THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[March t, 1871. 
701 
a small outlet tube, should boil, on the application 
of heat, without the temperature rising above 212°F. 
The boiling-point is a very important character of 
chloral hydrate, and should never be neglected, even 
when the chloroform test is also employed. It will 
at once distinguish between the hydrate and alcolio- 
late. Moreover, some samples of hydrate, in which 
no alcohol can be detected, nevertheless boil at too 
high a temperature. This is probably due to the 
presence of some chlorine substitution-products other 
than chloral. A recent editorial article in this 
Journal ascribes the low yield of chloroform some¬ 
times obtained, to the moist condition of the samples. 
No doubt a slight excess of water is frequently pre¬ 
sent, and forms a very unobjectionable constituent. 
But while an excess of moisture would diminish the 
percentage of chloroform, it would not raise the boil¬ 
ing-point above 212° F. It is on tins account that I 
regard the boiling-point as being in some respects a 
better and simpler test for ordinary use than de¬ 
termining the chloroform. 
SPIRITITS AMMONIJE AROMATICUS, 
ITS PREPARATION AND COMPOSITION. 
BY WILLIAM MARTINDALE, E.C.S. 
The attention of the trade having been called to 
this preparation by a medical contemporary, in an 
article in which it complains that samples purchased 
at several chemists, were notably deficient in am¬ 
monia and spirit,—by way of testing the correctness 
of its results, I have been led to perform the follow¬ 
ing experiments:— 
(1.) Having powdered 8 oz. of carbonate of am¬ 
monia, dissolve it in 10 oz. of water by means of 4 
fluid ounces of strong solution of ammonia, sp. gr. 
'' jbb ' T his will form a clear solution, but on the 
ac c i ion o o ^i‘ rectified spirit, and the es¬ 
sential oils, such a. precipitation taxes place of 
ammonia salts that it forms a complete magma of 
the whole fluid, llie product of the Pharmacopoeia 
process would resemble this, if it contained all the 
ammonia, carbonic acid and spirit ordered to be 
used. (2.) Let the experiment be repeated, using 2 
pints of water in place of 10 oz., making a solution of 
the carbonate in the water and strong solution of am¬ 
monia, as before, first. It will now be found, that on 
the addition of the spirit, a bright and clear mixture 
is formed; but when the fluid has been allowed to 
stand, a quantity of minute acicular prisms, crystals 
of normal ammonium carbonate (?), will have depo¬ 
sited. And again (3), let the Pharmacopoeia quan¬ 
tities be taken, i.e. the same as above, but using 
3 pmts of water. Having dissolved the essential 
oils in the spirit previous to the addition of the solu¬ 
tion of ammonia salts, it will be found that a milk y, 
opaque mixture is formed, due to the separation of the 
oils, the spirit not beiug then strong enough to hold 
tnem m solution,—but there will be no crystalline 
ueposit at ordinary temperatures. On proceeding 
to distil the mixture, in the first portion of the dis¬ 
tillate there is always a more or less quantity of 
crystalline formation noticed in the receiver, but 
map as the process is continued, is redissolved. 
Having obtained the required quantity,—7 pints of 
distillate,—upon examination of wliat remains in 
the still, upwards of two pints of fluid, that will still 
be found to contain a quantity of ammonia, in fact, 
an equal volume of it will be found to contain about 
one-tliird as much as there is in the distillate. And 
if, especially on a large scale, tlie process be not care¬ 
fully conducted, this liquid, on cooling, may sometimes 
contain a quantity of mixed salts of ammonia, not 
held in solution. It is, in fact, found to be impos¬ 
sible to have the distillate to contain more than 
about 17 per cent, of ammonia without its being 
deficient in carbonic acid. To quote Dr. Divers*:— 
“ By following the directions in the British Pharma¬ 
copoeia to use, solution of ammonia and commercial 
carbonate instead of pearlasli and sal-ammoniac, 
the formation of a spirit containing excess of am¬ 
monia is favoured, but to only a small extent. The 
spirit thus obtained is, of course, equally liable, if too 
strong in alcohol, to decompose into a basic solution 
and lialf-acid or acid carbonate, as I ascertained by 
preparing it.” He previously states that it not un- 
frequently proves to contain much less carbonate 
than it is intended to contain. 
TEST FOR ARSENIC. 
A new and very delicate test for arsenic has been 
discovered by Bettendorff. Its sensibility is so great, 
that it is said to be capable of detecting one part of 
arsenic in a million parts of solution, and the pre¬ 
sence of antimony does not affect it. In order to 
apply this test, the arsenious or arsenic liquid is 
mixed with hydrochloric acid until fumes are appa¬ 
rent; thereupon stannous chloride is added, which 
produces a basic precipitate, containing the greater 
part of the arsenic as metal, mixed with stannic 
oxide. 
ARTIFICIAL INDIA-RUBBER. 
Prof. Sonnenschein has discovered that an elastic mass 
resembling caoutchouc may be obtained by combining 
tungstate of soda with certain organic substances. If 
tungstic acid or tungstate of soda be added to glue, and 
afterward muriatic acid, a compound of tungstic acid 
glue is precipitated which is so elastic at 85 - 105 ° F., 
that it can be drawn out into very thin fibres. On 
cooling, the mass becomes very solid and brittle. . It 
is proposed to employ this substance in place of the 
costly albumen for mordanting cotton, especially for 
aniline colours. 
The same material has been used in tanning leather; 
but this became hard as stone, and consequently unsuit¬ 
able for ordinary purposes. By adding tungstate of 
soda, and muriatic acid to a solution of gelatine, and 
heating the precipitate, a substance is obtained which 
may be used as a putty or cement in many cases.— 
Mamcfacturer's Review. 
USE OF THEINE AS A THERAPEUTIC AGENT. 
BY LEWIS THOMPSON, M.R.C.S. 
I wish to direct the attention of the medical profession 
to the use of a valuable agent which has hitherto escaped 
notice, although its powers are most unquestionable, and 
its cost price very trivial. The article to which I allude 
is theine, a substance existing in tea and coffee, and, as 
I.believe, in many other vegetable products. As a me¬ 
dicine, theine is powerfully tonic and stimulant, and ap¬ 
pears to possess the tonic virtues of the disulphate of 
quinia united to the stimulating power of wine, but with 
this difference, that the stimulus from theine is not fol¬ 
lowed by depression, as in the case of wine and alcohol. 
Theine seems to act chiefly on the great sympathetic 
* Divers on the Combinations of Carbonic Anhydride with 
Ammonia and Water. 
