194 
BRITISH PHARMACEUTICAL CONFERENCE. 
his acid in a state of purity. In commerce it always appears containing from 
13 to 20 per cent, of impurities, besides adherent moisture. Conspicuous 
among these stand various double salts of ammonia, notably the double sulphate 
of magnesia and ammonia, and from these the ammonia is derived by a very 
simple process, viz. the double decomposition which ensues when the soda ash is 
added to the rough boracic acid in the manufacture of borax. The carbonate 
of ammonia escapes with the carbonic acid and steam, and is easily condensed 
by a suitable apparatus. After a second purification it takes the form which is 
tolerably familiar to the members of the Conference. 
To illustrate the subject, I give analyses made of an average of the greater 
part of the boracic acid imported in each of the years 1858 to 18C3 inclusive, 
representing 9307 casks. As everyone of the casks was sampled, and special 
pains were taken that the annual average should not belie its name, the 
analyses may be fairly considered to represent the actual yield of the lagoons in 
those years. Further to ensure accuracy, larger quantities than customary 
were used in the analyses, as much as 500 grains being generally employed, and 
some of the more minute constituents being determined on twice that quantity. 
The average of 1862, which represented 2206 casks, was specially examined for 
rare earths, but without success. By operating on 5000 grains I obtained traces 
of phosphate of alumina, phosphate of lime, strontia, and a minute trace of 
arsenic. No trace could be found of nitric acid, boracic acid combined with a 
base, nickel, cobalt, zinc, uranium, selenium, or lithia. 
The peculiar odour of crude boracic acid appears to me to be due to the or¬ 
ganic matter soluble in alcohol. This body is probably connected with the 
gasebus hydrocarbon mentioned as found in the vapours of the Suffioni in 
Watts’s ‘ Dictionary of Chemistry,’ fol. 636. 
1858 . 
1859 . 
1860 . 
1861 . 
1862 . 
1863 . 
Crystallized boracic acid . 
83-305 
83-54 
83 T 0 
84 T 5 
81752 
82-590 
Double sulphate of magnesia 
and ammonia .. 
6-479 
5-81 
5-58 
4-86 
7-596 
6-696 
Double sulphate of manganese 
and ammonia .. 
•515 
1-03 
•62 
•90 
•312 
•512 
Double sulphate of soda and 
ammonia . 
1-474 
1-66 
1-88 
1-59 
4-470 
2-573 
Ammonia alum . 
•180 
•21 
trace. 
•07 
absent. 
absent. 
Sulphate of ammonia. 
3-579 
3'01 
3-58 
3-88 
2-437 
2-815 
Chloride of ammonium. 
•110 
•03 
•06 
•06 
•080 
•075 
Sulphate of lime. 
•706 
•86 
•89 
•79 
•628 
•796 
Sulphate of potash. 
•196 
•45 
•29 
*43 
•351 
•396 
Persulphate of iron and iron 
alum. 
•095 
T 9 
•20 
•25 
•256 
•216 
Silica and alumina . 
*889 
•90 
1-06 
1-00 
•957 
•958 
Peroxide of iron. 
•084 
•06 
•02 
•08 
•043 
•070 
Sulphur . 
traces. 
traces. 
•04 
traces. 
•035 
•020 
Free sulphuric acid. 
•050 
•03 
T 2 
T 6 
•007 
•008 
Organic matter soluble in al¬ 
cohol. 
•332 
•50 
•49 
•32 
T 06 
•265 
Organic matter insoluble in al¬ 
cohol. 
•301 
•92 
•54 
•06 
•200 
T 30 
Moisture . 
1-755 
•80 
1-53 
1-40 
•770 
1-880 
100-000 
100-00 
100-00 
100-00 
100-000 
100-000 
