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2 16. -The authors state that genuine oil of fireweed, from Erechthitis hievan~olia,is a commercial rarity. When it is remembered that the name fireweed is applied to no less than six different wild plants and that the chief sources of supply are the sniall stills of farmers whose botanical knowledge is almost nil, it is not strange that little genuine oil finds its way into trade. Orders for fireweed oil are boldly filled with oil of Erigenm canadense. I n the course of many years, the writers niet with only two consignments that met the recognized normal constants of oil of fireweed. The sp. gr. of this oil, according to A. M. Todd, is F. B. 0.84j-0.8j~~ while the optical rotation is -4' to +1'. Power determined these constants on another sample and gave as sp. gr. 0 . 8 3 8 at 18.jo C. and optical rotation as -2' to + 2 O . The two consignments above spoken of gave for No. I , sp. gr. 0.8422, optical rotation S1'32'. S o . 2 , sp. gr. 0.8jo' too.870°, optical rotation f j 2 O . In this connection the authors note that either the coniniercial Erigeron oils are themselves adulterated or they may vary J . 0. SCHLOTTERBECK. materially i n physical properties. Some Notes on Essential Oils. M. 0. WILBERT. Am. / O I L Y . Pharm., 75, I j 5-2 18.-This article, which is continued in two numbers of the Journal, is merely a compilation from the United States, British, German, and Universal Pharmacopoeias, the annual reports of the United States Treasury Department, and such standard authorities as Gildenieister and Hoffniann, Schimmel and Co., and the papers of specialists in essential oil chemistry as Wallack, Tieniann, Beckniann, Parry, Holmes, Kremers, etc. I t does not represent any original work and tells nothing new, but in a concise and accurate manner states and discusses the most important facts bearing upon the source, sp. gr., and other physical constants, synthetic production, and commercial aspects of the following oils : Bitter almond, cinnamon, cloves, eucalyptus, juniper berries, lavender flowers, mustard, peppermint, rose, sandalwood, wintergreen, bergamot, lemon, limes, orange flowers, orange, anise, caraway, coriander, and fennel. In concluding this survey of essential oils, the author favors the adoption of the active constituents of essential oils as representing the most desirable portion from a medical point of view. Thus, for example, anethol, cinnamic aldehyde, carvoiie, eucalyptol, eugenol, safrol, should preferably be employed in place of the respective oils from which they are derived, and to which they J . 0. SCHLOTTERBECK. give their character.
I NDUSTRI A L CHEMISTRY. Cassava as a Competitor of Maize in the Production of Starch PH.D. /.SOC. and Allied Products. BY GEORGEARCHBOLD, Chenr. Id.,January 31, 1go3.-Prefacing this paper b y the state-
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ment that at the present time the demand for maize and other cereals is advancing their value so that in the near future they will not be available for the manufacture of starch, the writer calls attention to the two varieties of manihot known as the sweet and the bitter cassava. T h e plant is indigenous to the West andies and is now cultivated experimentally in Florida. From I n analysis given, the writer says it is safe to assume that on the average, 25 per cent. of pure starch can be obtained from the fresh roots. Compared with maize and potatoes upon which practically the whole world depends for its supply of starch, the average yield of starch is a s follows : Maize, 53 ; potatoes, I 8 ; cassava, 25 per cent. An acre of ground yields forty bushels of maize, which in turn yield 1 2 0 0 pounds of starch, while the same ground will yield ten tons of cassava, yielding 6 7 2 0 pounds of glucose and 5600 pounds of starch. In Jamaica, where the plant grows all the year round, 2 0 tons per acre could be grown with ease, with proper cultivation, or nearly ten times as much starch per acre as from maize. In general, the process for working cassava starch as present being carriedout in Florida is that employed by potato starch factories. The writer has, however, made some changes to better adapt the process to the differences in the raw material and has produced a process which can be worked more cheaply than that for potato starch and which is perfectly