EXPLOSIVE  NATURE  OP  GLONOLN 
525 
Glycyle."  I  saw  it  mentioned  repeatedly  in  the  newspapers  as 
a  remedy  for  neuralgia  ;  and  as  its  mode  of  preparation  was 
given,  I  found  it  in  Gmelin's  Handbook,  page  501,  vol.  ix.,  un- 
der the  name  of  Nitro-Glycerin,  and  prepared  a  small  quantity 
according  to  the  process  described  in  Gmelin,  and  when  I  judged 
the  process  complete,  added  a  large  quantity  of  water  and  filtered 
the  milky  mixture.  The  water  passed  through  leaving  the  oily 
liquid  on  the  filter,  which  itself  began  to  pass  through,  after  a 
time.  This  was  dissolved  in  alcohol,  and  precipitated  by  water,  and 
allowed  to  stand  to  evaporate.  After  separation  from  the  water 
and  drying,  it  was  dissolved  in  ether,  and  the  solution  set  aside 
(after  filtering)  for  the  ether  to  evaporate. 
After  standing  several  days,  and  when  there  remained  a  very 
slight  film  of  ether  on  the  surface,  I  drew  it  up  into  a  small 
pipette,  and  then  closed  the  end  of  the  jet  tube  by  the  blowpipe 
(of  course  inclining  the  tube  so  that  all  the  liquid  run  into  the 
bulb).  There  remained  a  small  bubble  of  air  in  the  tube  below  the 
bulb  which  I  attempted  to  drive  up  by  heat.  While  heating  it 
gently  over  a  gas  flame  for  this  purpose,  it  exploded  with  a  deafen- 
ning  report,  driving  the  glass  in  dust  and  fragments  into  my 
face  and  eyes,  blowing  out  all  the  lights  in  the  room,  and  throw- 
ing down  a  multitude  of  bottles  from  the  shelves.  The  noise  was 
so  deafening  that  I  have  not  yet,  after  a  lapse  of  three  weeks,  re- 
covered my  hearing  perfectly.  There  was  only  about  J  dr.  of  the 
liquid  in  the  pipette. 
The  only  circumstance  mentioned  in  Gmelin  from  which  one 
might  infer  explosive  properties,  is  the  fact  mentioned  that  it 
decomposes  rapidly  when  placed  in  vacuo  over  oil  of  vitriol. 
The  explosion  I  think  was  due  to  an  instantaneous  decompo- 
sition. 
I  communicate  to  you  these  facts,  to  make  what  use  of  them 
you  please.  If  the  article  is  of  sufficient  importance  to  lead  to 
general  use,  it  will  be  important  to  be  on  guard  against  a  similar 
accident  in  its  preparation,  and  at  any  rate  it  is  (as  far  as  I  am 
aware)  another  fact  added  to  our  knowledge  of  the  substance 
under  consideration. 
Very  respectfully, 
Charles  E.  Ferris. 
New  Castle,  (Del)  Sept.  24,  1860. 
