Am.  Jouk.  Pharm.  \ 
Oct.  1, 1871.  J 
Note  on  Chloral  Hydrate. 
449 
sample  a  large  amount  of  white  fumes  arose ;  bringing  a  piece  of 
moistened  blue  litmus  paper  near  the  fumes,  the  paper  was  reddened; 
bringing  a  rod  dipped  in  aqua  ammonias  near  the  fumes,  they  became 
more  white  and  dense.  Dissolving  part  of  this  sample  of  chloral  hy- 
drate in  distilled  water  and  treating  it  with  a  solution  of  nitrate  of 
silver  a  white  precipitate  was  produced,  all  of  w^hich  showed  the  pres- 
ence of  PI  CI.  The  solution  of  chloral  hydrate  was  then  heated  with 
iodine  and  carbonate  of  potash,  but  there  was  no  iodoform  produced, 
showing  the  absence  of  alcohol. 
Heated  in  a  platina  spoon  it  was  entirely  volatilized. 
This  sample  of  chloral  hydrate  was  soluble  in  alcohol,  ether,  chlor- 
oform, bisulphide  of  carbon,  and  turpentine.  When  treated  with  tur- 
pentine, it  at  first  left  a  yellow  oily  looking  sediment,  but  it  was 
gradually  dissolved.  When  treated  with  caustic  potash,  there  was  so 
much  heat  evolved  that  the  liquid  began  to  boil,  the  liquid  turning 
to  a  lemon  yellow  color.  Sulphide  of  ammonium  added  to  a  solution 
of  chloral  hydrate,  produced  at  first  a  yellow  color,  which  gradually 
became  red,  and  then  deposited  a  dirty  yellow  precipitate,  the  super- 
natant liquid  remaining  black. 
If  free  ammonia  was  added  to  a  solution  of  chloral  hydrate  and 
then  treated  with  sulphide  of  ammonium,  the  following  changes  oc- 
curred :  first  a  yellow  color,  which  gradually  became  viscid  and  black,  * 
without  depositing  a  precipitate. 
The  second  sample  was  manufactured  by  Schering. 
This  sample  was  crystalline.  Upon  opening  a  bottle  of  this  sample 
white  fumes  arose,  but  not  in  such  large  quantities  as  in  De  Haen's ; 
with  litmus  they  had  an  acid  reaction,  and  nitrate  of  silver  produced 
a  white  precipitate  in  a  solution  of  the  crystals.  The  reactions  with 
ammonia  and  sulphide  ammonium  were  the  same  as  with  De  Haen's. 
The  solution  heated  with  carbonate  of  potash  and  iodine  produced  no 
iodoform.  When  treated  with  caustic  potash  there  was  not  so  much  heat 
evolved  as  in  De  Haen's,  and  the  liquid  remained  colorless.  The 
crystals  were  also  soluble  in  alcohol,  ether,  chloroform,  turpentine  and 
bisulphide  of  carbon  without  residue. 
Sample  3d — LiehreicK — Upon  opening  a  bottle  of  this  sample  no 
fumes  arose ;  the  solution  of  the  crystals  was  perfectly  neutral  to  test 
paper,  and  produced  no  precipitate  with  nitrate  of  silver. 
The  other  reactions  were  the  same  as  in  the  two  preceding  sam- 
ples. 
29 
