A solution of 250 g. (1.5 moles) of u.s.p. chloral hydrate in 450 cc. of warm water (50–60°) is placed in a 3-l. round-bottomed flask bearing a reflux condenser and thermometer (Note 1). The condenser is temporarily removed and 152.5 g. (1.52 moles) of precipitated calcium carbonate added; this is followed by 2 cc. of amyl alcohol (Note 2) and a solution of 10 g. of technical sodium cyanide in 25 cc. of water. Although the reaction is exothermic, the reaction mixture is heated with a low flame so that it reaches 75° in about ten minutes; at this point heating is discontinued. The temperature continues to rise to 80–85° during five to ten minutes and then drops. As soon as the temperature begins to fall the solution is heated to boiling and refluxed for twenty minutes. The mixture is then cooled to 0–5° in an ice bath, acidified with 215 cc. of concentrated hydrochloric acid (sp. gr. 1.18), and extracted with five 100-cc. portions of ether (Note 3). The combined ether extracts are dried with 20 g. of anhydrous sodium sulfate, the ether is removed by distillation from a steam bath, and the residue is distilled in vacuum from a Claisen flask with a fractionating side arm (Note 4). The yield of dichloroacetic acid, b.p. 99–104°/23 mm., is 172–180 g. (88–92 per cent of the theoretical amount) (Note 5).