatile, without leaving any ash or being carbonized when heated. When dissolved in warm water, to which a little nitric acid has been added, nitrate of silver and chloride of barium should produce no precipitates. Oxalate of potash should give no turbidity to an ammoniacal solution of this acid. When heated with an excess of caustic potash it should evolve no smell of ammonia, otherwise, it has been adulterated with sal ammoniac. In spirit, benzoic acid is easily soluble, and requires 200 parts of cold and 20 parts of boiling water to dissolve one part of it.
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ON THE COLORING-MATTERS OF FLOWERS.
BY FREMY AND CLOEZ.
Chemists possess only a very incomplete knowledge of the coloring matters of flowers. Their investigation involves difficulties which cannot be mistaken. The matters which color flowers are uncrystallized; they frequently change by the action of the reagents employed for their preparation; and, also, very brilliantly-colored flowers owe their color to very small quantities of coloring matter.
On the nature of the coloring matters of flowers several opinions have been expressed. Some observers have assumed that flowers owe their color to only two coloring matters, one of which is termed anthocyan, and the other anthoxanthine. Others will find a relation between the green coloring of leaves, the chlorophylle, and the coloring matters of flowers. They support their opinion generally on the results of the elementary analysis of those different bodies; but all chemists know that chlorophylle has not yet been prepared in a pure condition. Probably, it retains various quantities of fatty and albuminous bodies. Further, the coloring matters of flowers are scarcely known, so that it is impossible to establish relations supported by the necessarily uncertain composition of impure bodies.
Some time since the blue color of flowers was ascribed to the presence of indigo; but Chevreul has shown, in a certain way, that the blue substance of flowers is always reddened by acids; and that with indigo it is quite different, which, as is known, retains its blue color even when the strongest acids are allowed to act on it.
It is thus seen that the coloring matters of flowers have heretofore only in a superficial manner been examined, and that it is important to again undertake their complete examination, as these bodies are interesting to the chemist, because they are employed as reagents in the laboratory for the recognition of alkalies; and by an improved knowledge of them the florist might find the way by which he could give to cultivated flowers various colors.
We have believed that before undertaking their elementary analysis, methods must be carefully sought for which can be followed for the obtainment of the coloring matters of flowers, and that it should be proved whether these substances are to be considered as independent bodies, or whether they proceed from one and the same matter, which is changed in various ways by the juices of the plant.
We now publish the results of our first investigations.
Blue Coloring Matter of Flowers (Cyanine).—The blue coloring matter of flowers we propose to call cyanine. To obtain this substance we treat the petals of Centauria cyanus, Viola odorata, or Iris pseudacorus, with boiling alcohol, by which the flowers are decolorized; and the liquid acquires immediately a fine blue color.
If the coloring matter is allowed to remain some time in contact with alcohol, it is perceived that the blue of the liquid gradually disappears, and soon a yellow brown coloration takes its place. The coloring matter has in this case suffered an actual reduction by the prolonged action of the alcohol, but it will again assume its original color when the alcohol is allowed to evaporate in the air. Nevertheless, the alcohol must not be allowed to remain in contact too long with the coloring matter, because the alcoholic extract will not then again assume its blue coloration by the action of oxygen.
The residue remaining from the evaporation of the alcohol is treated with water, which separates a fatty and resinous substance. The watery solution which contains the coloring matter is then precipitated by neutral acetate of lead. The precipitate, which possesses a beautiful green color, can be washed with plenty of water, and then decomposed with sulphuretted hydrogen; the coloring matter passes into the watery solution, which is carefully evaporated in a water-bath; the residue is again dissolved in absolute alcohol; and lastly, the alcoholic solution is mixed with ether, which precipitates the cyanine in the form of blue flocks.
Cyanine is uncrystallizable, soluble in water and alcohol, insoluble in ether; acids, and acid salts color it immediately red; by alkalies it is, as known, colored green. Cyanine appears to behave as an acid, at least it forms with lime, baryta, strontia, oxide of lead, &c., green compounds insoluble in water.
Bodies absorbing oxygen, as sulphurous acid, phosphorous acid, and alcohols, decolorize it; under the influence of oxygen its color is restored.
We must here mention that Moroz has prepared a beautiful blue substance from Centauria cyanus by treatment with absolute alcohol.
Rose-red Coloring Matter.—We have employed alcohol to extract the substance which colors rose-red certain dahlias, roses, poeonias, &c. For the procuration of this coloring matter the method pursued is exactly as that for the preparation of cyanine.
By an attentive comparison of the properties of this coloring matter with those of cyanine, we have found that the rose-red coloring matter is the same as the blue, or at least results from a modification of the same independent principle. It appears in the rose-red modification, when the juice of the plant, with which it exists in contact, possesses an acid reaction. We have always observed this acid reaction in the juices of plants with red or rose-red coloration, while the blue juices of plants have always exhibited an alkaline reaction.
We have exposed most of the rose-red or red-colored flowers which are cultivated in the Paris Museum to the influence of alkalies, and have seen that they first become blue and then green by their action.
