THE PHARMACEUTICAL SERVICE IN THE ARMY.

ΤΕ

HE reports from the various camps of concentration of the volunteer troops show that the hospital corps of the army is as yet in an experimental and formative stage. In some commands the regimental hospitals are being maintained, whereas in others the work is be

the place of the same number of surgeons who now perform pharmaceutical duty.

In view of the vast importance of the health of the army and of the pharmaceutical corps as ministering to its health, it is essential to the best development of the corps and to the attention of the best men in it that it be reorganized on some such basis as above outlined.

TH

TAIL DRUGGIST.

No steps have been taken, however, towards creating an opening for any advancement on the part of hospital stewards, though in brigade, division and base hospitals there is no question but there is great need for the placing of the pharmaceutical work in the hands of a pharmacist bearing an officer's commission. The present system, which places all pharmaceutical work of the higher grade in the hands of surgeons acting as medical purveyors, is such an absurdity on its face that it is a matter of surprise that the Medical Department of the Army and Navy have not themselves directed attention to it and taken steps to secure a remedy for it. There should be no necessity for depriving any of the present incumbents of these offices of their positions, as a pharmaceutical corps could be established and the present incumbents, after passing suitable examinations, could be assigned to duty in the pharmaceutical corps as medical purveyors to perform the same duties which they now discharge. As the present incumbents drop out, however, their places should be taken, not by surgeons, but by promotions from the lower grades on competitive examinations or by appointment from civil life.

The ideal pharmaceutical corps would have at its head a colonel. One lieutenant colonel should be assigned to each army corps and base hospital and, should a laboratory be established, this also should be in charge of a lieutenant colonel. A pharmacist major should be attached to the staff of each division commander, a captain to each brigade and a lieutenant and two sergeants to each regiment. This would not really increase the force materially or entail very large additional expense, since all of the officers of the higher grades would simply take

HE position occupied by the retail druggist in the community varies, of course, in particular instances according to the personal worth of the individual druggist. On the whole, however, the American druggist occupies a satisfactory position in the community, particularly among the smaller towns. In the cities, the accumulation of wealth and development of a leisure class has created lines of social cleavage, which leave the druggist in the class of the small shopkeeper, lower in the social scale than the physician, but decidedly above the keeper of the corner grocery or neighborhood haberdashery of the resident section.

Most druggists probably realize quite clearly that their own position in the community is largely dependent on their personal characters and habits of life, though probably few realize the immense power on the future of pharmacy which they are called upon to exercise when selecting what we still term apprentices, though the term is no

now scarce

ly recognized. In the selection of a boy to enter his drug store at the foot of the ladder of pharmacy, every druggist has imposed upon him a most serious duty, for in choosing this boy, he is aiding to determine the future of pharmacy. If he choose wisely, a lad of intelligence, industry and refinement, one accustomed to the refining influences dominant in a wellbred family, he will have done well for his calling. If, on the other hand, he carelessly accept the first applicant who, it may chance, corresponds to the type so vividly portrayed by Wm. Bodeman in a report of the Illinois Association, which we publish in another column, he will have done an irreparable injury to the future of pharmacy and one which no exercise of courtesy, sobriety and integrity on the part of the pharmacist himself can ever quite compensate for. We, therefore, direct the particular attention of our readers to this important subject and would impress upon them the serious character of the responsibility which they must assume in selecting the young men who enter pharmacy and who will some day determine the standing of the pharmacists in the community.

THE UNIFICATION OF THE BOARDS.

