606 
Chemical  Notes. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Dec,  1881 
salt,  and  therefore  containing  •002743182  grains  of  pure  permanganate 
of  potassium. 
A  weighed  quantity  of  the  spirit  was  placed  in  a  glass-stoppered 
bottle,  3  or  4  times  its  volume  of  a  saturated  alcoholic  solution  of  potassa 
Avas  added  and  the  mixture  digested  on  a  waterbath  until  the  odor  of 
ethyl  nitrite  had  entirely  disappeared.  The  solution  was  evaporated 
nearly  to  dryness,  water  was  added,  the  liquid  filtered,  acidulated  with 
sulphuric  acid  and  titrated  with  the  permanganate  solution.  Since 
one  molecule  of  potassium  permanganate  oxidizes  five  molecules  of 
potassium  nitrite  to  nitrate  and  indicates  therefore  five  molecules  of 
ethyl  nitrite,  316  (one  molecule)  potassium  permanganate  indicate  375 
(five  molecules)  of  ethyl  nitrite ;  from  these  data  the  etherial  strength 
of  the  spirit  is  readily  calculated. 
The  following  table  shows  the  result  of  the  examination  of  ten 
samples  purchased  at  retail : 
NO. 
Action  of 
Action  of  Potassa  Solution 
Ethyl  nitrite 
Potass,  bicarb. 
in  \]/2  hour. 
in  24  hours. 
per  cent. 
1. 
Effervescence, 
yellowish  tinge, 
yellow, 
•7680 
2. 
Effervescence, 
light  yellow. 
brownish-yellow, 
•2483 
3. 
Effervescence, 
yellowish  tinge. 
yellow, 
•2223 
4. 
Effervescence, 
light  yellow, 
brownish,  yellow, 
•4379 
5. 
Effervescence, 
colorless. 
light  yellow. 
•1415 
6. 
Effervescence, 
light  yellow, 
brownish-yellow. 
-  -6593 
7. 
Effervescence, 
nearly  colorless, 
brownish-yellow. 
•7792 
8. 
Effervescence, 
light  yellow, 
browiiish-yellow. 
1-6049 
9. 
Effervescence, 
light  yellow, 
brownish-yellow. 
•7376 
10. 
Effervescence, 
light  yellow. 
brownish-yellow, 
•3862 
CHEMICAL  NOTES. 
By  Prof.  Samuel  P.  Sadtler,  Ph.D. 
Inorganic  Chemistry. — Examination  for  Iodine  of  the  Mothei^- 
liquors  f^om  Salt  Brines  of  West  Virginia. — The  remarkable  statement 
having  been  made  that  the  bitterns  left  from  the  manufacture  of 
salt  by  boiling  the  brines  of  West  Virginia  and  Eastern  Ohio,  which 
have  furnished  very  large  quantities  of  bromine,  contain  in  addition 
to  this  element  about  one-third  their  weight  of  iodine,  Prof.  Mallet,  of 
the  University  of  Virginia,  has  had  the  matter  investigated,  in  his 
laboratory  by  Mr.  A.  L.  Baker. 
Four  samples  of  bittern  were  examined,  viz.:  No.  1,  from  Snow 
Hill  furnace,  Kanawha  co.,  W.  Va.;  No.  2,  Daniel  Boone  furnace, 