It is often perceived that certain rose-red flowers, as those of the Mallow, and in particular those of the Hibiscus Syriacus, acquire by fading a blue and then a green coloration, which change, as we have found, depends on the decomposition of an organic nitrogenous substance, which is found very frequently in the petals. This body generates as it decomposes ammonia, which communicates to the flowers the blue or green color. By action of weak acids, the petals can be restored to their rose-red color.
The alteration of color of certain rose-red flowers can also be observed when the petals are very rapidly dried, for example, in vacuo, by which it cannot be easily assumed that a nitrogenous body has undergone decomposition to the evolution of ammonia. But, before all things, it must be mentioned that in this case the modification of color passes into violet, and never arrives at green; and, further, that it is always accompanied with the evolution of carbonic acid, which we have detected by a direct experiment. Petals which were before rose-red, and have become violet by slight drying, evolve carbonic acid, and on that account it may be assumed that the rose-red color is produced in the petals by this carbonic acid, and that by its expulsion the petals assume the blue color, by which the flowers with neutral juices are characterized.
We believe that we are able to speak with certainty that flowers with a rose-red, violet, or blue color, owe their coloration to one and the same substance, but which is modified in various ways by the influence of the juices of plants.
Scarlet-red flowers also contain cyanine reddened by an acid, but in such cases this substance is mixed with a yellow coloring matter which we will now describe.
Yellow Coloring Matter.—The simplest experiments show that no analogy exists between the substance which colors flowers yellow and that of which we have already spoken. The agents which generate so easily with cyanine, the rose-red, violet, or green coloration, cannot in any case impart these colors to the yellow substance obtained from flowers.
By the examination of the various yellow-colored flowers, we have ascertained that they owe their coloration to two substances, which differ from one another in their properties, and appear not to be derived from the same independent principle. One is completely insoluble in water, which we have termed xanthine, a name which Runge has given to a yellow matter from madder. As this name has not been accepted in science, we have employed it to denote one of the coloring matters of yellow flowers. The other substance is very soluble in water, and is by us termed xantheine.
Xanthine, or the Yellow Coloring Matter insoluble in water.—We have prepared this coloring matter from many yellow flowers, but chiefly from Helianthus annuus.
To obtain it we treat the flowers with boiling absolute alcohol, which dissolves the coloring matter in the heat, and by cooling almost completely allows it again to precipitate. The yellow deposit which is obtained in this way, is not pure xanthine, as it contains a rather considerable quantity of oil. To separate this oil we have recourse to a moderate saponification; thus, we heat the yellow precipitate with a small quantity of alkali to saponify the fatty body mixed with the xanthine, which even contains the xanthine dissolved. As the coloring matter is soluble in the soap solution, we do not treat the mass with water, but decompose it with an acid which isolates the xanthine and the fatty acids resulting from the saponification. This precipitate we treat with cold alcohol, which leaves behind the fatty acids, and dissolves the xanthine. This substance is a fine yellow color, insoluble in water, but soluble in alcohol and ether, which are thereby colored golden yellow. It appears to be uncrystallizable, and possesses the general properties of resins.
Xanthine, in combination with cyanine, modified by the various juices of plants, communicates in variable proportions orange-yellow, scarlet-red, and red colors to flowers.
Xantheine, or the Coloring Matter soluble in water.—By the preparation of the substance which colors yellow certain dahlias, it is at once perceived that it has no analogy to xanthine. The latter is as known insoluble in water, while the coloring matter under consideration is readily soluble in water.
To obtain the xanthine we treat the petals of yellow flowering dahlias with alcohol, which quickly dissolves the yellow coloring matter, besides the fat and resin. The solution is evaporated to dryness, and the residue treated with water, whereby the fat and resin are separated. The water is again evaporated to dryness, and the residue treated with absolute alcohol. The resulting solution diluted with water is mixed with neutral acetate of lead, which precipitates the coloring matters. The lead precipitate is then decomposed with sulphuric acid, upon which the xantheine which remains dissolved in the water is purified by alcohol.
Xantheine is soluble in water, alcohol, and ether, but crystallizes from none of these solutions. Alkalies color it intensely brown. Its power of coloration is considerable. It dyes various fabrics of a yellow tone, which is without brilliancy. Acids again destroy the brown coloration produced by alkalies. Xantheine combines with most metallic bases, and forms therewith yellow or brown insoluble lakes.
The facts here related agree with all which has been previously observed regarding the coloring matters of flowers. It is known that blue flowers can become red, and even white, where their coloring matter is destroyed, but never yellow—and vice versa. These three coloring matters can generate the colors either alone or by admixture, which are seen in flowers; but whether they are the only matters which color flowers, we are at present unable to determine.—Journal de Pharmacie.
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IMPROVED PROCESS FOR BLEACHING BEES'-WAX AND THE FATTY ACIDS.
BY MR. G.F. WILSON.
