16 



ETHER. 



The ether of commerce, sometimes called sulfuric ether, is manu- 

 factured exclusively from alcohol by the action of sulfuric acid and 

 heat. . This ether is used in a great many technical operations, since 

 it is one of the best solvents known, especially for fats. It is also 

 extensively used in surgery as an anesthetic. Under the present 

 arrangements ether used for technical purposes can only be made 

 from alcohol on which tax has been paid, and thus its price is 

 phenomenally high. By the use of tax-free alcohol for making ether, 

 this price would be proportionally reduced, and in some countries 

 the law permits the use of alcohol denatured by a special formula for 

 this purpose. The denaturation of alcohol by the general process 

 prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue may unfit it 

 for the manufacture of ether, even if such use were deemed admissible 

 under the new law b and the regulations made in conformity therewith. 



MEDICINES AND PHARMACEUTICAL PREPARATIONS. 



Alcohol is used very extensively in the preparation of medicines. 

 That great body of remedies known as tinctures is made by using 

 alcohol as a solvent for the active principle of the herbs and plants 

 from which the tinctures are made. The law, however, does not 

 permit the use of denatured alcohol for " liquid medicinal purposes/ ' 

 and, concerning preparations which are used both in pharmaceutical 

 preparations and in tlfe arts, it is to be noted that under section 80 

 of the Regulations the Commissioner of Internal Revenue will con- 

 sider all formulas submitted for the special denaturing of alcohol for 

 technical purposes and will determine whether their use is consistent 

 with the proper safeguarding of the revenue. The regulation states 

 further: "But one special denaturant will be authorized for the 

 same class of industries, unless it shall be shown that there is good 

 reason for additional special denaturants." 



IMITATION SILK. 



The substance which is known as imitation silk is really a produc- 

 tion from cotton or other cellulose material which, in its finished 

 state, resembles silk somewhat in luster. It is not silk, and hence 



a The formula for completely denaturing alcohol given by the regulations of the United 

 States Internal Revenue is as follows : To 100 parts of ethyl alcohol add 10 parts of 

 approved methyl alcohol and one-half of 1 part of approved benzin. Formulas for special 

 denaturants for specific purposes are to be submitted by manufacturers to the Commis- 

 sioner of Internal Revenue, who will announce from time to time what formulas may be 

 used in the several classes of industries. 



b For the text of the law permitting the use of denatured alcohol, tax-free, for industrial 

 purposes, see Farmers' Bulletin 268, Industrial Alcohol, Sources and Manufacture. 



