The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1880-02-19
USEFUL AND SCIENTIFIC.
The Future of Organic Chemistry.

The Future of Organic Chemistry.
Berthelot has estimated the possible
number of compounds of acids with al.
cohols at 1000, ,o0O, ,OOO, 900. With
such a future before them ambitious
I young chemists need not despair Of find
ing new compounds for centuries to
come. The number of new bodies pre-
pared annually will probably not exceed
| 1000, but each year viii see these mum.
bers grow. Of all these new products
less than 5 per cent. have any so-called
practicM-i. e., commercial value. b A
majority, in fact, are never seen again
outside of the laboratory where they are
discovered, are never heardso after the
first description has gone the rounds of
the chemical journals, and been finally
registered in the big yearbook, or
Jahresbericht, into which are annually
posted abstracts of all the minor entries
that have been made in the various day.
books and blotters throughout the world
Yet each little discovery, Insignificant
though 1T may appear, every new body,
useless as it may seem, is valuable
They are the bricks and stones from
which a grand and imposing edifice is
10 be built, and, while they may be all
lowed to lie for years in the rubbish
heap, they will one day be sought, out
to fill their destined place in the struc-
ture.. 1t is one mans place to provide
the material, another to arrange them
in position. AS yet the outlines of the
bnilding are scarcely discernible; here
tower and there pinnacle, then an ugly
gap. In one place an imperfect founda-
ton is settling and threatening ruin to
the stories above; portions of it will
need rebuilding; new corner-stones are
needed here and there; the glitterlng
pinnacles have been misplaced, an over,
hanging turret threatens the passer-by.
Future architects will change the plans,
attempt new designs, but complete sue,
cess is possible only after all the ma
terial is on the ground. Let no investi-
gator feel that his little contribution is
of no value; it may yet occupy far
more important position than those
which for the present serve as capstones
and cornice..
| Aside from the theoretical value which
attaches to these soon to-be-forgotten
compounds, it is worth while to prepare
them and to study their properties care
fully; it is impossible to prophesy what
technical value they may possess or to
what they may lead. s.1S = t9die III
/ The question is often asked, Shall we
ever be able to make the valuable aka
loids, particularly qiiiiine {? rs it too
soon to answer this question. IA few,
years ago the .synthese of coniine was
announced, but it proved toabe an isofn-
eric body, paraconiine. The next
trial may give the real article, and then
other alkaloids may follow" Tho recent
success of an American in Paris, who.
prepared the glucosides synthetically.
marks an important epoch in syhthetil
cal chemistry. The synthesis of cane
sugar will probably follow, and who can
say where this will lead to? Since the
day when Woehler first made artificial,
urea, many useful forms of synthesis
have been devised. OF these the most
important commercially was the manu-
| facture of artificial alizarine. Agricul-
ture as we'll as technical Industry was
affected by. it. Kolbe's synthesis of sali-
cylic acid has proved boon to suffer-
| ing humanity. Tiemann's asynthesis of
vanilline, although much talked of, was
necessarily of less Importance from the
relative small consumption Of this flavorg
Bayer's recent esynthesis of indigo is of
no Importance to the dyer at present,
because his method is too eircuiteus and
expensive, but it is no less the. great
achievement of q master mind. Another
may modify his method and make il
profitable. s45 tf ta ass y,s,svect
The first step in the successful imita-
| ton of a natural product is to
ascertain with certainty \ its con-
stitution, into what products it
| is most easily separately and
how these again break, up into simpler
ones already known. kOlbe knew that
| salicylic acid could be readily converted
into carbolic acid, ,caIbonic acid being
liberated. He reasoned then, that if he
could make cafbonic acid act upon and
combine with earbolic, acid, salicylic-
| acid would probably result. By the in
tervention of metallic sodium the reae.i
ton was accomplished, but sodium is too
expensive a metal for such a purpose,
| hence he sought and found a cheaper
one in caustie soda; what the, latter
lacked in energy was compensated for
by simply raising the temperature. 3aH 4
The conversion 1of cane sugar linto
grape-sugar (glucose) is, a very simple
affair, and has long been understood.
The operation seems to consist in the
abstraction of the elements of water.
Could we not add the elements Of water
to grape sugar and convert itinto cane
sugar? As yet it has not been accom-
plished. The grape sugar has no desire
to enter into partnership with water
on such terms as to form cane sugar.
| Carbon is a queer element, and we can
not always comprehend its idiosyncra-
sizes. Amy body can convert IA diamond
into charcoal mo man has yet converted
charcoal into diamonds. Yet why, we
do not know. 38K9tsa7E #aefa 9tt :
+ Bayer's. synthesis of indigo blue fur
.nishes a most instructive example Of re-
versed operations. Ii had long been
known that when indigo is oxidized with
i nitric acid isdtine is formed. So Bayer
reasoned from this that hem be able
to reduce isatine to indigo blue, and in
this he succeeded by the aid Of phos-