VOL. 7, NO. 11
DISCOVERY OF SYNTHETIC ALIZARIN
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was Carl Graebe. He addressed his reply, in formal fashion, to the Herr Geheimer Regierungsrat Prof. Dr. Carl Liebermann, but he employed the intimate form of speech in expressing his thanks for the many compliments of his Lieber Freund. Bibliographical Note References to the original literature concerning the history of alizarin are given in the monographs, references 1-5, listed below. Much additional information for the present account was taken from the biographies, references 6-9. The remaining references are to papers which have not been discussed in most of the earlier accounts. E C. LIEBERMANN, "La S y n t h h chimique de I'Alizariue," (1) C. G R A ~ Band Moniteur scientijipe, 1879, p. 594. (This is a translation of the less accessihle account in the Amtlicher Berichte Cber die Wiener Welfawslellung im Jahrc, 1873, Bd. 111, Abt. I (2). Braunschweig, 1876. (2) A. WAF&. "LC Centenaire de la D6couverte de 1'Alizarine." Bull. soc. chirn.. 41, 1417 (1927). ' (3) . . C. GRAZBE."Geschichte der Ornanischen Chemie." J. Springer. Berlin, 1920. ( 4 ) C. S C H O ~ E M M E R ,"The Rise -and Development i f organif Chemistry," Macmillan and Ca.. London, 1894. "Histoire de I'alizarine et des m a t i h s colorantes de meme (5) W. H. PERKIN, famille," Moniteur scicntijque, 1979, p. 1011. (6) P. DUDBNand H. Dscmn, "Nachruf auf C. Graebe," Ber., 61A,9 (1928). (7) 0. WALLAcn and P. JACOBSON, "Nachruf auf C. Liebermauu," ibid., 51,1136 (1918). (8) A. BERNTESEN,"Nekrolog auf H. Cam," ixd.. 45, 1987(1912). "(Sir) William Henry ~erkin,"J. Chm. Soc., 93,2214(1908). (9) R. MENDOLA, "Gliickwiinsche an Hrn. C. Graebe," Ber., 44, 551(9111). (10) C. LIEBERMANN, (11) C. GRAEBE,"Ueber Naphthalin." Oid., 1, 36 (1868). (12) C. GRAEBE and C. LIEBERMANN,"Ueher Farhstoffe aus der Anthracengruppe," ibid., 1, 104(1868); "Ueher Zusammenhang zwischen Molekularkonstitution und Farhe hei Organische Verbindungen," ibid., p. 106; "Ueber Anthracenderivate." ibid.. p. 186; "Ueher Anthracen und Alizarin," Ann. Spl., 7,257 (1870).
Turning Sawdust to Sugar. Dr. Friederich Bergius is the German chemist famous for turninn coal into gasoline. He has also turned sawdust to sugar, for cattle feeding. Dried sawdust is leached with concentrated hydrochloric acid, according to a description recently given by Bergius himself, in New York, reported in Food Industries. This produces a sirup of high acidity. The acid is removed hy mixing the sirup with hot oil, in a vacuum, when i t becomes gas, and is absorbed in water. The sirup is then evaporated to a dry product, which is a food for animals. The exact identity of the sugars has not yet been determined, hut they are digestible carbohydrates which animals convert into corn sugar. They can be refined for human consumption. Sawdust yields sixty-five per cent of its substance in these sugars. It has taken Dr. Bergius a t least ten years to perfed the technical process, although the chemical studies, started in 1913,were completed in three years.-Chemistry & You
