ALCOHOL 13 
the fermented and distilled liquors. When 
“strong,” or nearly free of water, it dis- 
solves gums and resins very readily, and 
burns with an intensely hot, pale-blue 
flame Because of these characteristics 
it is used in large amounts in the prep- 
aration of certain varnishes, and as a 
fuel in cases where its cleanliness, in- 
tense heat, and freedom from danger of 
explosion offset its expensiveness. Alco- 
hol boils at a much lower temperature 
than water, and it is this fact that makes 
it possible to separate it, by distillation, 
from the aqueous solutions in which it 
originally is formed. Bulk for bulk it 
is considerably lighter than water, and 
mixtures of alcohol and water show fairly 
regular increases in weight, per unit of 
volume, in proportion to the percentages 
of water which they contain. Because of 
this relation the alcoholic strength of 
any such mixture can be determined by 
means of an appropriately graduated al- 
coholmeter. The strength of alcohol so- 
lutions may be stated in percentages by 
volume or by weight, or in United States 
proof degree, one such degree correspond- 
ing to one-half of 1 per cent of alcohol 
in volume. 
Chemists employ the formula C.H;,0H 
to denote the composition of alcohol. This 
signifies that one molecule, or unit, of 
the compound substance alcohol is made 
up of two atoms, or units, of the ele- 
ment carbon (written C), six atoms of 
the element hydrogen (written H), and 
one atom of the element oxygen (written 
O). The percentage composition of alco- 
hol is—carbon (C) 52.12 per cent, hydro- 
gen (H) 18.18 per cent, and oxygen (0) 
84.75 per cent. 
Denatured Alcohol 
On account of the intoxicating powers 
of alcohol, its manufacture is prohibited 
in many communities, and throughout 
nearly all of the civilized world its pro- 
duction is hedged about with restrictions 
in the form of excise laws, which, in addi- 
tion to producing revenue, raise its price 
to the consumer and tend to diminish its 
consumption in the form of beverages. 
However, this increase in cost, due to tax 
imposition, interferes seriously with the 
use of alcohol for fuel and for many 
other legitimate industrial purposes; and 
therefore many governments have enacted 
laws which authorize its manufacture, 
Sale, and use for industrial ends, tax 
free, upon the condition that it shall 
first be made unfit for beverage use 
by the addition of materials which 
will give it a thoroughly foreign and nau- 
seating odor and taste without making it 
dangerously poisonous or interfering with 
the particular industrial purpose for 
which it is intended. Alcohol which thus 
has been made unfit for drinking, is 
called “denatured alcohol.” The mate- 
rials which are used to make it unpo- 
table, whatever their particular nature, 
are called “‘denaturants,’ and the process 
by which they are dissolved in or min- 
gled with the original potable alcohol is 
called “denaturing.” Some of these ma- 
terials and the methods of their employ- 
ment are discussed on page 15. 
The Denatured Aleohol Law 
On June 7, 1906, an act of Congress was 
approved which provided for the with- 
drawal from bond, tax free, of domestic 
alcohol when rendered unfit for use as a 
beverage or aS an ingredient of medi- 
cines by mixture with suitable denatur- 
ing materials. The act reads in part as 
follows: 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House 
of Representatives of the United States of 
America in Congress assembled, That from 
and after January first, nineteen hundred 
and seven, domestic aleohol of such de- 
gree of proof as may be prescribed by 
the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 
and approved by the Secretary of the 
Treasury, may be withdrawn from bond 
without the payment of internal-revenue 
tax, for use in the arts and industries, 
and for fuel, light, and power, provided 
said alcohol shall have been mixed in the 
presence and under the direction of an 
authorized Government officer, after with- 
drawal from the distillery warehouse, 
with methyl alcohol or other denaturing 
material or materials, or admixture of 
the same, suitable to the use for which 
the alcohol is withdrawn but which de- 
stroys its character as a beverage and 
renders it unfit for liquid medicinal pur- 
poses; such denaturing to be done upon 
the application of any registered distill- 
ery in denaturing bonded warehouses 
