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Neossin, the Chinese edible bird's nest, has been studied by E. V. McCollum, who finds that it is a glucoproteid. It gives Millon's, - Adamkiewicz's, the biuret and xanthoproteic reactions. It contains.2 - per cent of sulphur, 9.69 per cent of nitrogen and no, phosphorus. Hausmann's method showed the nitrogen to be distributed as follows: NH3, 1.3 per cent; humus, 1.27 per cent; phosphotungstic aid precipitate, 1.59 per cent; amino acids, 5.53 per cent. The substanCe 'is remarkable in that about one-fourth of its sulphur is liberated as S02 when the proteid is hydrolyzed with 3 per cent HC1. No sulphites are present in the nest. The gas was washed with CuSO4 solution and gave no evidence of hydrogen sulphide. The mercaptan sulphur test is very faint. When boiled with 3 per cent HCI, the carbohydrate group is readily split off. The hydrolysis solution waprecipitated with phospho-tungstic acid and the filtrate used for - the estimation of the sugar by Fehling's solution. It showed the presence of 15 per cent of sugar calculated as glucose in the sample. This solution gave an osazone which melts at 183 to 185 deg. C. and has the composition of a hexosazone. Arginine and histadine were identified in the phosphotungstic precipitate. Lysin appears to be absent. The total oil output of the world - may be taken as being about 20,000,000 tons per annum as against 800,000,000 of coal, and of this. oil at best only one-third is available for fuel purposes The crude oil as it comes from the well would be absolutely unfitted for use, as in most cases it gives off inflammable vapors at air temperatures, and these mingling with the air form highly explosive mixtures. The temperature at. which such inflammable vapor is evolved is called the flash point of the oil, and for use in the British navy no oil with a flash point below 200 deg. F. is allowed on board, although in the German navy and the mercantile marine the limit is fixed at 150 deg. This necessary limitation means that the crtide oil as it' comes from the well has first to undergo a process of distillation, the more volatile portions yielding petroleum spirit or petrol, employed in motor cars, etc., while higher fractions flashing above 73 deg. F. form the lamp oil, used for illuminating purposes, and with most crude oils it is only the residue, ' which - from American oil is called residuum and from Russian oil ostatki. that fuel oil supplies can be drawn.
