184 
Rectification  of  Alcohol,  etc. 
f  Am.  Jouk.  Pharm. 
t    Apr.  1, 1874. 
lime,  enclosed  in  a  bag  of  parchment  paper,  deodorizes  not  only  in 
the  most  effectual  manner,  but  also  for  the  longest  period  of  time. 
This  statement  is  confirmed  by  the  results  of  numerous  similar  inves- 
tigations which  have  been  recently  instituted  in  the  Official  Chemical 
Laboratory  for  Public  Hygiene  of  Dresden,  in  Germany.  Many  of 
the  so-called  disinfectants  were  carefully  studied  in  relation  to  their 
effects  in  deodorizing  the  liquid  of  manure  heaps.  Chlorinated  lime, 
in  conjunction  with  sulphuric  acid,  was  found  to  be  the  most  power- 
ful, so  that  the  value  of  this  was  taken  as  the  standard,  being  numeri- 
cally expressed  by  100.    The  results  were  tabulated  as  follows  : 
Chlorinated  lime  with  sulphuric  acid,           .           .  =  100 
Two  parts  chlorinated  lime  with  seven  parts  iron  sulphate,  =  99 
Calcium  sulphate  with  seven  parts  iron  sulphate,      .  =  92 
Carbolic  disinfecting  powder,      .           .           .  =  85*6 
Slacked  lime,  84-6 
Alum,  80-4 
Iron  sulphate,           .....=  76*7 
Chloralum,          .           .           .           .           .  =  74 
Magnesium  sulphate.  =  57*1 
Potassium  permanganate  with  sulphuric  acid,      .           .  —  51*& 
The  report  takes  special  occasion  to  caution  the  public  against  the 
purchase  of  the  English  chloralum  preparations,  on  account  of  the 
disproportion  existing  between  their  actual  value  and  the  price  de- 
manded for  them.  According  to  the  analyses  of  Alex.  Muller  chlo- 
ralum consists  of  16  aluminium  chloride,  1*7  calcium  chloride,  0*1 
alkaline  sulphates,  1*2  hydrochloric  acid  and  80-9  water.  Chloralum 
powder  contained  13*4  of  aluminium  chloride,  4*1  of  aluminium  sul- 
phate, 9*1  calcium  sulphate,  14*1  sodium  sulphate,  15*5  of  alumina 
soluble  in  hydrochloric  acid,  13*5  kaolin,  9-4  silicic  acid  and  20*9 
water.  Muller  considers  it  probable  that  both  articles  are  obtained 
as  by-products  in  the  manufacture  of  soda. 
ON  THE  RECTIFICATION  OF  ALCOHOL  BY  MEANS  OF  LIME. 
By  Charles  Bullock. 
The  process  usually  employed  to  obtain  absolute  alcohol,  is  distil- 
lation of  the  spirit  from  quick  lime. 
The  practical  result  of  the  process  will  appear  from  the  following 
operation. 
