since proper precautions were taken and the utensils were 



handled wilii rubber gloves. 



1 

 The crude ether extract was shipped to Baltimore in 



August and was kept in a cool place until November when the 

 investigation was begun. When the bottle was opened, there 

 seemed to be an escape of a vapor and a nauseating odor sug- 

 gesting crushed green leaves pervaded the atmosphere. Some 

 days later, irregular red patches appeared on the face though 

 a mask of cotton cloth was worn during the work, and the hands 

 were protected by rubber gloves. 



Assuming from Pfaff s work that this original material 

 contained the non-volatile oil toxicodendrol, the first ex- 



periment was to distil it out under dimished pressure. For 

 A 



this purpose, an Anschutze distilling bulb containing ten 

 grams of the tar was connected with a vacuum pump. 

 After a pressure of 2 ram. had been established the bulU was 

 gradually heated in a bath of Wood's metal. Nothing distilled 

 dver. The material began to carbonize at a temperature of 

 140°-150° 



It was then thought that perhaps the oil could be converted 

 into an ester which might be more volatile and could be dis- 

 tilled out. 20 grams of the original material were dissolved 

 in 100c, c. of absolute alcohol containing 3 gm. of hydro- 

 chloric acid gas, and the mixture was heated 10 hours on a 

 water-bath under a return condenser. After the heating, the 



This will be designated as the original material. 



-18- 



