400 
PURIFICATION  OF  ACETIC  ETHER. 
eight  fluid  ounces,  filter,  and,  having  added  the  sugar,  proceed 
in  the  manner  directed  for  syrup.  When  cool,  add  the  brandy 
and  mix. 
This  affords  a  preparation  about  equal  in  strength  to  the  one 
given  by  you.  Yours,  truly, 
Chas.  W.  Epting. 
Pottsville,  June  2M,  1856. 
PURIFICATION  OF  ACETIC  ETHER. 
By  C.  Rump. 
Becker  of  Essen  has  shown  in  1852  that  crude  acetic  ether, 
purified  in  the  old  way  by  shaking  with  a  solution  of  some  salt, 
and  taking  the  lighter  liquid  for  the  pure  ether  which  only  wanted 
another  rectification,  still  contains  alcohol,  sometimes  30  per  cent. 
To  obtain  the  ether  pure  according  to  Becker,  3i  times  its  volume 
of  a  solution  of  table  salt,  or  five  times  its  weight  of  the  same  is 
necessary  ;  he  also  found  that  of  water  3J  times  the  weight  of  the 
ether  was  necessary,  which  however  dissolved  so  much  of  the 
ether,  that  this  method  was  rejected  as  impracticable.  This 
action  of  water  and  watery  solutions  of  salts  is  due  to  the  affinity 
of  alcohol  and  water,  which  however  is  not  equal  to  that  of  the 
ether  for  alcohol ;  they  must  be  separated  by  repeated  washing, 
a  purer  ether  will  extract  alcohol  from  the  aqueous  solution. 
After  a  number  of  experiments  the  author  has  come  to  the 
conclusion,  that  the  best  method  for  the  purification  of  acetic- 
ether  is  by  shaking  the  crude  product  with  one  quarter  its  weight 
of  pure  water,  separating  the  ether  and  repeating  the  same  opera- 
tion three  times  more ;  the  water  may  be  saturated  by  chloride  of 
sodium  which  separates  a  quantity  of  ether  that  requires  wash- 
ing in  the  same  way.  To  the  washed  either  l-12th  its  weight  of 
chloride  of  calcium  is  to  be  added,  and  another  distillation  yields 
the  pure  ether,  which  shaken  with  its  volume  of  water,  loses  but 
eight  or  nine  per  cent  of  volume. 
Thus  treated  331bs.  of  crude  ether  yielded  241bs.  of  pure 
ether,  and  the  water  51bs.  more ;  the  process  is  simple  and  the 
operation  requires  but  little  time.— Archiv  d.  Pharm.  March 
1856.  J.  M.  M. 
