24  SUBSTITUTES  FOR  ETHER  AND  ALCOHOL,  ETC. 
when  at  60°  F.,  is  mixed  with  the  alcohol,  which  separates  all  but 
about  one  per  cent,  of  sulphate  of  potassa,  and  the  concentrated 
solution  of  iodide  of  ammonium,  after  evaporation,  yields  crystals 
of  perfectly  white  iodide.  Subsequent  addition  of  alcohol 
separates  the  whole  of  the  sulphate  of  potassa  from  the  mother 
liquor,  which,  on  evaporation  to  dryness,  furnishes  an  additional 
quantity  of  the  salt.  The  evaporation  should  be  performed  in 
the  dark,  or  in  the  evening  by  gas-light,  to  give  the  best  results. 
The  solution  being  very  concentrated,  requires  but  comparatively 
little  boiling,  and  the  precipitate  of  sulphate  of  potassa  being 
crystalline,  is  easily  separated  by  filtration. 
The  proportions  stated  above  gave  four  parts  of  pure  iodide  of 
ammonium,  which  is  nearly  the  whole  of  the  theoretical  quantity. 
Iodide  of  ammonium  by  this  method  remains  white,  if  carefully 
dried,  even  on  exposure  to  light  and  air  for  a  considerable 
period,  and  has  been  found  perfectly  reliable  in  composition,  and 
satisfactory  in  all  its  applications  in  photography  and  pharmacy. 
— Proc.  Am.  JPharm.  Assoc.,  1866. 
ON  SUBSTITUTES  FOR  ETHER  AND  ALCOHOL  IN  THE 
PREPARATION  OF  THE  OFFICINAL  OLE-ORESINS. 
By  H.  N.  Rittenhouse. 
The  present  exceedingly  high  price  of  alcohol  and  its  pro- 
ducts having  become  so  serious  a  question  to  the  pharmaceutist 
and  chemical  manufacturer,  as  well  as  the  community  at  large, 
it  has  become  an  object  of  importance  to  devise,  if  possible, 
cheaper  agents  or  more  economical  methods  than  are  now  em- 
ployed in  effecting  the  requirements  of  the  Pharmacopoeia  in  its 
products. 
With  the  single  object  of  economy  in  view,  it  had  occurred  to 
me,  before  accepting  the  above  query,  that  perhaps  benzine,  gly- 
cerine or  fusel  oil  might,  in  this  case,  be  useful,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, in  effecting  a  saving  of  ether  in  the  preparation  of  the 
officinal  oleo-resins,  by  displacing  the  ether  with  them  remaining 
in  the  dregs. 
I  have  not  in  this  paper  aimed  at  giving  exact  results,  chiefly 
because  I  had  neither  the  time  or  appliances  for  doing  so.  The 
subject  of  this  query,  being  an  important  one,  has  been,  and 
