172 
n a xr methylic alcohol or any derivative oe it el 
READILY -DETECTED IN CHLOROEORM, ETHER, SWEET 
SPIRIT OE NITRE, AND SAL VOLATILE? 
BY MB. JOHN TUCK. 
Tt will I think, be plain to all, that the detection of methylated spirit, under 
the varied forms of chloroform, ether, sweet nitre, and sal volatile, is a very- 
different subject, to its simple detection when not m any way chemically 
altered, and used merely as a solvent or from its preservative effects, as m the 
various tinctures of the Pharmacopoeia. In the former case we have to dea 
with the spirit after it has undergone some complex changes, or been mi ed 
with various other bodies not removable by mere distillation, whilst in the latter 
we have only the plain unaltered spirit, which, although it may be contaminated 
with organic matter, can nevertheless be separated from it by simple dilation. 
In the case of chloroform and ether, we have to deal not with methylic or 
ethylic alcohols at all,but some derivatives of them; m sweet spirit of nitre and sal 
volatile we have to deal with the spirit holding m solution various other bodies, 
solid liquid, and gaseous, and our aim here is to remove or decompose them, 
so that they shall not in any way interfere with the application of the tests. 
Chloroform, as is well known, can be prepared from wood naphtha, acetone, 
chloral, the acetates of lime, soda, and potash, oil of turpentine, and ot ler 
essential oils, as well as from ethylic alcohol and methylated spirit. It is, how¬ 
ever. o-enerally prepared from ethylic alcohol and methylated spirit, because the 
resultfng product is much purer and the yield greater than when derived from 
any other source. Chloroform obtained from crude wood naphtha has an em- 
pyreumatic odour very difficult of removal, but I expect this entirely results from 
the oily empyreumatic bodies previously existing m the naphtha. The patent 
naphtha would undoubtedly yield as tine a sample as any derived from pure 
alcohol • I am not aware, however, of any having been made from this source. 
Although chloroform, like alcohol and oxalic acid, may be derived from many 
sources yet, when freed from all impurities, it is of a certain, definite composi¬ 
tion It is said to have been known in former tunes, but this is very doubtful, 
we however, know for certain that Dumas first pointed out its true chemical 
composition in 1834 , and considered it to be the ter- or perch onde of the 
compound radical formyl C 2 H Cl r The two elements constituting the compound 
radical formyl, exist in many organic bodies, and in the two principal sources 
of chloroform are as follows :— 
Ethylic alcohol, or spirit of wine . . . C 4 II 6 0 2 
Methylic alcohol, or wood naphtha . . C 2 II 4 0 2 
and when these are distilled with chloride of lime (chlorinated lime) and slaked 
lime some complicated decompositions ensue, and chloroform is produced. ■ 
being clear that there can be no chemical difference in pure chloroform from 
whatever source derived, and that it is formed as readily from jnethylic as 
ethvlic alcohol, it is, therefore, useless to expect any chemical test for distinguishing 
it, when made, from methylated spirit and properly purified. 
In the preparation of chloroform from wood naphtha, an oily body, lighter 
than water and containing chlorine, is formed. An oil is also formed in its 
preparation from alcohol, but it differs from the oil obtained in making it from 
wood spirit in being heavier than water, and in having a lower boiling-point 
the crude methylated chloroform will therefore be contaminated (admitting it 
to be equally produced from both spirits) for a tenth part of its bulk, wit a 
treater amount of a light oil proportionate to the greater amount yielded oy 
wood naphtha, and it will be evident that the chloroform, if not thoroughly 
purified, will be of a somewhat lighter gravity than that prepared from puie 
