EDITORIAL. 
577 
Coal  Tar  Products  and  deodorized  Alcohol  of  Philbrick,  Atwood  & 
Co.,  of  Boston. — We  have  received  from  these  gentlemen  specimens  of 
benzole,  rectified  naphtha,  toluole,  coup  oil,  naphthaline  and  asphaltum, 
derived  from  coal  tar,  as  prepared  at  their  laboratory.  Each  barrel  of 
the  tar  yields  about  half  a  gallon  of  benzole,  1|  gallons  of  naphtha,  half  a 
gallon  of  toluole,  5  gallons  of  coup  oil,  and  150  lbs.  of  asphaltum.  The 
first  three  are  beautifully  transparent  and  colorless,  and  strongly  refract 
light.  The  coup  oil  is  used  as  a  lubricating  oil,  in  place  of  the  best  sperm,  to 
which  it  is  said  to  be  superior,  and  is  the  most  valuable  of  the  products  as 
an  item  of  manufacture.  The  benzole,  and  naphtha,  and  toluole,  are  used 
as  solvents  for  copal,  caoutchouc,  &c,  or  for  illuminating  purposes.  The 
naphthaline  has  been  recrystallized  from  alcohol,  and  is  in  brilliantly  white 
scaly  crystals.  The  asphaltum  answers  the  purposes  of  ordinary  asphal- 
tum for  cements  and  varnishes. 
The  alcohol  of  Messrs.  Philbrick,  Atwood  &  Co.,  is  deodorized  by  a  pro- 
cess discovered  by  Mr.  Atwood,  in  which  manganic  acid  is  employed. 
It  is  entirely  deprived  of  whiskey  odor  and  taste,  and  is  admirably 
fitted  for  pharmaceutical  use. 
School  of  Pharmacy.  Qualifications  for  Graduation. — Our  junior 
readers,  and  more  especially  those  in  distant  cities  where  colleges  of  phar- 
macy do  not  exist,  are  invited  to  examine  the  advertisement  of  our  School 
of  Pharmacy,  as  regards  the  recent  modification  of  the  by-laws  regulating 
the  qualifications  of  applicants  for  the  Diploma  of  the  College.  The  addi- 
tions are  in  italics.  Young  men  at  a  distance  who  are  desirous  of  com- 
pleting their  pharmaceutical  studies,  by  graduating  in  the  Philadelphia 
College  of  Pharmacy,  are  thus  afforded  an  opportunity  to  do  so,  with  the 
sacrifice  of  but  one  season  spent  in  Philadelphia, 
TO  CORRESPONDENTS. 
"  Laeno^'  Baltimore.  To  give  the  answers  as  requested  would  require 
far  more  detail  than  our  time  or  space  will  permit.  1.  Of  Books — Morfit's 
Chemical  Manipulations,  and  Fresenius'  Chemical  Analysis.  2.  The  u  fix- 
tures "  and  implements  necessary  will  depend  upon  the  extent  of  the  inves- 
tigations pursued.  The  indispensables  are  a  good  balance,  a  properly 
arranged  gas  burner  or  alcohol  lamp,  a  platina  crucible,  a  blow  pipe,  one  or 
more  small  mortars,  some  capsules  of  porcelain,  watch  glasses,  flasks,  tubes, 
retorts,  and  other  glass- ware,  a  set  of  test  solutions,  test  papers,  filtering  paper 
and  small  funnels,  all  of  which  can  be  better  understood  after  reference  to 
Morfit's  work.  To  become  "  an  ordinary  analytic  chemist  "  is  a  very  different 
thins  from  performing  an  ordinary  analysis.  The  latter  may  be  accomplished 
by  the  aid  of  books  and  a  little  experience,  just  as  one  may  translate  from  a 
strange  language  by  aid  of  a  dictionary  and  grammar.  The  former  requires 
a  great  deal  of  knowledge,  only  attainable  by  observation  and  repeated  ex- 
perience, and  considerable  skill  3.  As  regards  11  what  course  of  instruction 
is  requisite,"  we  must  answer,  either  the  slow  and  indirect  method  by  books 
aad  self  tuition?  or  directly  under  the  guidance  of  an  experienced  analytical 
38 
