A L C 



periture.— The gas, however, appoars to have little or no 

 action on the fpirit, fiiice it is expelled from it by heat un- 

 altered. .... 



Neither metal*, nor metallic oxyds, nor metaUic acids, 

 appear to be in anv degree foluble in alcohol. 



Sulphur will not contract any union with alcohol by fiinplc 

 i. rcllion either cold or hot; biit when they arc both reduced 

 to°the form of vapour, and then mixed, a true folution is 

 cffeCUd, and the refnlt is a very pungent fpirit with a ftrong 

 odour of liver of fulphur, and which becomes milky and 

 depofits the fulphur on dilution with water. 



Ardent fpirit acis in a (light degree on Phosphorus, and 

 ditfolvcs fo much of this intlammable fubllance as to become 

 (lightly luminous in the dark when the folution is dropped 

 into water. 



None of the pure earths are foluble in alcohol, and this 

 latter has the power of precipitating lime, barytes, and 

 ilrontian, from their watery folutioiis. 



It is on the chemical fubibnces belonging to the vegetable 

 kingdom that aleoiiol exerts its moil powerful aclion as a 

 folvent, and herein eonlills its very extenlive ufe in phar- 

 macy, in preparing liquors for the table, in fome of the arts, 

 and in a very important part of chemical analyfis. 



Moll of the acids belonging to the vegetable kingdom are 

 highly foluble in ardent fpirit, fueh as the tartareous, the 

 citric,' the oxalic, and the gallic. In procuring the latter 

 from the gall-nut, alcohol fiiruidies us with a very elegant 

 and commodious method of feparating the acid from the 

 mucilaginous extraftivc matter with which it is naturally 

 mixed. 



The acetous acid, when of the ufual ftrength, fimply 

 mixes with alcohol, without producing any decompoiition, 

 but chemills have fucceedcd in forming an acetic Ether, 

 by employing the acid in its moft concentrated ilate. 



Alcohol will readily difTolvc Sugar. Wenzel tllimates 

 the quantity at about one-fifth of the fpirit. In all the 

 fweet native vegetable juices, fuch as the fap of the fugar 

 cane and the maple, or the exprelTed Hquor from the parlnip 

 and beet root, the fugar is mixed with a large quantity of 

 a mucilage very little foluble in alcohol. This furnilhts a 

 ready method for feparating the purely faccharine part, 

 a method which is much employed in the analylis of various 

 vegetables, for the purpofe of afcertaining the comparative 

 quantity of fugar which they may be expefted to yield to 

 the manufacturer. This folution, when left to fpontaneous 

 evaporation, yields minute cnilals of fugar, which are at 

 Rrtt brown, and require a further purification. 



Ardent fpirit is an excellent folvent for elFcntial oils, and 

 in general, for the moft: odorous and inflammable of the 

 vegetable productions. In the elTential oil of a plant refides 

 the Spiritus Reftor, or the AROMA, that which gives 

 the cxquillte perfume to the rofe or ieffamine. When thefe 

 odoriferous plants are diftilled with alcohol, it rifes llrongly 

 impregnated with their fcent and flavour, and as it takes up 

 no colouring matter it remains perfeftly clear as before. 

 Tlius, the common lavender water is alcohol dillilled off 

 the lavender plant, and holding in folution the effential 

 oil in which the fcent refides. The Z)/^;7/«/ Spirits in 

 pharmacy, are Gmilar preparations of alcohol, containing 

 the flavour of fpices, aromatics or other fubftanccs with 

 which it has been diftilled. (See Oils Essential). 



All the Resins are highly foluble in alcohol, but fcarcely, 

 if at all, in water. Thefe folutions have the peculiar colour, 

 and acrid tafte of the refin which they contain. An addition 

 of water render.; them all turbid, and from the pure refinous 

 fohitions it precipitates ahnoft the whole of the diffolvcd 



A L G 



The fulution of 



contei t3 in the foiTO of thick flakes. 

 guaiacum affords an example of this. 



The Gum Resins, which are natural mixtures of gum 

 and relin, yield their refinous part to pure alcohol and but 

 little of their gum ; water on the contrary dilfolves the gum 

 and leaves the rcfin ; but a mixture of alcohol and water 

 will hold both the ingredients in iolution. Thefe prepara- 

 tions are called Tinctures in pharmacy, and they are of 

 confiderable ufe in containing within a fmall bulk, the me- 

 dicinal virtues of larger quantities of the ingredients em- 

 ployed. 



Artificial refin,=i, or Refinous Extracts, are alfo made 

 by evaporating to drynefs folutions of the refinous parts of 

 feveral vegetables in alcohol. 



Camphor i; readily and largely foluble in ardent fpirit. 

 This folution, when faturated,\vill let fall alinolt the whole of 

 the camphor on the addition of water. Camphor alfo re- 

 markably aflifts the folution of the refins. 



Solutions of refinous fubftances in alcohol form the bafis 

 of the fpirit Varnishes, which when applied in thin layers 

 over any fubftance, foon dry from the evaporation of the 

 fpirit, whillt the refin remains behind furuiihing a fniooth 

 thin coating to the lurtace which they are intended to 

 protect. 



The fixed oils, when in their fimple ftate, are entirely 

 infi)luble in alcohol, but they may be rendered foluble in 

 this menftruum, either when they have been converted into 

 di-ylng oils by the action of metaUic oxyds, or when they 

 are united with alkalies in the form of Soap. A folution 

 of fine foap in alcoliol is pcrtect:ly colourlefs and tran- 

 fparent, and will bear dilution with water without be- 

 coming turbid. It is employed in medicine as an external 

 application, and 1.; alfo a good reagent in the analyfis of mi- 

 neral waters to difcover the prefencc of earthy falts. Thefe 

 decompofe the foap by double affinity, and produce curd- 

 ling. 



The eff"eft of alcohol on animal fubftances bear a con- 

 fiderable refcmblance to its operation on the vegetable king- 

 dom. 



Mufcular fibre and the coagulum of blood are not foluble 

 in this menftruum, but are rendered by it hard, contracted, 

 and incapable of putrefaction. 



Albumen is equally infoluble in alcohol and is coagulated 

 by it, probably owing to abftraftion of the water which held 

 it in folution. Milk is fpeedily curdled by ardent fpirit of 

 every kind. 



Alcohol will difiblve Wax, Spermaceti, Biliary 

 CALCULI, and the ftrong fcented animal refins or refinous 

 extracts, fuch as Musk and Ambergris. Tills menftruum, 

 however, does not appear to be fo cxtenfivcly applicable to 

 the analyfis of animal fubftances as ot thofe from the veget- 

 able kingdom. 



We have already mentioned that alcohol well rectified 

 maybe brought to the fpeclfic gravity of 0.825 (at 60" tem- 

 perature) by a fimple diftlllation, where the procefs is flowly 

 and carefully condufted, and when only the firft third, or 

 half of the fpirit which comes over is taken. Chemifts have, 

 however, been able to bring it to a higher ftate of dephleg- 

 mation, and confequently a lefs fpeclfic gravity. This is 

 done by adding to the fpirit in the alembic or ftill a quantity 

 of a fait which is itfelf infoluble in alcohol, and which has 

 fuch a greedy attrattion for water as to be able to feparate 

 it from the fpirit. Boerhaave recommends for this purpofe 

 common fait, hot, dry, and decrepitated. He allows the 

 fait and the fpirit to ftand together for twelve hours, and 

 then to be heated in a water-bath f© as to diftill off the fpirit 



by 