automatic and continuous. The entire process for the complete extraction of the starch from the time the roots are laid down at the factory until the starch is finished ready for the market is only three days, while maize under the most favorable conditions requires from twelve to fourteen days. T h e product is equal in purity to the best Bermuda arrowroot and at the same time has all of the characteristics of pure " corn starch " in all its various commercial forms. Or the starch from the boxes containing 25 per cent. of water can be broken up and converted into tapioc+a product of considerable commercial importance. I t is allowed to pass into a revolving steam-jacketed cylinder and: steam is applied. T h e heat displaces the moisture as steam, which bursts a portion of the granules of starch, causing it to assume the granular semi-lucid form so well-known as tapioca. Moreover, not only the starch and sugar of the cassava but also a considerable part of the fiber can be obtained from the pulped roots in the form of glucose, thereby producing a much sweeter and finer-flavored product and better adapted for confectionery, etc., fully 30 per cent. of the fresh root being obtained as glucose. S . P. SADTLER. The Application of the Sulphur Colors to the Printing of Cotton Fabrics. BY LOUIS J. MATOS. J . SOC. Chem. Znd., February 23, ~gog.-The sulphur colors are adapted only to cotton for which fiber they all manifest a strong affinity, so they are classed as fast dyes. They are also, as a rule,
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indifferent to the majority of reagents, which places them in active competition with all cotton blacks, including aniline black itself. Sodium hydrochlorite, however, will destroy them and thus serves to distinguish dyeing with sulphur black from other cotton blacks. The most serious obstacle to the use of sulphur blacks lies in the action they have upon the design rollers or “shells” which are always of copper or alloys of copper. To nullify this destructive action on the copper printing rolls, printing pastes are made up with sodium sulphide as an integral part. This converts the color into a l‘euco-compound to be taken up by the fibers and oxidized afterwards and fixed in insoluble form. The use of lactic acid, and sugar of milk, or glucose in connection with caustic soda is also recommended as overcoming the injurious action of the sulphur compound on the copper shells. Another process purifies the sulphur color by precipitation with an acid or common salt and then acts upon the precipitate with an alkaline reducing agent like alkaline glucose or zinc dust and an alkali. T h e entire subject resolves itself into the problem of applying the sulphur colors or certain modifications of them in such a manner as not to act injuriously upon the copper rolls. A process of printing has been devised based on the use of nickelplated rolls, the process being patented by the Farbenfabriken of Elberfeld Co. S. P. SADTLER. The Manufacture of Slag Bricks and Slag Blocks. By EDWIN C. ECKEL. Bng. News, 49,384-386.-This is an amplification of the author’s article on the Utilization of Iron and Steel Slags,” prepared for the Mineral Resources of the United States for 1901, and issued in advance extra ” form but omitted from the bound volume. Slag bricks are made from granulated slag and slaked lime, while slag blocks result from the direct cooling of molten slag in molds. The methods of manufacture in vogue at different places, chiefly abroad, are described, as well as the conditions necessary for the production of satisfactory products. UT.F. HILLEBRAND. Prospects for an American Niter Industry. BY C. C. SCHSATTERBECK. Eng. Min. I.? January 31, 1go3.--The California nitrate deposits in the Mohave Desert, extending from the northern portiori of San Bernardino County to the southern section of Inyo County, are from 80 to IOO miles from Manvel on the Saiita Fe Railway. The mineral is rich, and some zz,ooo.oootons are in sight. I t is believed that the deposits are richer thax: the Chilean. T h e American Xiter Company is planning large development, controlling about 35,000 acres ; but it will be some two or three years before the property is shipping niter to the market, J. W. RICHARDS. Evaporated Salt Industry in Kansas. BY W. R. CRANE. Eng. Min. J . , February 7 , 1903.-Brines are pumped from salt
