^S ORGANIC AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY 



amount of alcohol present, and if this is the entire amount pres. 

 ent in the original liquid, we have an exact determination of 

 the factor desired. 



The standard of strength upon which alcohol is taxed is not, 

 as might seem natural, loo per cent or absolute alcohol, but 

 something less than this. In this country the standard strength 

 is a 50 per cent by volume alcoholic solution or 42.7 per cent by 

 weight. This is termed proof spirit, and tax is always made 

 according to per cent proof spirit. 



Denatured AlcohoL — Because of the extremely high tax 

 (in the United States the tax equals $1.10 per proof gallon) 

 and, therefore, the high price of pure alcohol, also the fact that 

 methyl alcohol which has no tax cannot always be substituted 

 for it, it is of the utmost importance that alcohol which is to 

 be used industrially, not as a beverage, should be removed 

 from taxation and thus greatly cheapened in price. In order 

 to make this possible it is necessary to render the alcohol for 

 industrial uses unfit for beverage purposes. Alcohol so treated 

 is termed denatured. Germany and England have had laws in 

 operation for some time by means of which alcohol to be used 

 industrially is freed from taxation, but it was not until 1906 

 that the United States had a law of this kind. Alcohol to be 

 used industrially is denatured by the addition of some sub- 

 stance which does not interfere with its use, but makes it unfit 

 for internal consumption. For example, alcohol to be used in 

 the manufacture of ether is denatured by the addition of sul- 

 phuric acid which is the reagent necessary when the ether is made. 

 For ordinary solvent purposes the denaturant is usually methyl 

 alcohol, while a little pyridine is often used to give it an offensive 

 odor, and sometimes a colored substance to give it a noticeable 

 color. The denatured alcohol law has two advantages. It 

 cheapens the cost of alcohol so that things made by its use can 

 be cheapened. It also makes it possible to manufacture alcohol 

 more generally and to use in its manufacture a great many 

 starch, sugar or cellulose-containing materials which have 

 heretofore been simply waste products of the farm. The sub- 



