ON  CHLORAL. 
73 
tion  of  woolens  from  moths  and  other  insects,  that  will  be  cheaper  and 
more  efiFective 
In  reply  to  this  query  the  writer  would  suggest  the  use  of 
naphthaline  as  a  substitute  for  camphor.  It  is  an  effective  pro- 
tective agent  against  the  ravages  of  moths  and  other  insects 
among  woolens  and  in  natural  history  collections. 
When  purified,  naphthaline  is  obtained  in  beautiful  crystalline 
masses,  possessing  a  strong  peculiar  odor,  recalling  the  smell  of 
coal-tar  creosote.  In  its  crude  state  the  crystals  are  of  a  brown 
color,  and  the  odor  much  more  intense  than  when  purified. 
Naphthaline  has  been  put  to  a  thorough  test  by  Prof.  Asa 
Gray  in  Harvard  College  Herbarium,  and  in  the  cabinets  of  the 
Boston  Society  of  Natural  History.  The  results  obtained  in  these 
trials  were  highly  satisfactory  and  conclusively  proving  the  value 
of  naphthaline  as  a  protective  agent  against  the  ravages  of  the  de- 
destructive  insects  that  infest  woolens  and  the  cabinets  of  museums. 
It  is  very  cheap,  being  a  waste  product  in  the  distillation  of 
coal-tar  for  which  no  practical  use  has  been  found  except  for 
fuel  and  for  the  manufacture  of  lampblack.*  The  only  objection 
the  writer  can  find  to  its  use  is  its  strong  odor,  which  to  many 
people  is  very  disagreeable ;  this  fact  will  alone  prevent  naph- 
thaline from  becoming  a  popular  substitute  for  camphor,  at  least 
so  far  as  its  application  to  the  protection  of  clothing  is  concerned  ; 
but  for  use  in  natural  history  collections  it  leaves  little  to  be  de- 
sired.— Proc.  Amer.  Pharm.  Association^  1869. 
ON  CHLORAL. 
By  Professor  Charles  A.  Joy. 
This  interesting  compound  was  discovered  in  1832,  by  Liebig, 
and  was  obtained  by  the  action  of  chlorine  upon  absolute  alcohol. 
The  name  is  significant  of  its  origin,  and  suggests  at  once  the 
method  of  its  manufacture.  Chlorine  alcohol  is  abbreviated  to 
chloral,  just  as  aldehyd  is  al(cohol  of)  hyd(rogen).  The  Ger- 
mans have  a  name  for  chloral  so  long  that  it  ought  to  be  men- 
tioned as  a  curiosity.  They  call  it  trichlormethylhydrocarbo- 
noxyd,  and  sometimes  trichloracetoxylwasserstoff',  and,  again, 
trichloraldehyd,  or  trichloracetyloxydhydrat.    It  is  not  proba- 
*  Naphthaline  is  now  used  in  making  dye  colors  and  in  the  artificial 
production  of  benzoic  acid. — Editor  Am.  Journ.  Pharm. 
