364 
Benzin. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1895. 
required  to  completely  precipitate  the  silver ;  each  c.c.  in  excess  of 
this  amount,  which  is  prescribed  by  the  Pharmacopoeia,  denotes  a 
deficiency  of  1  per  cent,  of  ferrous  iodide. 
Number  of 
Sample. 
Location  of 
Manufacturer. 
Boston. 
Baltimore. 
Philadelphia. 
Indianapolis. 
Detroit. 
Philadelphia. 
Philadelphia. 
Philadelphia. 
Philadelphia. 
Detroit. 
Color. 
Free 
Iodine. 
Greenish -brown  Present  in 
i  small  amount 
Pale  green ;  later,  Present, 
brownish-green  J 
Pale  greenish-  None. 
!  yellow. 
Pale  green. 
Pale  green. 
Pale  green. 
Pale  green. 
Brown. 
Percentage 
of  Fel2. 
None. 
None. 
None. 
None. 
Present  in 
large  quantity 
Own  make  — Philadelphia  Pale  green. 
Greenish  brown.! Present 
Pale  green.  |None 
None. 
10 
10 
8-6 
10 
10 
7*5 
10 
5'i 
6-8 
10 
10 
the  experience  of  the  author  leads  him  to  believe  that  the 
present  official  process,  when  conducted  with  the  proper  care,  will 
furnish  a  syrup  of  good  quality.  In  conclusion,  he  would  recom- 
mend every  one  who  makes  or  uses  the  preparation  to  test  it,  accord- 
ing to  the  Pharmacopoeia,  for  both  free  iodine  and  the  amount  of 
ferrous  iodide. 
BENZIN.  " 
By  Wilson  C.  McCivOSKY,  Ph.G. 
Contribution  from  the  Chemical  Laboratory  of  the  Philadelphia  College  of 
Pharmacy,  No.  144. 
After  defining  benzin  as  "  a  purified  distillate  from  American 
petroleum,  consisting  of  hydrocarbons,  chiefly  of  the  marsh-gas 
series  [C5H12,  C6HU,  and  homologous  compounds],"  the  United  States 
Pharmacopoeia  describes  it  as  "  a  transparent,  colorless,  diffusive 
liquid,  of  a  strong,  characteristic  odor,  slightly  resembling  that  of 
petroleum,  but  much  less  disagreeable,  and  having  a  neutral  reac- 
tion." The  same  authority  assigns  to  benzin  a  specific  gravity  of 
•670  to  -675  at  1 5  0  C,  and  a  boiling  point  of  500  to  6o°  Centigrade. 
To  permit  the  purified  distillate  to  contain  hydrocarbons  having 
more  than  six  carbon  atoms  in  the  molecule  is  certainly  to  afford  it 
a  ripe  opportunity  to  deviate  from  the  stringent  official  require- 
ments in  specific  gravity  and  boiling  point. 