This improved process consists of two parts:—1st, the application of highly-heated steam to heat the fatty matters under treatment, by which means the requisite heat for melting these substances is obtained, and at the same time the atmosphere is thereby excluded; the heated steam so applied in its passage off, carries with it the offensive smells given off by the fatty matters, and being made to traverse a pipe or passage up or along which gaseous chlorine is allowed to flow, a complete disinfection of the offensive products is thereby effected. 2dly, the treating of bees'-wax in a mixture of hard acid fat and bees'-wax, with compounds of chlorine and oxygen, preferring to employ that disengaged from chlorate of potash by treating it with sulphuric acid. For this purpose, Mr. Wilson takes at the rate, say, of a ton of yellow bees'-wax, and melts and boils it up with free steam for about half an hour. It is then allowed to stand a short time, and is then decanted into another vessel provided with a steam-pipe to emit free steam; about 20 lbs. of chlorate of potash is added, and the steam turned on; 80 lbs. of sulphuric acid, diluted with a like weight of water, is then gradually added. The matters are allowed to stand for a short time, and are then decanted into another vessel, and again boiled up with free steam, and treated with a like quantity of diluted sulphuric acid. The bees'-wax is then decanted into a receiver, and is ready for use. The bees'-wax may, before undergoing these processes, be combined and boiled up with a hard fatty acid, and then treated as above described.
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CHEMICAL EXAMINATION OF NAPLES SOAP.
A. Faiszt has submitted this celebrated shaving soap to analysis. He states that it is made by saponifying mutton fat with lime, and then separating the fatty acids from the soap thus formed, by means of a mineral acid. These fatty acids are afterwards combined with ordinary caustic potash to produce the Naples soap. He found that 100 parts of this soap contained
Parts. Fatty acids, 57.14 Potash combined with the fatty acids, 10.39 Sulphate of potash, chloride of potassium, with a trace of carbonate of potash, 4.22 Silica, &c., 0.46 Water, 27.68 ——- 99.89 Gewerbeblatt aus Wurttemberg.
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MANUFACTURE OF SOAP.
The removal of the duty from soap, and the consequent emancipation of this branch of industry from the tender mercies of the Excise, has given a fresh impetus to the manufacture of this important article of daily use, and enabled some processes to be practically carried out in England, which, previous to the removal of the duty, could not be adopted in this part of her Majesty's dominions.
It will doubtless appear strange to those unacquainted with the circumstances, that owing to the mode of levying the duty by admeasurement, and not by actual weight, the maker of a particular kind of soap was debarred the privilege of manufacturing in this country. Fortunately for him, the manufacture of soap being free from all Excise restrictions in Ireland, he was enabled to carry out his process in the sister kingdom, whence it was exported to England, and admitted here on payment of the Customs' duty, which was the same as the Excise duty on its manufacture here. All this roundabout method of doing business is now done away with, and no restriction now exists to mar the peace of the soap manufacturer.
Amongst various new processes lately introduced is that of Mr. H.C. Jennings, which is practically carried out in the following manner:—
Combine 1000 lbs. of stearic or margaric acid, as free from elaine or oleine as possible, or palmatine, or any vegetable or animal stearine or margarine, at the temperature of 212 deg. Fahr., with a solution of bicarbonate of potash or soda, specific gravity 1500. Constantly stir or mix until an intimate combination is obtained, and that the elements will not part when tried upon glass or any other similar substance. When the mass is cooled down to about 60 deg. Fahr. add one pound per cent. of liquor ammoniae, specific gravity 880, and one pound per cent. of strongest solution of caustic potash; these are to be added gradually, and fully mixed or stirred until perfectly combined. Dissolve 15 to 18 pounds per cent. of common resin of commerce, by boiling it with a solution of subcarbonate of potash and common soda of commerce, in equal parts, as much as will give the solution a specific gravity of about 1800, when boiling hot. Mix these perfectly with the above-mentioned stearic or margaric acids, and carbonated alkali; then add a strong solution of caustic potash or soda, until a perfect saponification is produced. The dose of caustic alkali will much depend upon the purity of the stearine or margarine employed. The separation is now effected by using common salt, or sulphate of soda, &c., as is known and practised by soap manufacturers. If the soap intended to be produced is to be colorless, no resin must be employed, and a larger dose of liquor ammoniae and caustic alkali must be used, according to the dryness of the stearine matters to be operated upon.
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A SIMPLE AND CERTAIN METHOD TO DETERMINE THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF SOAP.
BY DR. ALEXANDER MUeLLER.
In consequence of the ceremonious process by which the fatty acids are determined in one portion of the soap, and the alkali by the incineration of another, I consider the following method is not unworthy of publication, because it appears to afford quicker and more correct results by reason of the greater simplicity of the manipulation. It is available principally for soda soaps, which are the most common; but it may be also employed with corresponding alterations for soaps which have other bases.
