AMOUNT  OF  ACETIC  ACID  IN  VINEGAR.  441 
Therefore  bad  ether  may  be  justly  considered  more  safe  than 
bad  chloroform,  but  that  good  ether  is  more  safe  than  good 
chloroform,  the  writer  does  not  believe. 
As  a  corollary,  therefore,  it  would  appear  that  the  practice  of 
the  profession  has  really  been  in  the  hands  of  the  manufacturer, 
and  it  is  the  more  to  be  regretted  that  in  this  respect  chloroform 
stands  by  no  means  alone. 
During  the  past  five  years  the  writer  has  made  187  pounds  of 
chloroform  for  the  Navy,  most  of  which  has  been  dispensed  and 
used,  and  as  yet  without  a  single  reported  case  of  bad  results. 
Within  that  time  he  has  personally  administered  it  for  anaes- 
thetic purposes  twenty-two  times,  without  any  apparent  hazard, 
and  with  the  occurrence  of  no  disagreeable  consequences  greater 
than  nausea  afterward,  and  this  in  one  instance  only.  In  the 
case  of  one  old  man,  with  shattered  constitution  and  one  hepatized 
lung,  it  appeared  necessary  to  use  it  very  cautiously ;  but  its  use 
was  continued  through  45  minutes  with  excellent  effect. 
This  very  limited  experience  in  its  application,  inclines  the 
writer  to  agree  with  those  who  regard  the  respiration  rather 
than  the  circulation  as  the  function  to  be  most  closely  watched, 
as  the  index  to  its  ordinary  administration. 
It  has  not  been  the  object  of  this  paper  to  cover  the  whole 
ground  upon  this  subject,  or  to  occupy  the  time  of  the  Academy 
by  a  recapitulation  of  what  is  already  well  known  from  other 
sources.  Its  somewhat  desultory  character  may,  therefore,  pos- 
sibly be  excused. — American  Medical  Monthly,  July,  1857. 
ON  TESTING  THE  AMOUNT  OF  ACETIC  ACID  IN  VINEGAR. 
By  J.  Otto. 
Nicholson  and  Price  have  brought  the  process  of  determining 
the  amount  of  acid  in  vinegar  by  neutralization  by  alkalies  or 
alkaline  carbonates,  into  disrepute.  They  state,  that  very  inac- 
curate results  are  obtained,  because  the  alkaline  acetate  has  an 
alkaline  reaction  ;  and  that  the  testing  must  be  effected  with 
carbonate  of  lime  or  baryta,  or  by  means  of  the  carbonic  acid 
apparatus  of  Fresenius  and  Will.  They  found  these  statements 
upon  experiments,  the  results  of  which  are  summoned  up  in  what 
follows.    The  numbers  indicate  the  per-centage  of  hydrated 
