564 
United  States  Army  Laboratory. 
I  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
1   December,  1906. 
during  my  incumbency  I  had  as  principal  assistant,  Harry  Grant,  a 
very  respectable  and  gentlemanly  young  fellow,  who,  though  classed 
as  a  laborer,  performed  his  duties  intelligently  and  proved  very 
valuable  ;  other  assistants,  ordinary  laborers,  were  put  into  requisi- 
tion as  exigency  demanded. 
Beginning  then  at  the  hooded  furnace  (B)  shown  in  the  half-tone 
picture  {Fig.  j),  this  served  the  purpose  of  a  fume  chamber,  and 
was,  as  this  designation  implies,  used  for  operations  during  which 
noxious  fumes  were  disengaged.    The  furnace  openings  were  closed 
Fig.  3. — Hooded  Furnace. 
with  shallow  sand  baths  for  the  reception  of  porcelain  dishes  or 
other  vessels  required  for  the  operation  in  hand.  Thus,  on  one'  of 
them  (in  Fig.  2)  is  shown  a  porcelain  capsule  with  an  inverted 
funnel  which  was  used  for  the  manufacture  of 
Phosphoric  Acid  from  phosphorus  by  oxidation  with  concen- 
trated nitric  acid.  The  latter  having  been  placed  into  the  capsule 
in  sufficient  quantity,  a  large  funnel  was  inverted  into  the  capsule,  of 
such  dimension  that  its  edges  just  dipped  into  the  acid.  From  time 
to  time  sticks  of  phosphorus  were  introduced,  which  were  rapidly 