A piece of soap weighing two or three grammes is dissolved in a tared beaker glass of about 160 cubic centimetres capacity with 80 to 100 cubic centimetres of water, by heat, in a water-bath, and then three or four times the quantity of diluted sulphuric acid or as much as is necessary to decompose the soap, added from a burette. When, after repeated agitation, the fatty acids have separated in a transparent clear stratum from the aqueous solution, it is allowed to cool, and then the contents of the beaker glass are placed in a moistened filter, which has been previously dried at 212 deg. Fahr. and weighed. The contents of the filter are washed until their acid reaction disappears. In the meanwhile the beaker glass is placed in a steam-bath, so that, it being already dry, may support the washed and partly dry filter, which is laid on the mouth of the glass as if it were in the funnel. The fatty acids soon pass through the paper, and for the most part flow ultimately to the bottom of the beaker glass; the increase of weight of which, after cooling, and the subtraction of the weight of the filter, gives the quantity of fatty acids present in the soap. A second drying and weighing is not necessary, if on the cold sides of the interior of the glass no damp is to be observed, which is occasioned by a trace of water still present. If the quantity of oxide of iron added to marble the soap is considerable, it may be easily found by incinerating the filter and determining the weight of the residue.
The fluid runs from the fatty acids on the filter, which, with the washings, has been preserved in a sufficiently large beaker glass, is colored with tincture of litmus, and decomposed with a test alkaline solution until the blue color appears. The difference of the quantity of alkali required to neutralize the sulphuric acid, and the quantity of sulphuric acid used in the first instance, allows a calculation to be made as to the quantity of effective alkali in the soap, for example:—
23.86 grms. of soap (partly cocoa-nut oil soap). 17.95 " fatty acids with filter. 04.44 " filter. ——- 13.51 grms. of hydrates of fatty acids = 56.62 per cent.
28.00 cub. cent. of the diluted sulphuric acid applied for the decomposition of the soap, of which 100 cub. cent. represent 2982 grms. of carbonate of soda.
17.55 cub. cent. of alkaline fluid, which were used for the saturation of the above acid, and of which 100 cub. cent. saturate an equal quantity of that acid. —— 10.45 cub. cent. of the sulphuric necessary for the alkali contained in the soap, representing 0.1823 grms. of soda = 7.64 per cent.
A determination of the alkali as a sulphate afforded in another portion of soap 9.57 per cent. of soda, because the sulphate of soda and chloride of sodium present in the soap gave up their alkali.
The alkaline fluid applied by me was a saccharine solution of lime, which can be naturally replaced by a solution of soda, and must be if the chloride of sodium and sulphate of soda mixed with the soap shall be determined in the following way:—
The fluid again exactly neutralized with alkali is evaporated to dryness, and the residue gently heated to redness. As in the above manipulation, the fluid was not heated to the boiling point, the original chloride of sodium and sulphate of soda are contained in the weighed residue, besides the soda of the soap and that which has been added with the sulphuric acid, forming sulphate of soda. A second exposure to a red heat with sulphuric acid converts the whole residue into sulphate of soda, and from the increase of weight, by a comparison of the equivalents of NaCl and NaO, SO_{3} the quantity of the former may be decided. According to the equivalents which Kopp furnished in 1850, the increase of weight to the chloride of sodium is as 1:4.68. The original sulphate of soda must be, lastly, found by the subtraction of the same salt formed plus the calculated chloride of sodium from the first heated residue.
In practice, it is seldom necessary to proceed with the determination of the chloride of sodium and sulphate of soda, except with stirred and cocoa-nut oil soaps; certainly less of the truth is seen if, after the above determination of the fatty acids and the effective alkali, the absent per centage of water is introduced in the calculation, than if the water is reckoned, which is never completely evolved from soap, even technically prepared at 302 deg. Fahr., and another determination made of the fatty acids or alkali en bloc the fatty acids, or even the alkaline contents.
The method here given partakes of the usual imperfections, that the fatty acids as well as the unsaponified soap are equally estimated, and the mixed hydrate or carbonate of the alkali as well as the combined alkali. The presence of the carbonate can be easily recognized by the foaming of the soap solution, upon the addition of the sulphuric acid. These imperfections, however, are of little importance.
It must be granted that the minutely correct determination of the constitution of soap must be always yielded up to those who are technically conversant with this department of chemistry, the estimation of free alkali and unchanged fat excluded in, at least, by certain ages of the soap. Further, a considerable excess of one or another ingredient soon betrays itself by a corresponding departure in the soap of the characteristic properties of a good product, and a small excess can be judged sufficiently exact from the proportion of the alkali, which, supposing soda present, should not amount to more than 13 per cent. with a pure cocoa-nut oil soap, not less than 11.5 per cent. with a tallow soap; but with palm oil and mixed soaps the one or the other limit approximates.—Journal fuer Praktische Chemie.
* * * * *
ON THE NATURAL FATS.
BY DR. CHARLES LOeWIG.
The fats which exist in nature can be divided into the general and the special; the former exist in almost all plants and parts of plants; the latter includes only some vegetable substances, as laurostearine, myristicine, and palmatine. The consistence of fats of the general kind depend upon the proportions of margarine, stearine, and oleine contained in them. The former preponderate in the solid fats (butter, lard, and tallow); and the latter in the fluid ones or oils. According as an oil contains oleic acid or olinic acid, it is termed a fatty or drying oil. To the class of fatty oils belong olive, almond, hazel-nut, beech, rape oils, &c.; to that of drying oils, linseed, nut, hemp, poppy, grape-seed, oils, &c.; which are used for varnishes.