O`

at

NE of the most important, if not the most important, of the matters scheduled for discussion at the approaching meeting of the New York State Pharmaceutical Association Rochester, is the unification of the Boards of Pharmacy in this State. We have always advocated this step and believe that the officials of the Erie County Board are responsible for the fact that there are still in existence four Boards of Pharmacy in one State. As has already been rehearsed in these columns, a bill to supersede the existing Boards of Pharmacy by the establishment of a Board with jurisdiction throughout the entire State, was introduced into the Legislature early in 1897, and this measure would undoubtedly have become a law but for the action of the members of the Erie County Board in securing the exemption of the county from the provisions of the bill. This exemption was, of course, fatal to the primary object of the measure, which at once lost all chance of ultimate success, since, in its emasculated form, it could not receive the support of that large section of the pharmaceutical profession in the State who earnestly advocate the unification of the boards. Various excuses were put forward by the gentlemen who succeeded in defeating the measure, coupled with criticisms of the proposed law, but the fact remains that through their action they lost an opportunity for securing a board whose powers covered the entire State. After such a measure had once been passed, it would be a comparatively easy matter to have secured any needed amendments of the law. This opportunity has lapsed and it is now incumbent on these gentlemen to draft a model law and to secure its enactment. Nothing less will acquit them of the responsibility for the existence of the conditions which are complained of by a correspondent on another page of this issue, who, we are confident, voices the sentiments of a very large proportion of the working pharmacists of the Empire State in advocating the unification of the boards.

Delegate Thimme, of the Druggists' League, complained at the meeting of the Central Labor Union yesterday that the Socialists had organized a rival union of drug clerks.

"The union consists of two clerks and seven outsiders," he said. "They are all De Leon Socialists. I want people to be on guard so as not to confound them with our organization.”— New York Sun.

We are sure that the sympathy of the entire drug trade will go out to Delegate Thimme in his present troubles. The presumption of the De Leon Socialists in attempting to compete with an organization of the strength and magnitude of Drug Clerks' Labor Union No. 1, otherwise known as the Druggists' League for Shorter Hours, which nearly succeeded in getting a bill through the Legislature at the last session, is simply incomprehensible. No doubt exists in the mind of any pharmacist but that Delegate Thimme and the Central Labor Union, with the help of Druggist Doherr, will ultimately triumph over their rivals.

(Written for the American Druggist) PERMANENT LIBRARY

PASTE.

BY FRANK EDEL,

Des Moines, la.

HAVE been astonished to note that some authorities advise the use of flour and gelatin for making library paste. My own experience has proved that neither starch nor flour are suitable for the purpose.

About two years ago I began a line of experiments with the view to find a preservative which would prevent paste from turning sour. Where there is much labeling to be done, there is nothing which at all compares with well made flour paste.

This is, however, notoriously prone to become sour and useless. I began a line of experiments covering the preservatives commonly used for this purpose, and formaldehyde. Formaldehyde in the proportion of 1 per cent (by this I mean one part of the 40 per cent solution added to one hundred of paste) will preserve either flour or starch paste indefinitely, and additional experiments proved that it was equally good as a preservative for mucilage. My experiments covered a period of six months, and were as exacting as one could wish.

Paste for General Use.

When I inaugurated these experiments it was my intention to extend them so as to include not only the preparation, but the preservation of the different pastes and mucilages in common use, and to see if I could not find some paste which would do all classes of work, and, at the same time, keep well. I had often wanted a paste for mounting photographic prints finished on the ferroplate which would not penetrate the paper and destroy the finish on the prints. I made a few tentative experiments, but, for want of time, did not complete them. Lately, however, my attention was directed to on experian excellent set about

a library paste which, ment, proved to be mountant, and I at once

to produce a paste with similar good qualities. None of the published formulas yielded satisfactory results. The moisture in the paste struck through, so that it was impossible to satisfactorily mount highly finished

photographic

prints with it. They resembled the better class of library pastes in color only, not in their adhesive or keeping qualities. These formulas all called for either flour or starch; some recommended the addition of gelatin, others advised the use of a small amount of acid.

