Note  on  Guaiacol. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\     Nov.  1, 1872. 
stance  could  I  obtain  a  reaction  I  could  depend  upon,  50  per  cent,  and 
even  100  per  cent,  of  carbolic  acid  mixed  with  English  creasote  or 
guaiacol  being  quite  undistinguishable.  Professor  Fluckiger  dis- 
tinctly states  that  his  test  enables  us  to  detect  the  presence  of  carbolic 
acid  in  creasote,  but  I  cannot  agree  with  that  statement ;  in  my  hands, 
at  least,  it  does  not  answer. 
In  a  recent  namber  of  the  "  Chemical  News,"  a  test  was  given  by 
means  of  bromine.  When  bromine  water  is  added  to  an  aqueous  solu- 
tion of  carbolic  acid,  a  white  oil  is  speedily  deposited,  but  when  it  is 
added  to  an  aqueous  solution  of  pure  creasote  or  guaiacol,  a  brown  oil 
is  the  result.  This  test,  however,  fails,  as  might  be  expected,  to  dis- 
tinguish carbolic  acid  when  mixed  with  creasote ;  in  all  cases  a  brown 
oil  is  deposited,  which  is  useless  for  the  purpose  we  have  in  view. 
Strong  solution  of  ammonia  dissolves  carbolic^acid  readily  (the  so- 
lution turning  blue  after  a  few  hours'  exposure  to  the  air)  while  gua- 
iacol and  creasote  (both  English  and  German)  are  only  partially  solu- 
ble, or  at  any  rate  would  require  a  very  large  quantity  of  ammonia  to 
effect  complete  solution.  I  found  German  creasote  to  be  much  more 
soluble  than  either  guaiacol  or  English  creasote,  namely,  one-half  dis- 
solving without  much  difficulty,  when  treated  with  about  six  times  its 
bulk  of  strong  liquor  ammonia. 
The  English  creasote  so  treated  did  not  lose  above  one-fourth  of  its 
bulk. 
The  portion  of  creasote  insoluble  in  the  ammonia  was  separated  j 
the  ammoniacal  solutions  being  diluted  and  neutralized  with  acid,  also 
deposited  the  creasote  which  had  been  dissolved.  These  different  sam- 
ples were  examined  carefully. 
The  English,  which  had  dissolved  in  ammonia  when  distilled,  smelt 
better  and  more  like  guaiacol  than  the  original  sample  of  creasote  be- 
fore treatment;  it  also  boiled  nearer  210°,  all  distilling  under  220°. 
The  portion  which  did  not  dissolve  in  ammonia  when  distilled,  yield- 
ed a  liquid  which  had  a  much  more  offensive  smell  and  appeared  to 
contain  more  of  the  impurities  of  the  original  creasote  than  the  solu- 
ble portion  ;  its  boiling-point  was,  however,  lower  and  almost  identi- 
cal with  the  first  portion.  Both  samples  were  insoluble  in  glycerin. 
The  German  creasote,  which  did  not  dissolve  in  ammonia,  retained  its 
old  boiling-point,  but  no  longer  dissolved  in  glycerin.  The  portion 
soluble  in  ammonia  was  carefully  examined ;  its  boiling-point  was 
found  to  be  almost  the  same  as  the  normal  creasote.    Its  smell  was 