In the vegetable kingdom the fats are chiefly in the seeds and in their coverings, seldom in the perispemium (poppy), and in the fleshy substance surrounding the seed (olive). The fat in the seed is mostly enclosed in cells with a proteine compound. In the animal kingdom certain parts of the body are quite filled with fat-cells, particularly under the skin (Paniculus adiposus), in the cavities of the abdomen, in the so-called omentum, in the kidneys and the tubulated canals of the bones. Fat is also enclosed in cells (fatty globules) in milk.
It is established, without a doubt, that a greater portion of the fat which exists in the animal kingdom originates from the vegetable kingdom, for it is introduced into the body cotemporaneously with the proteine compounds of that kingdom. A portion of the fat as well as wax is formed in the animal organismus, as shown by a number of observations, and in most cases it is unquestionable that the non-nitrogenous nutriments, as starch, serve for the formation of fat by a process of deoxidation; nevertheless, the formation of fat in the animal body appears only to take place when the substances containing starch enter the body simultaneously with fat.
If the fat existing in the animal body is contained in cellular tissue, its separation may be simply effected by placing the incised tissue in hot water. The cells burst and the fat collects itself on the surface of the water. If vegetable substances contain fat in large quantity, as, for example, seeds, it may be obtained by expression. The dried seeds are bruised and expressed between either cold or hot metallic plates. Olives are laid in heaps before expression; when they begin to ferment, they can be completely expressed. If animal and vegetable substances contain only a little fat, it must be extracted by ether.
In the pure condition the fats are mostly odorless and tasteless; when they possess an odor, it arises mostly from the presence of small quantities of volatile fatty acids, as butyric acid, capric acid, &c.; which becomes free through the decomposition of their oxide of glycyl combinations. This ensues by the presence of water and air through a kind of fermentation, and as it appears, by the presence of a nitrogenous substance. The fats are insoluble in water, and, with the exception of castor oil, are taken up by cold alcohol in very small quantities, however, more in proportion as they contain oleine. In boiling alcohol they are dissolved, but are, for the most part, again separated on cooling, particularly those rich in stearine. All fats are taken up by ether but those containing stearine in the smallest quantity.
Their specific gravities fluctuate between .91 and .93. When heated, fats assume a dark color, and boil between 482 deg. and 572 deg. Fahr., but the boiling-point continuously rises, while an uninterrupted decomposition proceeds. From oxide of glycyl ensues acroline; oleic acid affords a fatty acid, and among the decomposition products of fats containing stearine and margarine are found pure margaric acid, and, at the same time, some hydro-carbons are formed. When exposed quickly to a high temperature, fats are completely decomposed. (Oil gas.) In closed vessels the pure fats undergo no change, but, placed in thin layers in the air, the fats containing oleine and oline rapidly absorb oxygen under the strong evolution of heat, which will inflame porous bodies, as cotton wool. The purer the fats are the more quickly their oxidation results. When the fats contain slimy materials, these latter can be destroyed with a little oxide of lead and water. (Preparation for the application of varnishes.) The action of nitric acid, nitrous acid, chlorine, sulphuric acid, &c., on fats is the same as that of these bodies on the fatty acids. The fatty oils dissolve sulphur in the heat which is again partly precipitated on cooling. When sulphur is heated with fatty oils, namely, with linseed oil, it dissolves by degrees, and a thick dark mass is formed, the so-called balsam of sulphur. By raising the heat, a violent reaction ensues under the evolution of sulphuretted hydrogen, and, at the same time, an oil resembling oil of garlic volatilizes. This oil begins to boil at 160 deg. Fahr., but its boiling-point rises continually.
* * * * *
PERFUMES AS PREVENTIVES OF MOULDINESS.
An interesting paper on this subject has been published by Dr. Macculloch. We presume our readers are aware that mouldiness is occasioned by the growth of minute vegetables. Ink, paste, leather, and seeds, are the substances that most frequently suffer from it. The effect of cloves in preserving ink is well known; any of the essential oils answer equally well. Leather may be kept free from mould by the same substances. Thus Russian leather, which is perfumed with the tar of birch, never becomes mouldy; indeed it prevents it from occurring in other bodies. A few drops of any essential oil are sufficient also to keep books entirely free from it. For harness, oil of turpentine is recommended. Bookbinders, in general, employ alum for preserving their paste; but mould frequently forms on it. Shoemakers' resin is sometimes also used for the same purpose; but it is less effectual than oil of turpentine. The best preventives, however, are the essential oils, even in small quantity, as those of peppermint, anise, or cassia, by which paste may be kept almost any length of time; indeed, it has, in this way, been preserved for years. The paste recommended by Dr. Macculloch is made in the usual way, with flour, some brown sugar, and a little corrosive sublimate; the sugar keeping it flexible when dry, and the sublimate preventing it from fermenting, and from being attacked by insects. After it is made, a few drops of any of the essential oils are added. Paste made in this way dries when exposed to the air, and may be used merely by wetting it. If required to be kept always ready for use, it ought to be put into covered pots. Seeds may also be preserved by the essential oils; and this is of great consequence, when they are to be sent to a distance. Of course moisture must be excluded as much as possible, as the oils or ottos prevent only the bad effects of mould.