After trying both starch and flour in every conceivable combination with both gelatin and dextrin and failing to get any good results, I thought it advisable to make as thorough an examination as I could of the proprietary library pastes to see if I could not produce a similar article, for it was very evident to me that published formulas were printed without the author's having given any attention to the composition of the paste itself. I obtained a bottle of each of the different library pastes and also as many of the patent photographic mounting pastes as possible and proceeded to examine them. The odor and general appearance of all indicated the presence of dextrin as one of the constituents, and when a small portion was dissolved in water and treated with iodine, the solu

tion gave no starch reaction, but did give a reaction similar to that of dextrin. Appropriate tests demonstrated the ab-. sence of both starch and flour from the pastes. I placed the bottles containing them in a water bath and gradually raising the heat, found that at about 170°F. they all became liquid and clear without any residue. I took one of the bottles and emptied its contents into an equal volume of alcohol and obtained a white, pearly precipitate, which, on drying, was soluble in water and physically resembled white potato dextrin. Thus I proved that library pastes were nothing more nor less than a mixture of white dextrin and water, with preservatives added, and that the different manufacturers all used the same material, the only difference being in the consistency of the pastes. Having found out what entered into the composition of the paste I set out to duplicate it, but discovered before I had gone very far that it was thing to know what a thing was made of, and another thing to know how to make it. I had to defer the experiments at the very outset on account of a difficulty in obtaining a pure white water soluble dextrin. At last I obtained what I wanted, and started in to make the

paste.

Experiments.

one

I shall give the different experiments in the order made and shall refer to them hereafter by number.

I

The weather turned warmer, and I found that I was not succeeding so well. I then prepared a line of pastes by the formulas, adding a few drops of oil of wintergreen and oil of cloves and a little formaldehyde as preservatives. The oils were added to cover as much as possible the odor of the dextrin. These pastes were placed in the ice room of a packing house and allowed to stand for one week, when the first three were found to be perfect and the last two much better than those which had stood in my work room for a longer period.

Conclusions.

From these experiments I draw the following conclusions:

(1) That the library pastes of the market are made by dissolving a good quality of white dextrin in water and adding some preservative. (2) That in order to make the best paste it is necessary to let it stand after bottling for some weeks, or if it is desired to expedite the process the ageing can be hastened by allowing it to stand for a few days in an ice box. (3) That by following directions as to heat, etc., it is possible to make a paste containing as little as four ounces of dextrin to eight ounces of water, but that preference should be given to a paste containing five five and one-half ounces of dextrin to every eight ounces of water.

or

I would suggest the following finished formula for the production of a paste identical with the library pastes of the market:

White dextrin

5 or 51⁄2 lbs.
Water heated to about 160 deg... 1 gal.
Oil of wintergreen
Oil of cloves

1⁄2 dr. 1⁄2 dr. Dissolve the dextrin in water by stirring; when cool add the oils and stir; pour the paste into bottles, cork and place in a cool place where they may congeal and ripen. The time required for this. varies, but the process can be much expedited by placing the bottles containing the paste in a cooling chamber at a temperature of 40 or 45 degrees, when it will ripen in a few days.

The original, and, to my idea, the best of the library pastes on the market is broadly patented, but I cannot see how a patent was ever obtained on a solution of white dextrin and water.

were

My subsequent investigations would lead me to advise against the use of formaldehyde as a preservative, as it seems to retard the ripening process; while the oils may be sufficient to preserve the paste, I think that slightly larger quantities than are here given will have to be comparative tests, one with a simple mixused. In the experiments quoted, I made ture of the oils, two drams to the gallon, and another with the addition of the formaldehyde, and where the pastes ripened at normal temperature, I found that those containing formaldehyde were not so satisfactory as those without it; those ripened in the cooling room, however, seemed to be just the same as those without it. The oils do not seem to retard the process at all, while the same cannot be said of the formaldehyde. It would seem that some change takes place in the properties of the dextrin, for if we take fresh dextrin and make a paste, it will take at least several days to suitably ripen; while, after the process is complete, if we set the solution in hot water and dissolve or melt, and then set it in a cool place, we find that in twenty-four hours or less in almost every case the paste is as it was before it was melted.

(Written for the American Druggist.) SOME FORMALDEHYDE REACTIONS.

W

BY PROF. GEO. C. DILKMAN,
New York College of Pharmacy.

ITHIN the past three years the literature of formaldehyde has grown amazingly, and widely scattered as are the various contributions, it is not surprising to find considerable duplication of work. This fact has been brought to my attention in looking up the literature relating to the action of formaldehyde on albumin, a task undertaken at the suggestion of the editor of the AMERICAN DRUGGIST with a view of gaining some definite knowledge as to the possible utilization of formaldehyde, both as a test for the presence of albumin in urine and as a preservative for keeping urine destined for subsequent examination.

