163 
BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE. 
poisonous, apparently from its sulphide of arsenic made soluble by an alkaline fluid in 
which it was given. 
The Conference adjourned till 4 r.M. 
NOTE ON BISULPHATE OF POTASH. 
BA” MR. BARNARD S. PROCTOR. 
A sample of “ bisulphate of potash,” obtained from a well-known firm of manu¬ 
facturing chemists, on examination proved to be sulphate, with only a trace of 
quasi-free acid. The manufacturers, when written to, said they had supplied 
that article for some years as bisulphate, it being the salt generally known under 
that name, but at the same time offered to make a true bisulphate if required. 
Below are given the results of examination of the first sample, A ; the sample 
made to order, B ; and two others obtained from retail sources : several appli¬ 
cations for the article proving that it is not generally kept by Pharmaceutists :— 
A gave OH per cent, of quasi-free acid. 
B ,, 30*0 ,, 
C ,, 31-0 ,, ,, 
H ,, 31*0 ,, 5, 
Theory requires 29-5 ,, ,, 
A was dry* and in little masses of small crystals. B was in dry fused cakes, 
with a crystalline structure. C was a damp crystalline powder similar to a salt 
of tartar ” of commerce. 1) was in damp broken crystals, in appearance re ¬ 
sembling chlorate of potash of commerce ; it was supplied as Howard’s super 
sulphate of potash. 
Grey Street, Newcastle, August, 1865 . 
ON THE IODO-HYDRARGYRIDE OF POTASSIUM AND THE 
OXIDATION TESTS FOB METHYLIC .ALCOHOL IN THE 
PRESENCE OF ETHYLIC ALCOHOL AND SOME OTHER 
ORGANIC BODIES. 
BY MR. JOHN TUCK. 
At the Bath meeting of the British Pharmaceutical Conference, it was shown 
that oil of cloves had the same effect on the ioclo-hydrargyride of potassium test 
for methylic alcohol as acetone; it therefore became evident that some addi¬ 
tional experiments were necessary, in order to determine whether or not the 
volatile oils or organic principles existing in the tinctures were in any way cal¬ 
culated to interfere with its application, and if so to devise some simple method 
whereby such interfering agent might be removed previous to the application 
of the test. With this object in view, I dissolved one drachm M the oil of 
cloves in nine drachms of spirit of wine; on testing this with the iodo-hydrar- 
gyride of potassium, as I expected, there was no precipitate. I next distilled n 
portion of it, and on testing the distillate I obtained the reaction characteristic 
of spirit of wine. This experiment teaches us that the worst possible interfer¬ 
ing agent can readily be separated by simple distillation. 
I have also distilled and tested nearly the whole of the tinctures of the 
British Pharmacopoeia prepared with duty-paid spirit, and in no case have I 
met with any oil or organic principle that interfered with the test. I obtained 
the characteristic precipitate in every case, so that the absence of a precipitate 
with the ioclo-hydrargyride of potassium test may be looked upon as conclusive 
evidence of the preparation being made with methylated spirit. The tinct. 
