Care should be taken to avoid the rapid distillation of v e ry volat i le, inflammable liquids, such as ether, alcohol, and

carbon disulphide. If such liquids are distilled very rapidly, a part of the vapor is not condensed, and a fire may result when this vapor comes in contact with a near-by flame. If ether has been used, the solution should not be set aside to dry in a thin-walled flask which has been s toppered; sufficient heat is at times generated as the result of the union of the water and the drying agent to break the flask. A b o t t le or distilling flask should be used. It is n ot advisable to place the extract in a beaker or other open vessel, as the solvent will be lost if the solution stands for some t ime. When the solution is dry, the solvent can be removed by d i stillation. If ether or any other v e ry volatile and inflammable liquid is used, the flask containing the solvent should be heated on a water-bath, and should be provided with a long waterjacketed condenser and a special form of receiver. This is made by attaching to the condenser, by means of a tightly fitting 24 EXPERIMENTAL ORGANIC CHEMISTRY stopper, an adapter, which, in turn, is attached in the same way to a filter-bottle. The side-arm of the latter is provided with a rubber t u be of such length that it reaches nearly to the floor. By taking these precautions accidents caused by fires are prev e n t e d, as the only way in which ether vapor can escape f rom the apparatus is through the rubber t u b e; as ether vapor is very heavy and as any which escapes is delivered at the level of the floor, there is little chance of its being ignited by any flames on the laboratory desks T he receiver should be dry in order that the ether which distils over may be used in transferring the residue after the distillation to a flask of appropriate size for the final

distillation