ON THE HEAVY OIL OF WINE. 
257 
with water a considerable quantity of oil separated, which was 
lighter than water. A portion of the original oil, distilled in a 
glass retort with a thermometer passed through a cork, inserted 
into the tubulure, gave about half its bulk of a colorless liquid 
below 180° F., which proved to be alcohol containing a small 
quantity of acetic ether and cenanthic ether. The residue left in 
the retort had the properties of a mixture of cenanthic ether and 
cenanthic acid. The above article has been extensively used (in 
connection with acetic ether) for the manufacture of factitious 
brandy, and is sold for about $1.50 per ounce. 
After having tested samples of all the different articles offered 
for sale under the name of " oil of wine" by the wholesale Drug- 
gists of New York, without being able to find either of them 
worthy of the name, I prepared a little for my own use, by the 
following process, which is that of the London Pharmacopoeia : 
2 lbs. oil of vitriol were carefully mixed with 1 lb. commercial 
alcohol, and distilled very slowly in a glass retort. The product 
consisted of two portions, the lightest of which was an ethereal 
solution of oil of wine measuring 6 oz. This was exposed to the 
air for twenty-four hours, to remove the ether by spontaneous 
evaporation. The residue, washed with a little dilute solution of 
potash and dried, was pure " Heavy Oil of Wine," and weighed 
half an ounce. The quantity obtained, though small, corresponds 
exactly with the proportion obtained by Hennel at the Apothe- 
caries' Hall, London, viz : 17 oz. oil of wine from 34 lbs. alcohol, 
and 68 lbs. oil of vitriol. 
By a simple calculation of the cost of manufacture, and expense 
of importation, it will be seen that pure oil of wine could not be 
imported and sold at the prices asked for the samples above men- 
tioned. In making this calculation it will be necessary to observe 
that under the existing excise law the price of alcohol in Eng- 
land is much higher than in the United States, and is now, I am 
informed, from 17 to 18 shillings sterling per gallon. The fol- 
lowing calculation (based on the results of Hennell's process) gives 
the cost of pure oil of wine, manufactured in England and im- 
ported into this country, at $35 per pound ; but the spurious arti- 
cles now sold for oil of wine, are offered at prices varying from $4 
to $6.50 per pound. 