Much has been written concerning the compounds formed by the action of formaldehyde on albumin and this phase of the subject will be taken up first.

The Reaction of Formaldehyde with
Albumins.

Upon dilution with water, the white of an egg deposits a flocculent precipitate consisting of globulins, which may be readily removed by filtration, the resulting clear liquid holding in solution ovoalbumin and ovomucoid. Heat applied to this solution causes coagulation to take place promptly, and the coagulum is now classified among the derived albumins, and, as well known, is insoluble in water. If, however, prior to heating, a small volume of formaldehyde solution be added, no coagulum is formed nor is it formed when, as the result of prolonged heating or even boiling, all trace of formaldehyde has disappeared, its total disappearance being proven by a negative reaction with ammoniacal silver nitrate solution. Formaldehyde-albumin solution can be concentrated, and possesses a color varying from yellow to brown, depending upon the degree of concentration. Its odor is characteristically that of fresh egg albumin, and its taste sweet. If the concentration be carried on in vacuo, a perfectly dry residue results, which is soluble in water and does not coagulate when heated in solution. Evaporation on a water bath results in the formation of a transparent pellicle as soon as the solution is moderately concentrated, which shows that if the concentration is carried on in the ordinary way an insoluble modification of formaldehyde-albumin is formed.

The dry powder obtained by evaporating in vacuo has a bright yellow color, its solution has a neutral reaction and is not affected by the addition of even large quantities of neutral salts. It yields many of the characteristic albumin color reactions, such as Millon's and Adamkiewicz's; the biuret, xanthoproteic and aceto-ferrocyanide reactions are also positive, as in fact are most of the reactions which apply to albumins. The behavior of this compound with alcohol (99 per cent) is worthy of note. When strong alcohol is added to a solution of formaldehyde-albumin a fine, white precipitate is thrown down, which upon adding water immediately redissolves, showing a marked difference in this particular from albumin itself, which, while it is precipitated upon addition of alcohol is not again brought into solution by addition of water. It is

evident, therefore, that in the case of the formaldehyde modification, no structural change resulted from its contact with alcohol, precipitation being caused by the change of menstruum. In the other case the assumption that such change did occur, as evidenced by the alteration in physical and chemical properties, is amply justified.

Other albumins, serum albumin as an example, show similar results when treated with formaldehyde, so that we have a number of such modified or altered albumins. These compounds, in virtue of their behavior with reagents and their general properties, physical and chemical, cannot properly be classified with the derived albumins, albumoses, peptones, or mucoid substances, but seem to constitute a distinct class by themselves.

As the constitution of the albumin molecule is as yet the subject of much controversy and doubt, the chemical composition of these new compounds can only be conjectured. Theoretically it may be assumed that a combination of formaldehyde with certain groups, known to be integral parts of the albumin molecule, such as amido or hydroxyl groups. has taken place, with elimination of water, as follows:

N +HCOH= -N=CH2+H2O

H

H

Action of Formaldehyde on Some Constituents of Urine.

When formaldehyde in solution (35-40 per cent) is added to normal urine, it enters into reaction with urea and uric acid, forming addition compounds with them or possibly other forms of compounds with the elimination of water. The compound formed with uric acid remains in solution, but can be obtained in crystalline form by concentration. The urea compound separates out rapidly, particularly if the urine be acidulated with hydrochloric acid; in both cases the separation is complete. Formaldehyde reacts readily with the hydrochloride of amido compounds, and the addition of hydrochloric acid, in consequence, facilitates the reaction. This reaction may be carried out as follows: 1 Cc. of strong hydrochloric acid, and 2 Cc. of formaldehyde solution are added successively to about 15 Cc. of urine and set aside for about one hour, when a separation of the urea-formaldehyde will have taken place. This reaction is employed for quantitative estimations of urea, the complete separation, and the marked insolubility of the compound formed (which permits thorough washing without appreciable loss), rendering it available for this purpose (C. Goldschmidt, Bericht. d. D. Chem. Ges., 1896, 2438).