* * * * *
FUSEL OIL.
BY W. BASTICK.
This organic compound was first discovered by Scheele, as one of the distillation products of the wort obtained from the fermentation of potatoes. It has been subsequently examined by Pelletier, Dumas, Cahours, and others. It is generally now termed the hydrate of the oxide of amyl, from amyl being supposed to be its base or radical, as cyanogen is regarded to be the radical of another series of compounds.
It passes over towards the termination of the distillation process in a white turbid fluid, which consists of a watery and alcoholic solution of the fusel oil. The crude oil, consisting of about one-half of its weight of alcohol and water, may be purified, being shaken with water and redistilled, with the previous addition of chloride of calcium. When the temperature of the contents of retort reaches 296 deg. Fahr., pure fusel oil distils over.
Fusel oil is a colorless oily fluid, which possesses at first not an unagreeable odor, but at last is very disgusting, producing oppression at the chest and exciting cough. It has a sharp hot taste, and burns with a white blue flame. It boils at 296 deg. Fahr., and at temperature of -4 deg. Fahr. it becomes solid, and forms crystals. Its specific gravity at 59 deg. Fahr. is 0.8124, and its formula C_{10}H_{12}O_{2}. On paper it produces a greasy stain, which disappears by heat, and when exposed to the action of the air it acquires an acid reaction. Fusel oil is slightly soluble in water, to which it imparts its odor; and soluble in all proportions in alcohol, ether, volatile and fixed oils, and acetic acid. It dissolves phosphorus, sulphur, and iodine without any noticeable change, and also mixes with caustic soda and potash. It rapidly absorbs hydrochloric acid, with the disengagement of heat. When mixed with concentrated sulphuric acid, the mixture becomes of a violet-red color, and bisulphate of amyloxide is formed. Nitric acid and chlorine decompose it. By its distillation with anhydrous phosphoric acid, a fluid, oily combination of hydrogen and carbon results. By oxidation with bichromate of potash and sulphuric acid, fusel oil yields valerianic acid, which is used in medicine, and apple-oil, employed as a flavoring ingredient in confectionery.
* * * * *
ESSENCE OF PINE-APPLE.
BY W. BASTICK.
The above essence is, as already known, butyric ether more or less diluted with alcohol; to obtain which pure, on the large scale and economically, the following process is recommended:—
Dissolve 6 lbs. of sugar and half an ounce of tartaric acid, in 26 lbs. of boiling water. Let the solution stand for several days; then add 8 ounces of putrid cheese broken up with 3 lbs. of skimmed and curdled sour milk and 3 lbs. of levigated chalk. The mixture should be kept and stirred daily in a warm place, at the temperature of about 92 deg. Fahr., as long as gas is evolved, which is generally the case for five or six weeks.
The liquid thus obtained, is mixed with an equal volume of cold water, and 8 lbs. of crystallized carbonate of soda, previously dissolved in water, added. It is then filtered from the precipitated carbonate of lime; the filtrate is to be evaporated down to 10 lbs., when 5-1/2 lbs. of sulphuric acid, previously diluted with an equal weight of water, are to be carefully added. The butyric acid, which separates on the surface of the liquid as a dark-colored oil, is to be removed, and the rest of the liquid distilled; the distillate is now neutralized with carbonate of soda, and the butyric acid separated as before, with sulphuric acid.
The whole of the crude acid is to be rectified with the addition of an ounce of sulphuric acid to every pound. The distillate is then saturated with fused chloride of calcium, and redistilled. The product will be about 28 ounces of pure butyric acid. To prepare the butyric acid or essence of pine-apple, from this acid proceed as follows:—Mix, by weight, three parts of butyric acid with six parts of alcohol, and two parts of sulphuric acid in a retort, and submit the whole, with a sufficient heat, to a gentle distillation, until the fluid which passes over ceases to emit a fruity odor. By treating the distillate with chloride of calcium, and by its redistillation, the pure ether may be obtained.
The boiling-point of butyric ether is 238 deg. Fahr. Its specific gravity, 0.904, and its formula,
C{12}H{12}O{4}, or C{4}H{5}O + C{8}H{7}O{3}.
Bensch's process, above described, for the production of butyric acid, affords a remarkable exemplification of the extraordinary transformations that organic bodies undergo in contact with ferment, or by catalytic action. When cane sugar is treated with tartaric acid, especially under the influence of heat, it is converted into grape sugar. This grape sugar, in the presence of decomposing nitrogenous substances, such as cheese, is transformed in the first instance into lactic acid, which combines with the lime of the chalk. The acid of the lactate of lime, thus produced, is by the further influence of the ferment changed into butyric acid. Hence, butyrate of lime is the final result of the catalytic action in the process we have here recommended.