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wells, and evaporated by solar or artificial heat. I n solar evaporation, the pans are 7 inches deep, the smaller ones, containing the stronger solution, being provided with portable arched covers running on rollers, so as to be covered in wet weather. The brine, 35 to 60 per cent. saturated, is run first into the settler, where sediment is deposited, then to the water-pan, for further clarification. Thence it flows,clear, to the lime pan, where it is concentrated by evaporation to such a point that most of the impurities, such as sulphate and carbonate of lime, crystallize out. It then passes to the pickle pan, where it concentrates until salt crystals begin to form, when it passes to the crystal pan. T h e mother-liquor from the crystallization is called ‘‘sump fluid, ” and is run off through waste launders. The crystals are put into baskets, allowed to drain, dried in an airing room and shipped in bulk. Where artificial heat is used, the brine is run into tanks with cement bottoms, and cemented sides, containing coils of iron steam-pipes. In this way the temperature is brought up to 210’ to 215’ F., and frequently the brine boils at 225’ to 228’ F. T h e iron pipes must be kept covered, to protect them from rapid oxidation and rusting. If it is necessary to empty a tank, the pipes are immediately covered with a protecting coating, such as whitewash. A conveyer, at the bottom of these tanks, which are called ‘‘grainers,” constantly advances the deposit to one end and discharges it into an elevator which takes it up into the drying room. This industry is growing rapidly, and promises to be one of the largest mineral industries in Kansas. J. ui. RICHARDS. The Lignite nines of North Dakota. BY F. N. WILDER, Eng. Min. February 28, 1go3.-The output in 1902 reached nearly 300,000 tons, valued at $500,000. I t is expected that the output for 1903 will be double this. I n 1860 the population of both Dakotas was 4,837 ; now it is 720,716. Freight rates on coal averages 0 . 5 cent per ton-mile. Mining is done by stripping, by drifting and shafts. There is a coal bank within ten miles of nearly every settler in the state, and the farmer puts up his minter’s coal as regularly as he does his hay. When mining underground, no timber is used, but 6 inches to a foot of lignite is left for a roof; in a few cases the overlying clay is so firm that all the coal is removed. Jeffrey undercutting machines are largely used. T h e beds are up to 14 feet thick ; the cost of mining is about 60 cents per ton. J. W. RICHARDS. The Fuel Value of North Dakota Lignites. BY F . A. WILDER. Eng. Min. J . , February 7, 1go3.--To secure best results, appliances suited to burning the lignite must be used. The Northern Pacific Railway has constructed the Washburn loconlotive, with a brick arch over the fire-box, which hauled a train of 43 cars 106 miles with a consumption of 18’1~tons of lignite, against the usual
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8 tons of Eastern coal.
Since the lignite cost only $1.00 per ton, and the other $1.00,the saving in expense was 40 per cent. Within a few years this will be the orily fuel used i n both Dakotas and Eastern Montana. Its evaporative power under stationary boilers is 4. I to 4.2 times its weight of water. J. 11'. RICHARDS.
The Boulder Oil Field, Colorado. BY J. E. KIRKBRIDE. Eng. Min.J., February j , rgo3.--There are now 40 to j o wells in this field, 3 j to 40 of which have found more or less oil, a t depths between 850 and 3,000 feet. Analysis of the oil by A. H. Low, of Denver, showed : Saphtha below I jo", 26 per cent.; light oil, from I jo' to 200°, 13 per cent.: heavier oil, from 200' to 2 j 0 ° , 16 per cent.; heavy oil, from 250' to 300°, I j . j per cent.; oils above 300°, 25. j per cent.; residue, 3 per cent. Total illuminants, 46.5 per cent. Specific gravity of crude oil, at 60' F., 0.81I I . A small refinery is in operation, treating 40 barrels per day. Much of the oil is being burnt crude for fuel. J. W. RICHARDS. The Composition of Porcelains for Electrical Purposes. BY A. S.WATTS. Elec. WorZa', November 15, 1902 (from Trains. Am. Ceramic Soc.) .