As formaldehyde reacts with urea with

UNGUENTUM ACETANILIDI COMPOSITUM.

coarse powder. Mix the magnesia intimately with the powder and transfer the whole to the boiler A. Pour on water enough to thoroughly saturate the powder and leave a stratum of liquid measuring about 2 inches. Cover the vessel closely and apply the heat of the gasoline stove, shown in cut, until brisk ebullition ensues: boil for fifteen minutes and then draw off the watery extract through the stopcock B (which should be about inch above the bottom of the boiler). Repeat the operation until the watery extract measures two gallons. To this add the whites of two eggs mixed with a little water, and heat to vigorous boiling. Strain through flannel upon the sugar, which will quickly dissolve by simple agitation or stirring. Then mix with percolate obtained from No. 2.

(2) Grind the capsicum, ginger and senna to a No. 20 powder. Dissolve the oils in the alcohol and slowly add the

water. Moisten the powder with a sufficient quantity of this menstruum and pack in a cylindrical percolator. Pour on enough of the menstruum to saturate the Powder, and when the liquid begins to drop from the lower orifice close it and allow the percolator to stand for 24 hours. Then allow the percolation to proceed (returning the percolate to the percolator until it comes through clear) until the menstruum has all passed through the luted alcohol to make the percolate measpercolator. Then pour on enough diure one gallon and mix with No. 1, in the vessel used for preparing No. 1, and allow to stand for three days for any sediment to settle below the orifice of the stopcock. Then fill into 8 and 16 ounce bottles, label, wrap with moist parchment paper, paste the edge down, make paper fit neck of bottle closely by wrapping with twine. When dry remove the twine and you have an active medicinal agent put up in as neat a manner as you can desire. The bottles retail at 50 cents and $1, respectively. The best advertising point about the medicine and the trade-gaining point is the fact that no pills are needed with it. Remember that this is the point that makes sales.

26 pint bottles and labels cost Sarsaparilla

Retail for Profit

$1 30 2 89 $4 19 26 00 .$21 81

This remedy is one that "pays the rent" during the spring months. I can't say too much for it.

(Written for the American Druggist.) HYDROGEN PEROXIDE AS A FACTOR IN SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION.

I'

E. H. GANE, PH.C.,

New York City.

N the last number of the AMERICAN DRUGGIST appears a note, by Chas. H. La Wall, with the above title, in which attention is drawn to the phenomenon of spontaneous combustion exhibited by hydrogen peroxide under certain conditions. This property of hydrogen peroxide, the writer believes, "has never before been recorded."

In the particular case described by Mr. La Wall, a cheesecloth bandage had been kept constantly moistened with solution of H2 O2 for some time, and then through neglect, the bandage had been allowed to become warm (body temperature). The bandage then became charred, causing a severe burn, and Mr. La Wall says that experiments have led him to attribute this to the presence of a slight amount of sulphuric acid in the solution of hydrogen peroxide.

Being fairly familiar with the properties of this substance, including the property "never before recorded" of causing spontaneous combustion, this statement as to the presence of a slight amount of sulphuric acid being responsible for the charring of the bandage was somewhat of a surprise. Consequently a series of experiments were conducted with a view of proving or disproving this statement.

The results of these experiments which, it is hardly necessary to detail, showed just what was expected, that the sulphuric acid plays little part in the reac

tion, other than to slightly increase the charring process. A similar effect can be produced if the solution of peroxide be neutralized or if it be rendered alkaline.

The explanation of the charring is simple when the properties of the peroxide are considered. Hydrogen peroxide, whilst very unstable and easily decomposed in the presence of organic matter, is peculiar in this respect. If pieces of filter paper, cheesecloth or an ordinary bandage be kept constantly moistened with fresh quantities of the solution for some time and then allowed to become almost dry, or better still, if an ethereal solution be used and the ether allowed to evaporate, it will be found that the peroxide has not been entirely decomposed, but will remain in the paper or cloth for some time. If these pieces be then warmed, charring will ensue quickly at a comparatively low temperature, depending on the amount of peroxide in the material. A similar condition existed in Mr. La Wall's bandage. The constant addition of fresh quantities of peroxide solution increased steadily the amount of H2 O2 in the bandage, and as soon as the wearer neglected to keep down the temperature by adding more of the cold solution, charring ensued, owing to the vigorous oxidation of the cloth, consequent on the rise in temperature caused by the heat of the arm.