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PREPARATION OF CRUDE PELARGONATE OF ETHYL-OXIDE (ESSENCE OF QUINCE.)
BY DR. R. WAGNER.
It has been believed, until the most recent period, that the peel of quinces contains oenanthylate of ethyl-oxide. New researches, however, have led to the supposition that the odorous principle of quinces is derived from the ether of pelargonic acid. In my last research on the action of nitric acid on oil of rue, I found that besides the fatty acids, which Gerhardt had already discovered, pelargonic acid is formed. This process may be advantageously employed for the preparation of crude pelargonate of ethyl-oxide, which, on account of its extremely agreeable odor, may be applied as a fruit essence equally with those prepared by Dobereiner, Hofmann, and Fehling. For the preparation of the liquid, which can be named the essence of quince, oil of rue is treated with double its quantity of very diluted nitric acid, and the mixture heated until it begins to boil. After some time two layers are to be observed in the liquid: the upper one is brownish, and the lower one consists of the products of the oxidation of oil of rue and the excess of nitric acid. The lower layer is freed from the greater part of its nitric acid by evaporation in a chloride of zinc bath. The white flocks frequently found in the acid liquid, which are probably fatty acids, are separated by filtration. The filtrate is mixed with spirit, and long digested in a gentle heat, by which a fluid is formed, which has the agreeable odor of quince in the highest degree, and may be purified by distillation. The spirituous solution of pelargonic ether may also be profitably prepared from oleic acid, according to Gottlieb's method.—Journal fuer Praktische Chemie.
* * * * *
PREPARATION OF RUM-ETHER.
Take of black oxide of manganese, of sulphuric acid, each twelve pounds; of alcohol, twenty-six pounds; of strong acetic acid, ten pounds. Mix, and distil twelve pints. The ether, as above prepared, is an article of commerce in Austria, being the body to which rum owes its peculiar flavor.—Austrian Journal of Pharmacy.
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ARTIFICIAL FRUIT ESSENCES.
BY FEHLING.
Pine-apple Oil is a solution of one part of butyric ether, in eight or ten parts of alcohol. For the preparation of this ether, pure butyric acid must be first obtained by the fermentation of sugar, according to the method of Bensch. One pound of this acid is dissolved in one pound of strong alcohol, and mixed with from a quarter to half an ounce of sulphuric acid; the mixture is heated for some minutes, whereby the butyric ether separates as a light stratum. The whole is mixed with half its volume of water, and the upper stratum then removed; the heavy fluid is distilled, by which more butyric ether is obtained. The distillate and the removed oily liquid are shaken with a little water, the lighter portion of the liquid removed, which at last, by being shaken with water and a little soda, is freed from adhering acid.
For the preparation of the essence of pine-apple, one pound of this ether is dissolved in 8 or 10 pounds of alcohol. 20 or 25 drops of this solution is sufficient to give to one pound of sugar a strong taste of pine-apple, if a little citric or tartaric acid has been added.
Pear-oil.—This is an alcoholic solution of acetate of amyloxide, and acetate of ethyloxide. For its preparation, one pound of glacial acetic acid is added to an equal weight of fusel-oil (which has been prepared by being washed with soda and water, and then distilled at a temperature between 254 deg. and 284 deg. Fahr.), and mixed with half a pound of sulphuric acid. The mixture is digested for some hours at a temperature of 254 deg., by which means acetate of amyloxide separates, particularly on the addition of some water. The crude acetate of amyloxide obtained by separation, and by the distillation of the liquid to which the water has been added, is finally purified by being washed with soda and water. Fifteen parts of acetate of amyloxide are dissolved with half a part of acetic ether in 100 or 120 parts of alcohol; this is the essence of pear, which, when employed to flavor sugar or syrup, to which a little citric or tartaric acid has been added, affords the flavor of bergamot pears, and a fruity, refreshing taste.
Apple-oil is an alcoholic solution of valerianate of amyloxide. It is obtained impure, as a by product, when for the preparation of valerianic acid, fusel-oil is distilled with bichromate of potash and sulphuric acid. It is better prepared in the following manner:—For the preparation of valerianic acid, 1 part of fusel-oil is mixed gradually with 3 parts of sulphuric acid, and 2 parts of water added. A solution of 2-1/4 parts of bichromate of potash, with 4-1/2 parts of water, is heated in a tubulated retort, and into this fluid the former mixture is gradually poured, so that the ebullition is not too rapid. The distillate is saturated with carbonate of soda, and warmed, when a solution of 3 parts of crystallized carbonate of soda, 2 parts of strong sulphuric acid, diluted with an equal quantity of water, are added. The valerianic acid separates as an oily stratum.
One part, by weight, of pure fusel-oil is carefully mixed with an equal weight of sulphuric acid. The cold solution is added to 1-1/4 parts of the above valerianic acid; the mixture is warmed for some minutes (not too long or too much) in a water-bath, and then mixed with a little water, by which means the impure valerianate of amyloxide separates, which is washed with water and carbonate of soda. For use as an essence of apples, one part of this valerianate of amyloxide is dissolved in 6 or 8 parts of alcohol.
