721 
NOTES AND ABSTRACTS IN CHEMISTRY AND PHARMACY. 
A New Chloral. 
Dr. Hofmann, who was present at the last meeting of the Chemical Society, 
related some interesting facts connected with the manufacture of chloral in 
Berlin. 
It appears that in many of the German distilleries the crude spirit is puri¬ 
fied by filtration through a deep bed of charcoal. In consequence of the 
adoption of this method a considerable quantity of aldehyd is generated in 
the spirit; and in these distilleries a certain portion of the produce is so far 
contaminated with this substance as to be unfit for any of the uses of spirit 
of wine. Since the manufacture of chloral has become a matter of so much 
importance (Dr. Hofmann states that one maker in Berlin is producing a hun¬ 
dred pounds per day), it appeared likely that this spirit, containing aldehyd, 
would find an economic application. The formula of chloral indicates that it 
is the chlorine derivative of aldehyd, and the first action of chlorine upon 
alcohol is to remove two atoms of hydrogen, liberating aldehyd, which, by a 
substitution change, is then converted into chloral:— 
C 2 H 6 0+C1 2 =C 2 H 4 0+2HC1. 
Alcohol. Aldehyd. 
C 2 H 4 0 + C] 6 =C 2 HC] 3 0 + 3HC1. 
Aldehyd. Chloral. 
The presence of aldehyd in alcohol ought, therefore, to be no detriment to its 
use in the preparation of chloral. Nevertheless, it was found that the pro¬ 
duct obtained from this spirit differed in some respects from the ordinary 
chloral. Analysis proved that it contained a distinct substance. 
It has been shown that when aldehyd is subjected to the action of hydro¬ 
chloric acid gas, two molecules of it are deprived of the elements of water, and 
crotonic aldehyd results :— 
2(C 2 H 4 0)-H 2 0=C 4 H 6 0. 
The hydrochloric acid resulting from the first part of the action therefore at¬ 
tacked the free aldehyd, and produced this change. By the further action of 
chlorine upon this crotonic aldehyd a chlorine derivative was obtained, 
having the composition C 4 H 3 C1 3 0. Whether this body possesses the same 
medicinal properties as the ordinary chloral has not been determined. 
New Process for the Preparation of Hydrobromic Acid. 
The process is founded upon the action of bromine upon paraffin. Bromine 
in vapour is passed into melted paraffin, contained in a tubulated retort; 
part of the bromine replaces hydrogen in the paraffin, whilst another portion 
escapes in the form of hydrobromic acid. The product resulting from the 
action of the bromine decomposes towards 180° C., disengaging, in the form 
of hydrobromic acid, the greater part of the combined bromine. The residue 
is a carbonaceous mass, which retains 31'6 per cent, of its weight of bromine. 
The solution of hydrobromic acid thus obtained, saturated at 0°, has the 
density T78. It corresponds to the formula HBrH 2 0.— Champion and 
Pellett (Camples Hand as, March 21). 
Process for the Estimation of the Alkaloids in Cinchona Barks. 
The following process is recommended by Dr. Vogl (‘ Neues Jahrbuch fur 
Pharmacie,’ Jan. 1870) as a rapid and easy method of estimating the valu¬ 
able constituents of the cinchona barks, liesults obtained by this process, 