While it is easy enough to char a bandage with a warm dilute solution of sulphuric acid, the average commercial solution of peroxide does not contain sufficient acid to bring this about.

There is nothing particularly new about this "never before recorded" property. The late Henry Maclagan showed some years ago that pure H2 O2 was so powerful an oxidizing agent that if a ball of silk be dipped in the fluid and gently warmed, the oxidizing proceeded so fiercely that the silk became inflamed. Moreover, one firm manufacturing this substance has for years described this experiment in their literature on the prod

uct.

Mr. La Wall can readily confirm the above statements if he is so disposed.

Crypton, a New Element, Found in

the Atmosphere.

A cable dispatch from Paris dated June 6th contains the following information concerning the discovery of a new element by Prof. Ramsay, assisted by Morris Travers. Prof. Ramsay, it will be remembered, was the joint discoverer with Lord Rayleigh, of Argon. The news of the discovery was given to the world through a communication by Prof. Ramsay to the French Academy of Sciences, which was read before the Academy by Prof. Berthelot.

The discoverers received from Dr. Hampson 750 cubic centimeters of liquid air, which they reduced by evaporation and collected in a tube. A gas was furnished by the residue. This gas was deprived of its oxygen by the help of metallic copper, and of its nitrogen by the action of the electric spark, and of its oxygen after that by a mixture of magnesium and pure lime. This effected, there remained 26 cubic centimeters of gas, which presented, besides a weakly defined spectrum of argon, an additional spectrum till then unknown. It was characterized by exceedingly brilliant lines, one almost identical with D3. The

other green may be compared in intensity with the green line of helium. Its wave length was 5566.3. Another slightly weaker gave 5557.3. The density of the gas was approximately 22.5, that of oxygen being 16. According to the velocity of sound the ratio of specific calorics is 1.666, the same as that of argon and helium. It, therefore, follows that the new gas is monatomic and constitutes an element.

These facts go to prove that the atmosphere contains a hitherto unknown gas heavier than argon and with a characteristic spectrum less volatile than nitrogen and oxygen and argon.

Prof. Ramsay was unable to absolutely determine its position in the periodical. He, however, hazards the conjecture that the pure gas has a density of 40 and an atomic weight of 80, and that it may be classed with helium. The investigations are being continued, and a larger quantity of the gas is being prepared.

M. Berthelot, who received a small supply of the new gas in a Fluckiger tube, has verified the existence of new lines by the spectroscope.

The Liquefaction of Gases.

At a meeting of the Chemical Society at London, the president, Prof. Dewar, read a short paper on the liquefaction of hydrogen and helium. In this he recapituated the history of the attempts at the liquefaction of hydrogen that had been made, and gave an account of the results he had obtained, in which he said that, on May 10, hydrogen was liquefied by allowing the gas, cooled to -205°, and under a pressure of 180 atmospheres, to escape continuously at the rate of from 10 to 15 cubic feet per minute from the nozzle of a coil of pipe in a jacketed silvered vacuum vessel surrounded by a space kept below -200°. On this occasion, 20 Cc. of liquid hydrogen were collected in about five minutes, and on May 12, 50 Cc. were obtained before the hydrogen jet froze up from the solidification of air in the pipes. The yield of liquid was about 1 per cent of the gas. Liquid hydrogen is clear and colorless, showing an absorption spectrum and a well defined meniscus. Experiments on the density of hydrogen in palladium gave a value 0.62 for the substance in combination, and it will be interesting to find the density of the actual liquid at its boiling point. Experiments were made to prove the excessively low temperature of the boiling fluid: a long piece of glass tubing, sealed at one end, but open to the air at the other, and cooled by immersing the closed end in liquid hydrogen, immediately filled, where it was cooled, with solid air; another experiment was made with a tube containing helium.

