April, 1882. 
THE CHEMIST AND DRUGGIST. 
KOTAVTC GARDEN'S 
INDEX TO LITERARY CONTENTS. 
PAGE 
Leading Article— M. Yvon on the Purity 
of Chloroform 89 
The Month 89 
Meetings— Pharmacy Board of Victoria . . 90 
Pharmaceutical Society of Victoria — 90 
Deputation to the Minister of Lands 91 
Warrnambool Police Court 91 
PAGE 
Death of Mr. Chas. Kernot, M.L.A 92 
Remarks on a New Casuarina 92 
Review 93 
Interlopers 93 
Surgeon Druggists 93 
Economy of Fuel, and Smoke Abatement . . 93 
Correspondence 94 
PAGE 
Reminiscences of a Pharmacist 94 
Pharmaceutical Notes 95 
Secret Remedies 96 
Inquest 96 
Victoria Pharmaceutical Society’s Medal 
in Gold 96 
Notes and Abstracts 96 
Cfje (SI) c mist anti Uruggtst. 
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BIRTH. 
Longmore.— O n the 29th March, at Kensington, the wife of Francis Long- 
more, chemist, of a son. 
MARRIAGE. 
Cattach — Hews. — On the 5th April, at the residence of the bride’s parents, 
by the Rev. Thos. Porter, Alexander M. Cattach, son of the late James 
Cattach, to Eliza, fifth daughter of James Hews, Ryrie-street, Colling- 
wood. 
DEATHS. 
Murray.— On the 3rd April, at the Alfred Hospital, Robt. D. Murray, 
dispenser, son of the late Andrew Murray, Prince’s-street, Edinburgh. 
Beloved and regretted. 
Cowl. — On the 31st March, at Walhalla, of phthisis, Gertrude, the beloved 
wife of R. H. Cowl ; aged 23 years. 
Kernot.— On the 26th March, at Milton-house, Newtown, Geelong, 
Charles Kernot, M.L.A., aged 62 years. 
M. YYON ON THE PURITY OF CHLOROFORM. 
M. Yvon has suggested a new and delicate method of 
testing the purity of chloroform for anaesthetic purposes. 
At a meeting of the Paris Socidtd de Pharmacie he read a 
paper upon this subject, which has been published in the 
Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie , a resume of which is 
given in the Pharmaceutical Journal (pp 711, 12), and 
may be consulted with advantage. We transcribe the 
following as containing the proposed mode of testing, 
which would appear worthy of attention : — 
Referring to the characteristics requisite for chloroform that 
is to be used for anesthetic purposes, as described by Professor 
Regnault — viz., that it should have a mild odour, be neutral to 
test paper, give no precipitate when shaken with solution of 
argentic nitrate, not acquire a brown colour when heated to 
the boiling point with caustic potash, not blacken when 
mixed with concentrated sulphuric acid, nor dissolve or con- 
sequently become coloured by certain aniline derivatives such 
as rosaniline or aniline blue — M. Yvon is of opinion that these 
characters do not constitute a sufficient guarantee of purity 
unless the boiling point of the liquid has previously been 
found correct. That he considers to be an absolute necessity, 
having examined many samples which were not quite pure, 
although they bore the tests above mentioned. In seeking for 
further tests of purity, M. Yvon first tried the determination of 
the boiling point, and by that means was able to classify the 
samples operated upon under two heads. The first commenced 
to distil about 59*4° C., the temperature rising gradually to 
60 4°, 61*2°, and 63*4° by the time three-fourths had passed 
over and then rising to 64*4° and even 65-5°. The samples of 
the second class began to distil at 61°, and nearly eight-tenths 
passed over at that temperature, after which the temperature 
rose up to 66*. 
Making due allowance for the difficulty of obtaining abso- 
lutely precise results by this means, M. Yvon nevertheless felt 
justified in concluding that the samples examined by him con- 
tained substances rather more volatile, and others rather less 
volatile than chloroform, without, however, affecting the reac- 
tions which are accepted as characteristic of the purity of 
chloroform. 
After some further trials of a mixture of bichromate of 
potash and sulphuric acid M. Yvon finally decided to employ 
permanganate of potash, as he found that salt was not reduced 
by pure chloroform. He first used an aqueous solution con- 
taining *025 per cent, of the salt, shaking half a cubic centi- 
metre with 6 cub. cent, of the chloroform to be tested and found 
that the greater the impurity of the sample the more rapid 
was the reduction of the permanganate. Subsequently a 
greater sensibility was given to the permanganate by applying 
it in the presence of a free alkali. A solution containing 1 
part permanganate with 10 parts caustic potash in 250 parts 
of water has a fine violet colour, which is instantly changed to 
green by contact with impure chloroform. In testing a great 
number of samples of chloroform from various sources, M. 
Yvon did not find any that were free from impurity. With 
ordinary commercial chloroform the passage from violet to 
green was almost instantaneous ; with chloroform described 
as pure it took place within ten or fifteen seconds, and with 
ansesthetic chloroform within from thirty to fifty seconds. 
'xElie ill o nth. 
We may remind our readers that the Royal Society of New 
South Wales offer a series of prizes, of the value of £25 each, 
for the best communication, the result of original research, 
upon eight subjects of colonial interest, one of which, “ The 
Chemistry of the Australian Gums and Resins,” must be sent 
in not later than 31st August, 1883. 
The Pharmacy Board have resolved to enforce the fourteenth 
clause of the Pharmacy Act, and to prosecute persons who 
neglect to comply with its provisions. The first case brought 
forward was that of W. F. G. Nettleton, at Warrnambool, who 
was fined £2 and £1 Is. costs. 
At the City Police Court, Adelaide, on the 29th March, a 
woman was fined for selling milk after the Board of Health 
had ordered her to desist, in consequence of her having lost two 
of her sons by typhoid fever. She continued selling milk, and 
infected some of her customers. 
