AFebJ™VPi9aor^•}    Remington  Pharmaceutical  Stills.  81 
In  addition  to  their  use  in  this  connection,  the  X-rays  would  seem 
to  offer  an  interesting  field  for  application  in  the  examination  of 
coal,  asphalt  and  other  hydrocarbon  compounds  that  have  a  more 
or  less  constant  admixture  of  siliceous  or  earthy  materials.  In  the 
case  of  these  compounds  they  not  only  indicate  the  amount  of  ad- 
mixture, but  also  give  us  considerable  information  as  to  the  nature 
of  the  admixture  and  the  exact  location  of  the  same. 
IMPROVEMENTS  IN  THE  REMINGTON  PHARMACEU- 
TICAL STILLS. 
By  J.  Pkrcy  Remington,  B.S. 
Pharmaceutical  stills  have  been  in  use  for  many  years,  some  have 
had  a  short  life,  others  have  answered  well  the  requirements  of  their 
time,  and  have  then  been  superseded  by  those  of  more  modern 
construction  whose  merits  were  at  once  recognized. 
The  still  which  is  the  subject  of  this  paper  was  first  devised  by 
Professor  Joseph  P.  Remington  in  1872  and  subsequently  improved 
and  developed  as  described  in  the  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy, 
1878,  page  15,  and  1879,  page  225.  These  stills  have  had  a  large 
use  and  are  to  be  found  in  many  parts  of  the  world.  It  was  with  a 
view  of  introducing  some  further  improvements  that  the  writer  took 
the  subject  up,  and  now  ventures  to  present  the  still  with  the  latest 
improvements. 
The  important  factors  in  the  construction  of  the  still  are  that  the 
vessel  which  holds  the  water  to  be  distilled  should  present  a  large 
heating  surface  to  the  flame,  that  the  passage  from  the  still  to  the 
condenser  should  be  small  and  direct  so  as  to  prevent  any  condensa- 
tion at  that  point,  and  that  the  condenser  should  offer  as  large  a 
cold  surface  to  the  vapor,  on  entering,  as  possible.  The  material  of 
which  it  is  composed,  its  strength  and  durability  of  construction, 
the  ease  with  which  it  may  be  taken  apart  and  cleaned  are  also  im- 
portant considerations. 
The  idea  of  reversing  the  principle  of  the  tubular  boiler  and  apply- 
ing it  to  distillation  as  seen  in  the  Remington  condenser  was  a 
happy  one.  In  a  tubular  boiler  the  flame  circulates  around  the 
numerous  tubes  and  evaporates  the  water.  In  this  condenser  the 
water  circulates  around  the  tubes  and  condenses  the  steam;  thus  the 
old  block  tin  worm,  which  was  very  difficult  to  clean,  has  been 
