632 
Editorials. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Dec,  1890. 
position  indicated  has  directed  attention  to  other  cases  of  the  spontaneous 
decomposition  of  a  mixture  of  the  two  salts.  It  is  very  likely  that  the  first 
step  in  the  reaction  is  the  mutual  interchange,  wholly  or  in  part,  of  the  acids 
and  bases,  resulting  in  the  formation  of  potassium  chloride  and  ammonium 
chlorate.  The  latter  salt  is  readily  decomposed  under  the  influence  of  a  slightly 
elevated  temperature  yielding  chlorine,  nitrogen  and  various  compounds,  and 
its  spontaneous  detonation  was  noticed  by  Mitscherlich  fifty  years  ago.  But 
we  desire  more  especially  at  the  present  time  to  direct  attention  to  the  tablets 
mentioned  as  the  probable  cause  of  some  mysterious  fires. 
We  have  before  us  a  special  report  dated  October  24,  1890,  made  by  Inspector 
Wm.  McDevitt  to  the  Philadelphia  Fire  Underwriters,  in  which  the  origin  of  a 
fire  which  occurred  in  this  city,  September  15,  in  the  laboratory  of  Mulford  & 
Co.,  is  attributed  to  the  accumulation,  upon  heated  steam  pipes,  of  dust  from  a 
mixture  of  potassium  chlorate  and  sugar ;  and  in  regard  to  another  fire,  on 
October  15,  following  an  explosion,  the  cause  of  which  was  not  ascertained,  it 
is  stated  that  the  firm,  at  times,  had  made  tablets  of  potassium  chlorate  and 
ammonium  chloride.  The  report  further  says,  that  "in  September,  1881,  your 
Inspector  witnessed  the  remains  of  a  fire  in  the  store  of  Wyeth  &  Brother,  on 
West  Walnut  Street ;  the  fire  having  originated  among  a  mass  of  tablets  com- 
posed of  chlorate  of  potash  and  muriate  of  ammonia  ;  from  which,  owing  to 
timely  discovery,  only  a  small  loss  resulted." 
These  observations  have  furnished,  among  others,  a  clue  to  a  mysterious  fire 
which  occurred  in  the  store  of  Finlay  &  Brunswig,  New  Orleans,  January  23, 
1889,  which  was  effectually  extinguished  by  the  gases  generated  from  the 
chemicals  near  the  point  of  ignition.  In  view  of  the  importance,  to  apothe- 
caries and  druggists,  of  the  subject,  we  copy  the  details  from  a  communication 
by  John  E.  Whiting,  to  "  The  Standard,"  of  November  15,  1890,  published  at 
Boston  ;  these  details  are  as  follows  : 
"  We  found  that  the  fire  had  originated  on  a  high  shelf  which  contained  the 
following  articles,  viz  :  some  tin  boxes  filled  with  carbonate  of  magnesia,  sev- 
eral glass  bottles  containing  chlorate  of  potash  and  muriate  of  ammonia  tab- 
lets ;  a  wooden  box  containing  carbonate  of  magnesia  and  a  paper  bag  con- 
taining finely  ground  anise  seed  on  top  of  the  above-named  wooden  box,  while 
the  shelf  above  was  filled  with  bottles  of  calcined  magnesia.  The  fire  appar- 
ently originated  on  top  of  the  wooden  box  ;  as  the  fire  had  burned  a  hole 
through  the  cover  at  one  end  and  had  run  along  the  edge  of  it  and  spread 
down  the  end  and  one  side,  and  had  burnt  a  portion  of  the  paper  bag  and  anise 
seed.  The  blaze  had  also  burned  a  hole  through  the  shelf  above  and  charred 
a  large  portion  of  the  under  side  of  that  shelf.  The  bottles  containing  the 
chlorate  tablets  were  broken  ;  while  the  heat  had  driven  off  the  chlorine  con- 
tained in  them,  as  a  dense  vapor  had  adhered  to  the  wooden  ceiling  of  the 
room  for  quite  a  distance.  It  is  very  evident  that  the  chlorine  gases  thus  liber- 
ated had  displaced  the  oxygen  of  the  air  to  such  an  extent  that  they  had 
actually  smothered  the  fire  ;  but  the  cause  of  the  fire  itself  was,  at  that  time, 
a  mystery  that  none  of  us  could  solve." 
Mr.  Whiting  now  believes  it  to  be  "almost  self  evident  that  the  innocent  look- 
ing little  chlorate  tablets  must  be  held  responsible  as  the  incendiary  in  this  as 
well  as  in  the  other  cases  described,  an  explosion  having  taken  place  among 
