April 12, 1873.] 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
815 
Glycerine is largely used for cosmetics and perfumery, 
for keeping clay moist for modelling purposes, for 
preventing mustard from drying up; it is also useful as a 
lubricating material for some kinds of machinery, more 
especially watch and chronometer works, because it is not 
altered by contact with air, does not become thick at a low 
temperature, and does not attack such metals as copper, 
brass, etc. It is used in making copying inks. It is an 
excellent solvent for many substances, including the tar- 
colours (aniline blue, cyanine, aniline violet) and alizarine. 
In order to render paper soft and pliable glycerine is added 
to the pulp ; it enters largely into the manufacture of 
weavers’ glue or dressing (which is composed of dextrine 
5 parts, glycerine 12 parts, sulphate of alumina 1 part, and 
water 30 parts), by the use of this mixture the weaving of 
muslins need not be, as was formerly the case, carried on in 
damp darkened cellars, but may be performed in well-aired 
and well-lighted rooms. Santi uses glycerine for the com¬ 
passes on board screw-steamers, in order to protect the 
inner compass box against the vibrations caused by the 
motion of the propeller. A mixture of finely powdered 
litharge and anhydrous glycerine, made into paste, forms a 
rapidly hardening cement, especially useful as a cover for 
the corks or bungs of vessels containing such fluids as 
benzol, essential oils, etc., the cement being impermeable 
to these liquids. Glycerine, on account of its strong anti¬ 
septic powers, has been used successfully as an agent for 
preserving animal and vegetable substances. For mount¬ 
ing botanical and zoological specimens, as a substitute for 
alcohol, glycerine has been found preferable, as not being 
liable to evaporation, not combustible, and preserving the 
natural colours of the preparations more perfectly. Gly¬ 
cerine is largely used in the process of calico-printing ; it 
is also used under patent process in preparing paper for 
dry printing; when added to confectioners’ wares, pre¬ 
served fruits, and chocolates, it serves to preserve them 
from becoming dry—it serves a similar purpose in the 
manufacture of tobacco and snuff. The water in gas- 
meters is liable to freeze in winter, or to evaporate too 
rapidly in summer—the addition of glycerine prevents 
these evils. Dr. Pohl and Pasteur have made many 
experiments with glycerine to apply it for sweetening 
certain wines which had become sour; and it has been 
successfully established that glycerine gives the wine a 
certain mildness and reviving flavour, so that it may be of 
great service in time of a bad year’s growth. 
Quality, as it exists in commerce. —Many impurities are 
In the foregoing table, A represents Price’s patent 
glycerine; B, C, D, E, F, were sold by continental manu¬ 
facturers as double distilled white glycerine, a la Price, in¬ 
odorous, guaranteed to stand the nitrate of silver test 
(sp. gr. 30° to 31° B); G and H as refined glycerine (28° 
B sp. gr.); and I a sample of concentrated crude glycerine 
necessarily found in crude glycerine, according to the pro¬ 
cess of manufacture, or the quality of water used in manu¬ 
facturing. For industrial purposes, these impurities are 
not objectionable or disadvantageous if only present in 
moderate proportions ; for medicinal use of course it is 
absolutely necessary that pure glycerine should be used, 
and the glycerine purified by Wilson’s process manufac¬ 
tured by Price’s Patent Candle Company is undoubtedly 
superior to any other I have examined. The fact that 
continental manufacturers now offer medicinal glycerine 
a la Price, inodorous, etc., would tend to substantiate this 
statement; and it occurred to me that it might be inter¬ 
esting to know how these various manufactures com¬ 
pare with Price’s,—hence the ultimate object of this 
paper. 
I have selected nine samples to report upon, and these 
represent English and continental manufactures. 
The various chemical reagents shown, with the results, 
in the tabular form below, have been applied in the usual 
way, standard solutions being added to the specimen of 
glycerine (the glycerine previously diluted with an equal 
bulk of water), excepting the argentic nitrate. One part 
of solution was added to four parts of undiluted glycerine, 
and the mixture allowed to stand twenty-four hours. The 
specific gravity was taken at 60° F. with Baum^’s hydro¬ 
meter ; and several were taken by weight, and found to 
correspond. The odour is easily ascertained by rubbing 
a little on the back of the hand : the peculiar mousey 
smell with some samples is easily detected, and this be¬ 
comes more intense by heating a little of the glycerine in 
a test-tube. 
Glycerine mixed with an equal volume of rectified sul¬ 
phuric acid, should not produce effervescence or coloura¬ 
tion if sufficiently pure for medicinal use. 
By adding absolute alcohol and concentrated sulphuric 
acid to glycerine, on heating a fruity smell is set free, 
more or less intense owing to the presence of butyric 
or formic acid; the peculiar pine-apple odour is very 
strong in some samples, showing the formation of butyric 
ether. 
For detecting sugar and glucose in glycerine. —To five 
drops of the glycerine to be tested, add 100 to 120 drops 
of water, one drop of pure nitric acid, and three or four 
centigrammes of ammonium molybdate; boil the mix¬ 
ture, and in less than two minutes it will assume an 
intense bluish-green colour if any sugar or glucose is 
present. 
from Hamburg, as exported for manufacturing purposes. 
A, B, and H have been exposed to strong sunlight in closed 
vessels for two days. A was unchanged, but B and H 
had the mousey odour developed very fully, but without 
discoloration. 
It will be observed that there are slight impurities in 
Sample. 
Specific 
Gravity. 
Hydro¬ 
meter. 
Colour. 
Odour. 
Odour 
when 
treated. 
Sulphuric 
Acid. 
Argentic 
Nitrate. 
Ammo¬ 
nium 
Oxalt te. 
Potass. 
Ferro- 
cyanid. 
Ammon. 
Hydro- 
sulph. 
Barium 
Chloride. 
Litmus. 
For 
Butyric 
Acid. 
For 
Sugar. 
A 
31 °B. 
None. 
None. 
Very faint. 
No change. 
No 
change. 
No 
change. 
No 
change. 
No 
change. 
No 
change. 
No 
change. 
Slight 
smell. 
None. 
B 
30° B. 
None. 
Do. 
Slight 
mousey 
smell. 
Slight dis¬ 
coloration. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Present. 
Do 
C 
30° B. 
Do. 
Slight. 
Do. 
Do. 
Slight 
tinge. 
Slightly 
turbid. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do, 
D 
30° B. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
No 
change. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
E 
31° B. 
Do. 
Very faint. 
Do. 
Slight tinge. 
Faint opal¬ 
escence. 
No 
change. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
F 
29° B. 
Do. 
Fatty. 
Do. 
Do. 
Slightly 
tinged. 
Slightly 
turbid. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
G 
28° B. 
Slightly 
tinged. 
Do. 
Disagree¬ 
able fatty. 
Do. 
More 
tinged. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
! H 
28V° B. 
None. 
Mousey. 
More 
mousey. 
Discolora¬ 
tion. 
No 
change. 
No 
change. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
I 
28° B. 
Brown. 
Strong and 
fatty. 
Strong and 
fatty, very 
offensive. 
Intense dis¬ 
coloration 
and disagiee- 
able odour. 
Flocculent 
deposit. 
Great 
deposit. 
Do. 
Discolora¬ 
tion and 
black 
deposit. 
De¬ 
posit. 
Bed. 
Plenty, 
and disa¬ 
greeable 
fatty smell. 
Do. 
