ON THE PURIFICATION OF CHLOROFORM. 335 
men labelled " Pure Chloroform" actually contained only a 
trace, about one-thirtieth, of that substance. I did not as- 
certain its specific gravity, which must have been far lower 
than 1.200 or 1.100 — nay, possibly, under 1.000, because its 
impurity was so obvious in every other respect, and the 
quantity I had was too small ; but, on examining it further, 
1 am convinced that its origin was this: — The maker, 
after distilling the materials, obtained, of course, two liquids, 
a lighter and a heavier. He evidently did not know that the 
latter was the chloroform, and therefore threw it away, and 
preserved the lighter — a mixture of pyroxilic spirit — of its 
natural impurities, of the deleterious chlorinated oils and a 
trace of chloroform. At least, such are its characters ; and 
it exactly resembles what would be obtained in the way sup- 
posed. But what a fearful degree of ignorance (without any 
evil intention) is here exhibited ! And yet this maker was 
free to produce and sell pure chloroform, which was actually 
almost pure from chloroform, and loaded with deleterious 
agents. — Monthly Journal of Medical Science, May, 1850, 
and Pharm. Journ. June 1850. 
[A few weeks since, having occasion for some chloroform, 
we obtained a pound from a manufacturing establishment in 
this city. On opening the bottle, the odor of the chloroform 
was contaminated with that of chlorine, and the stopper had 
on it a greenish yellow discoloration. On returning it to the 
chemist with the information of its impurity, we received the 
following note : 
" Dear sir : We have your favor of this morning, in regard 
to chlorine found in chloroform, and for the same are much 
obliged, as it gives us some ground, other than our own 
opinion, for declining to make the article by the late improved 
process with sulphuric acid. We soon discovered that this 
change was likely to go on, but some of our customers 
wanting an article of this kind (z. e. made by this process) 
particularly, we were induced to adopt the improvement." 
This chloroform bleached moist litmus paper rapidly, first 
