OCR Text |
Show August 8,1898, the Secretary of Agriculture reported the result of the analysis, from which it was shown that wood spirit waa used in the manufacture of the extraot. His letter is as follows: DEPARTMENTO F AQRICULTURR, OFEICE OF TAB SECRETAI~Y, Washington, D. C., August 8, 1898. SIR: I have the honor to reoort the followin-e resnlts of an investi-ra tiou made in the chemical division of this Department of a sample of lemon extract purchased at Minnewaukon, N. Dsk., and which was aent to na ss of the same kind that oaueed the death of a; Indian at the Devils Lake Agency at Fort Totten, N. Dak. The alcohol was distilled off from a small portion of the sample, and the residue ohtainedwas administered to s, dog, after dilution with water. There Ws8 no effeat whatever, showing the nonpoisonous nature of the nonvolatile portion of the mate-rial. The quantity given to the dog was equivalent to mom thsn a pint for a man weighing 130 to 140 pounds. An sttempted determinotion of the peroentage of alcohol in the extract gave such an unusual result that it was evident that some other snhstanoa beside ordinary grain aloohol formed the basis or solvent of the extract, A careful teat by the most approved methods was therefore made for methyl alcohol (wood spirit), with the following result: The first test was the oxidation test, by meana of which there should he formed. in the D1080nC0 of ordinar.y eth.yl alcohol, ethyl aldehyd, which has a charaoteriaticador and reduces silvernitrate hot slightly under the conditions of the experiment. In the presence of methyl alcohol formio aoid ia formed, which reduces silver nitrate very ahundantlv. The test was made not only with the sam-ple of lamon extract, hut also with samples of methyl and ethyl alcohol of known pnrity. There was deaided evidence of the formation of formia aoid in the case of the sample of lemon extract, hoth from its eharsoteristio oaor and from the marked reduction of silver nitrate, showing the presence of methyl dalcohol in the origind material. Thelatest and perhaps best test for methyl alcohol, in the possible p1080nOe of etbyl alcohol, is that of A. Lam, reported in the Zeitschrift f"r Angewandte Chemie, February 8, 1898, page 1%. This prooess oonsists in the conversion of the methyl alcohol into methyl iodid and tho ethyl alcohol into ethyl iodid, purifying the prod-uct, and determiuing its specific gravity. Mr. William H. Krug, who performed the laboratory work, oarefully prepared a sample of iodid of the unknown ~lcohorla di-cle contained in the lemon extrsat, and also iodids from samples of methyl and ethyl alcohol of known purity. Of these preparations, the careful determination was made of the specific gravity and boiling points. The results, hoth of the lemon extract and of the pure materiala, are shown in the following table: Sp. r st Boiling -IS.% 'c. -point. a C. loaid from ismon extraat.. ..................................................... 2.2742 a.5 Iodid from methyl alcohol ...................................................... 2.2725 43.5 Iodidfiom ethyl alcohol 1.9441 72.4 Tho Itoiling point of methyl ioclid, reported by Reroateiu, is WC., uud that of ethyl iodid 12.310. Tlleno results show that the alcobol contained in the luruun extract was orobablv all mothvl aleohol. The nature of the aolvent used in the p.re p.e ration of the lemon extract whiah caused the death of the Indian at Fort Tatten is therefore very evident. The qnnntity of the ntateriol ~vai lehlew as not suEcient to determine the degree of pu?ty of tho wood spirit whioh had been used in the preparation of the extraot. While wood spirit in its crnde farm is very poisonous, it8 poisonous properties are largely due to the impurities containedinit, and not to the methyl aloo- |