190  Old  Specimens  of  Spirit  of  Nitre.  {^'"Atrii''i885*'""' 
When  Mr.  Phillips  reported,  Mr.  MacFarlan  heard  of  the  report 
and  wrote  for  a  copy  of  it,  which  was  granted.  But  he  found  that  he 
would  better  understand  the  report  if  he  had  the  specimens  which  Mr. 
Phillips  had  submitted;  he  ventured  to  ask  them  on  loan  and  a  muni- 
ficent Government  made  him  a  present  of  them.  Mr.  MacFarlan 
submitted  the  specimens  to  the  meeting  and  now,  after  the  lapse  of 
twenty-seven  years,  I  have  the  good  fortune  to  reproduce  them.  You 
will  agree  with  me  that  this  case^  of  specimens  is  of  peculiar  interest, 
for  it  forms  a  link  with  the  past  of  the  North  British  Branch  and 
recalls  Jacob  Bell's  memorable  visits  to  Scotland. 
Some  time  ago  I  ventured  to  examine  a  few  of  the  specimens  in 
order  to  ascertain  the  changes  which  had  occurred  since  they  were 
made,  and  I  now  give  the  results  obtained.  I  may  first,  however,  give 
you  Mr.  Piiillips'  account  of  the  specimens. 
Sample  B. — Sweet  spirit  of  nitre  prepared  by  the  direct  action  of 
hyponitrous  acid  upon  pure  spirit  of  wine"  [and  distilled].  "Sp.  gr. 
879-05." 
Sample  C. — Sweet  spirit  of  nitre  made  from  pure  spirit  of  wine  by 
the  process  of  the  London  Pharmacopoeia.  Sp.  gr.  858*35."  (This  is 
the  portion  of  the  distillate  collected  after  the  nitric  acid  began  to  act. 
So  that  it  originally  was  much  stronger  than  spiritiis  cetheris  nitrici, 
P.L.) 
Sample  D. — Obtained  by  passing  hyponitrous  acid  through  wood 
spirit  [and  distilling].    Sp.  gr.  872-10." 
"Sample  H. — Sweet  spirit  of  nitre  prepared  from  methylated  spirit 
by  the  process  of  the  London  Pharmacopoeia.    Sp.  gr.  852*49." 
"Sample  L. — The  same,  but  consists  of  the  portion  of  the  distillate 
collected  after  nitric  acid  began  to  act.    Sj).  gr.  874*85." 
"Sample  N. — The  distillate  obtained  previous  to  sample  L  was  mixed 
with  its  bulk  of  water  and  distilled.  This  is  the  second  portion  of 
distillate  and  is  little  else  than  a  weak  spirit.    Sp.  gr.  867*75." 
^  The  case  is  made  of  solid  mahogany,  is  15  inches  long,  8  inches  high 
and  7  inches  broad,  and  is  divided  diagonally  from  the  top  to  the  bottom, 
the  upper  portion  forming  a  lid,  and  when  secured  by  the  hook  catches, 
the  whole  case  is  easily  portable.  The  lower  portion  is  divided  into  twenty- 
one  compartments  for  the  two-ounce  stoppered  squats  which  contain  the 
specimens.    The  case  is  not  unlike  a  portable  test  reagent  case. 
