322    SYRUP  PHOSPHATES  OF  IRON,  QFINIA  AND  STRYCHNIA. 
extent  for  his  different  results.  The  best  refutation  of  his 
opinion  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  a  chloroform,  which,  in 
our  latitude,  will  keep  unaltered  during  the  winter,  will  not  keep 
during  the  summer,  if  of  sufficiently  high  specific  gravity ;  also 
that  chloroform  of  a  lower  specific  gravity  will  not  stand  the 
light  and  temperature  of  our  summers,  if  its  specific  gravity  is 
raised  sufficiently  by  careful  rectification  over  chloride  of  calci- 
um ;  also  that  pure  chloroform,  kept  over  concentrated  sulphuric 
acid,  will  decompose  in  the  light,  but  not  in  the  dark ;  and 
finally,  that  pure  chloroform,  which  has  a  tendency  to  decompose 
spontaneously,  will  keep  unaltered  if  its  specific  gravity  is  suf- 
ficiently reduced  by  the  addition  of  alcohol.  Notwithstanding 
I  have  now  in  my  possession  chloroform  of  1*484  spec,  gravity, 
which  has  kept  unaltered  in  diffused  daylight  for  three  years,  I 
advocate  a  reduction  of  the  specific  gravity  of  officinal  chloro- 
form to  1*475 — 1*480,  because  that — if  otherwise  pure — will 
withstand  the  decomposing  influence  of  light  and  heat,  as  we 
experience  it.  Hager  examined  the  chloroform  with  which 
he  experimented  merely  by  its  odor  and  with  a  glass  rod  moist- 
ened with  ammonia;  I  invariably  tested  for  an  acid  reaction  by 
evaporating  the  exposed  chloroform  spontaneously  over  a  care- 
fully neutralized  solution  of  litmus,  and  whenever  moisture  had 
separated  upon  the  chloroform,  this  was  brought  in  contact  with 
the  litmus.  In  several  series  of  experiments  I  added  the  solu- 
tion of  litmus  directly  to  the  chloroform,  leaving  the  two  liquids 
in  contact  during  the  experiment.  J.  M.  Maisch. 
ON  SYRUP  OF  THE  PHOSPHATES  OF  IRON,  QUINIA,  AND 
STRYCHNIA. 
St.  Louis,  June  38,  1868. 
Professor  Procter  ; 
Dear  Sir  : — Some  time  since  I  had  occasion  to  prepare  Dr. 
Aitken's  syrup  of  the  phosphates  of  iron,  quinia,  and  strychnia, 
and,  although  the  operation  was  performed  in  strict  accordance 
with  the  formula,  as  laid  down  in  your  journal,  the  result  was 
far  from  being  satisfactory,  and  gave  subsequently  much  annoy- 
ance by  the  exceedingly  objectionable  instability  of  the  prepa- 
ration.   The  process,  so  far  as  preparing  the  aqueous  solution 