-The materials used are slightly plastic kaolin, quartz and feldspar. Too much quartz makes the n-are warp, too much feldspar increases the tendeiicy to crack, loo little feldspar produces insufficient vitrifaction and decreases insulating efficiency. T h e usual shrinkage in burning is r j to I S per cent. There must be no crazing or shivering of the enaiiiel. T h e glaze may contain metallic oxides without being conducting. Tests made showed that : ( I ) Portland cernent does not possess any more insulating power than dry air. ( 2) Porcelain. if not perfectly vitrified, does not insulate well, eve11 if perfectly dry. (3) Glass ranks next, between semi-vitrified and vitrified porcelain. ( 4 ) Thoroughly vitrified porcelain, evcii if only 1/8 inch thick, possesses sufficient insulating strength, up to 40,000 volts. ( 5 ) Plate glass is a highly insulatiiig body. T h e best porcelain for electrical purposes contains, in molecules, 0.5 to 0.8 K,O, 0 . j to 0 . 2 CaO, 0.8 to 1.0 A1,0,, 4.2 to 6.2 SiO,. Closer limits would be largely a matter of fancy for more traiislucency or stoniness. A n y porcelain within the limits named above would be as good as, if not superior to, the average electrical insulator porcelain now on the market. J. W. RICHARDS. Self-Forming Separator in a Nickel-Peroxide Storage Cell. BY A. I,. MARSH. Elec. World, December 13, ~gon.--Nickel gauze is used as one electrode, and a plate of spongy cadmium deposited on a perforated strip of sheet-iron is the other. They are placed in position and the space between packed with freshly
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precipitated, dried but still hydrated, nickel sesquioxide (Ni,O,). A 2 0 per cent. solution of potassium hydroxide is then poured in, and a tight cover with small perforation put on the cell. The wetting of the nickel oxide causes it to swell and to make good connection with the electrodes] while in a short time the oxide in contact with the cadmium becomes reduced to green monoxide] NiO, forming a thin, flocculent layer, which is a good separator, J. W. RICHARDS. offering but slight resistance.
AGRICULTURAL CHEnISTRY. Alfalfa: I t s Chemical Development, Feeding Value, and Digestibility. BY H. SNYDER AND J. A. HUMMEL.Minn. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bull. No. 80,pp. 149-180. -A hardy variety of alfalfa, supposed to have come originally from Norway, has been grown without difficulty in the region of Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota, for thirty years or more. Reports from farmers show the successful culture of this great forage crop in a number of counties in the central and southern portions of the state. T h e authors report in this bulletin studies of the chemical development] feedingvalue, and digestibility of Minnesota-grown alfalfa. Analyses of samples of the first and second crops taken at weekly intervals showed that, as regards feeding-value, alfalfa is most suitable for cutting when one-third of the blossoms have appeared. When cut at a later stage, a larger amount of hay is obtained, but the feeding-value is much lessened. Six days before harvesting] the leaves constituted 42.78 per cent. of the dry matter of the plant above ground and contained 63 per cent. of the total nitrogen. During the eight days following, 6 per cent. of the nitrogenous matter of the leaves was transferred to the stems. During the ripening period the percentage of dry matter increased quite regularly in both leaves and stems. T h e percentage of total and proteid nitrogen decreased in the leaves, the proteid nitrogen decreasing more rapidly than the total nitrogen. I n the stems the percentage of total nitrogen decreased while that of proteid nitrogen remained stationary. “This seems to show that the nitrogen is taken from the soil in non-proteids or amide forms and is changed to proteid forms in the leaves and then transferred to the stems to be finally stored in the seed.” The percentage of ether extract increased in the leaves and stems. T h e percentage of fiber increased in the leaves but was stationary in the stems. T h e percentage of ash was stationary in the leaves but decreased in the stems. It is estimated that an average yield of 8,000 pounds of cured alfalfa hay per acre removes from the soil 206 pounds of potash, 58 pounds of phosphoric acid, 89 pounds of lime, and 2 2 pounds of magnesia. T h e results of digestion experiments with steers showed that alfalfa is equal in digestibility to red clover. A test of the digestibility of millet is also reported. H. W. LAWSON.
