AMERICAN  CHROME  IRON  ORE. — ASBESTOS  PAPER.  225 
wood  spirit  and  110  nitric  acid  with  10  grammes  of  nitrate  of  urea 
are  added,  and  distilled  to  the  same  point  as  before.  It  is  use- 
less to  carry  the  distillation  further  than  the  point  here  speci- 
fied, not  that  it  is  accompanied  by  any  inconvenience,  but  be- 
cause nitrate  of  methyl  ceases  to  be  evolved.  The  temperature 
rises  very  high  at  the  close  of  the  distillation. 
The  operation  may  be  carried  on  rapidly.  We  are  recom- 
mended in  the  text-books  to  carry  off  the  vapors  very  carefully 
in  preparing  nitrate  of  methyl,  on  account  of  the  production  of 
cyanhydric  acid  as  a  by-product.  In  chemical  laboratories  there 
is,  doubtless,  generally  rather  too  little  precaution  taken  than 
too  much  against  noxious  vapors ;  but  in  the  present  case,  I  have 
carefully  examined  the  distillate,  both  in  the  old  process,  which 
failed,  and  in  that  which  I  here  propose,  and  I  could  find  no 
trace  of  cyanhydric  acid  either  by  the  iron  or  the  silver  tests, 
or  by  conversion  into  sulphocyanide.  Both  the  ether  itself  and 
the  watery  part  of  the  distillate  were  tested.  As,  however,  it  is 
impossible  without  special  analysis  to  know  what  impurities  may 
be  present  in  so  variable  a  substance  as  commercial  wood  spirit, 
it  is  difficult  to  foresee  what  substances  may  be  generated  in  its 
decomposition,  but  I  think  I  am  justified  in  concluding  that 
cyanhydric  acid  is  not  generated  by  the  action  of  nitric  acid 
upon  methylic  alcohol ;  at  least  not  in  the  presence  of  urea. 
Treated  as  above  described,  420  grammes  of  wood  spirit 
yielded  a  distillate,  from  which  by  agitation  with  solution  of  salt, 
there  separated  the  very  large  quantity  of  300  grammes  crude 
nitrate  of  methyl.  This  may  be  subsequently  agitated  with  a 
little  weak  solution  of  carbonated  alkali. 
The  wood  spirit  before  use  should  be  distilled  with  one-third 
of  its  bulk  of  very  strong  (almost  saturated)  solution  of  caustic 
soda,  to  decompose  any  acetate  of  methyl  which  may  be  present. 
This  operation  must  be  performed  over  the  water  bath  Amer. 
Jour.  Seience  and  Arts,  March,  1862. 
AMERICAN  CHROME  IRON  ORE. — ASBESTOS  PAPER. 
We  have  received  from  a  correspondent  in  Baltimore,  Mr. 
Oudesluys,  of  South  Gay  St.,  an  excellent  sample  of  the  chrome- 
iron  of  that  locality.  It  occurs  in  the  form  of  small  black  lus- 
15 