* * * * *
VOLATILE OIL OF GAULTHERIA PROCUMBENS.
BY W. BASTICK.
The chemical history of this oil is one of great importance and interest, affording, as it does, one of the examples where the progress of modern chemistry has succeeded in producing artificially a complex organic body, previously only known as the result of vital force.
This volatile oil is obtained from the winter-green, an American shrub of the heath family, by distillation. When this plant is distilled, at first an oil passes over which consists of C{10}H{8}, but when the temperature reaches 464 deg. Fahr., a pure oil distils into the receiver. Therefore the essential oil of this plant, like many others, consists of two portions—one a hydro-carbon, and the other an oxygenated compound; this latter is the chief constituent of the oil, and that which is of so much chemical interest, from the fact that it has been artificially prepared.
It is termed, when thus prepared, the spiroylate of the oxide of methyl, and is obtained when two parts of wood spirit, one and a half parts of spiroylic acid, and one part of sulphuric acid are distilled together. It is a colorless liquid, of an agreeable aromatic odor and taste; it dissolves slightly in water, but in all proportions in ether and alcohol; it boils between 411 deg. and 435 deg. Fahr., and has a specific gravity of 1.173. This compound expels carbonic acid from its combinations, and forms a series of salts, which contain one atom of base and one atom of spiroylate of the oxide of methyl. It behaves therefore as a conjugate acid. Its formula is C_{14}H_{5}O_{5} + C_{2}H_{3}O.
The spiroylic acid may be separated from the natural oil by treating it with a concentrated solution of caustic potash at a temperature of 113 deg. Fahr., when wood spirit is formed and evaporates, and the solution contains the spiroylate of potash, from which, when decomposed with sulphuric acid, the spiroylic acid separates and subsides in the fluid.
Spiroylic acid is also formed by the oxidation of spiroyligenic acid, and when saligenin, salicin, courmacin, or indigo, is heated with caustic potash.
* * * * *
ON THE APPLICATION OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY TO PERFUMERY.
BY DR. A.W. HOFMANN,
Professor to the Royal College of Chemistry, London.
Cahours' excellent researches concerning the essential oil of Gaultheria procumbens (a North American plant of the natural order of the Ericinae of Jussieu), which admits of so many applications in perfumery,[I] have opened a new field in this branch of industry. The introduction of this oil among compound ethers must necessarily direct the attention of perfumers[J] towards this important branch of compounds, the number of which is daily increasing by the labors of those who apply themselves to organic chemistry. The striking similarity of the smell of these ethers to that of fruit had not escaped the observation of chemistry; however, it was reserved to practical men to discover by which choice and combinations it might be possible to imitate the scent of peculiar fruits to such a nicety, that makes it probable that the scent of the fruit is owing to a natural combination identical to that produced by art; so much so, as to enable the chemist to produce from fruits the said combinations, provided he could have at his disposal a sufficient quantity to operate upon. The manufacture of artificial aromatic oils for the purpose of perfumery[K] is, of course, a recent branch of industry; nevertheless, it has already fallen into the hands of several distillers, who produce sufficient quantity to supply the trade; a fact, which has not escaped the observation of the Jury at the London Exhibition. In visiting the stalls of English and French perfumers at the Crystal Palace, we found a great variety of these chemical perfumes, the applications of which were at the same time practically illustrated by confectionery flavored by them. However, as most of the samples of the oils sent to the Exhibition were but small, I was prevented, in many cases, from making an accurate analysis of them. The largest samples were those of a compound labelled "pear-oil," which, by analysis, I discovered to be an alcoholic solution of pure acetate of amyloxide. Not having sufficient quantity to purify it for combustion, I dissolved it with potash, by which free fusel-oil was separated, and determined the acetic acid in the form of a silver salt.
0.3080 gram. of silver salt = 0.1997 gram. of silver.
The per centage of silver in acetate of silver is, according to
Theory, 64.68 Experiment, 64.55
The acetate of amyloxide, which, according to the usual way of preparing it, represents one part sulphuric acid, one part fusel-oil, and two parts of acetate of potash, had a striking smell of fruit, but it acquired the pleasant flavor of the jargonelle pear only after having been diluted with six times its volume of spirit of wine.
Upon further inquiry I learned that considerable quantities of this oil are manufactured by some distillers,—from fifteen to twenty pounds weekly,—and sold to confectioners, who employ it chiefly in flavoring pear-drops, which are nothing else but barley-sugar, flavored with this oil.
I found, besides the pear-oil, also an apple-oil, which, according to my analysis, is nothing but valerianate of amyloxide. Every one must recollect the insupportable smell of rotten apples which fills the laboratory whilst making valerianic acid. By operating upon this raw distillate produced with diluted potash, valerianic acid is removed, and an ether remains behind, which, diluted in five or six times its volume of spirits of wine, is possessed of the most pleasant flavor of apples. |
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