THE 
AMERICAN  JOURNAL  OF  PHARMACY. 
JULY,  1  868. 
ON  CHLOROFORM. 
By  John  M.  Maisch. 
In  the  Proceedings  of  the  American  Pharmaceutical  Associa- 
tion for  1866,  page  264,  I  have  reported  the  results  of  a  series 
of  experiments  made  in  August,  1865,  with  the  view  of  deter- 
mining the  cause  of  the  decomposition  of  chloroform.*  The  re- 
sults may  be  briefly  stated  as  follows  : 
1.  Pure  chloroform  of  1-49  sp.  gr.  is  decomposed  by  light,  but 
not  in  the  dark  ; 
2.  Pure  chloroform  diluted  to  1*475  sp.  gr.  is  decomposed 
neither  by  light  or  in  the  dark,  nor  in  the  presence  or  absence 
of  moisture. 
All  the  vessels  in  which  the  experiments  were  made  contained 
more  or  less  air. 
During  the  year  1866  the  decomposition  of  chloroform  has 
been  the  subject  of  repeated  investigations  in  Europe  ;  the  fol- 
lowing will  exhibit  the  results  at  which  the  experimenters 
arrived ; — 
Hagerf  found  a  chloroform  of  1*496  sp.gr.,  which  had  been  kept 
in  a  dark  closet  for  three  months,  to  contain  free  muriatic  acid  ■ 
the  acid  reaction  could  not  be  entirely  removed  by  agitation  with 
magnesia  and  subsequent  rectification,  and  the  water  shaken  with 
the  chloroform  contained  much  muriatic,  but  little  formic  and 
*  Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1867,  72. 
f  Pharmac.  Central  Halle,  vii,  426. 
19 