All known gases have now been condensed into liquids which can be manipulated at their boiling-points under atmospheric pressure in suitably arranged vessels. With hydrogen as a cooling agent, it will be possible to get within 20 or 30° of the zero of absolute temperature, and its use opens up a new field of scientific inquiry. Unfortunately, Professor Dewar added, the cost of each of these experiments is nearly £50.

Amarol is a new designation for ingestol, a German proprietary stomachic mix

ture.

Petrosulfol is the name given by a German firm to a product closely resembling ichthyol, but with a less disagreeable odor. The therapeutic claims made for it are identical with those made for ichthyol.

Rhamnin is the trade name given by Steinbach (Klin. Therap. Woch., 1898) to fluid extract of Rhamnus Frangula, which he recommends very highly as a laxative for children. Why such a misleading name should be adopted it is difficult to understand.

Haemoferrogen is the name which has been applied to "Haematogenum siccum" or dried haematogen, a Dutch preparation, which was described in this journal for February 25th, page 97. It is a dry, odorless preparation made from blood, which has been proposed as a remedy in chlorosis and other anemic conditions.

Compound Dialysates.-Under the names of dialysates, a class of preparations has been proposed in Germany, composed of dialysed fluid extracts. Recently Gehe & Co. have placed on the market compound dialysates which consist of dialysed fluid extracts of mixtures of drugs such as the official teas ΟΙ "species."

Piperazin Salicylate is a compound of one molecule of piperazin with two molecules of salicylic acid. It melts at from 215 to 218 degrees C. and is soluble in water, alcohol and ether. According to an English patent, this compound is made by crystallizing out of it from a saturated solution of the two components in the molecular proportions indicated.

To Determine the Melting Point of Waxes, Fats, Etc.-Blitz (Neder. Tijdsch. Phar., 1898, II) recommends the following process: Lay small pellets of the wax upon metallic mercury, and heat until the pellets melt. Allow to cool for twenty-four hours, plunge a thermometer into the mercury and heat it very slowly, noting the temperature at which the edges of the layer of wax or fat floating on the surface of the mercury commence to melt.

Cultivation of Pilocarpus in Italy.— Gaylio has isolated 0.62 per mille of pilocarpine nitrate from the leaves of specimens of Pilocarpus pinnatifolius grown in the Botanical Gardens of Palermo. From commercial leaves the author finds 0.56 per mille, which is a little lower than the figure of Merck, who found 0.7 per mille. Pilocarpus grows well in the open in Sicily, and its cultivation might, therefore, be a paying industry.-Arch. de Pharmacol., 1897, 105.—Pharm. Jour.

Nutrose-Casein Sodium.-This preparation (Phar. Post) consisting of albumin obtained from milk, is said to be more readily and completely digested than meat albumin, and withal to possess the same nutrient value. On this account, and because of its easy assimilation, it is much prized in intestinal disorders and digestive disturbances in general. In the treatment of anaemia and scrofula and during convalescence it is of much value. In the various children diseases it has been used with great success.

Diuretin Adulterated with Caffeine. -Diuretin is a double salicylate of theobromin and sodium. According to Bonnema (Pharm. weekbl. 1897, 27) this is sometimes adulterated with caffeine, which adulteration can be effected in the following manner: Dissolve the salt under examination in water by the aid of sodium hydrate. Shake out the solution with benzol, filter through a dry filter and evaporate the filtrate on a water bath. The residue shows under the microscope the distinctly characteristic crystals of caffeine.

A New Thermometer-Liquid.-A new filling for low-temperature thermometers is brought to notice by Prof. Dr. Kohlrausch (Phys.-tech. Reichsanstalt in Charlottenburg), namely, petroleum ether, which freezes at -190°. Heretofore it was customary to employ a mixture of toluol and alcohol which, however, freezes below 100°. It must, however, be noted that commercial petroleum ether varies in density; and, as this presumably would not be without influence on the congealing point, it might be well to designate ether of a fixed density, to insure uniformity of results.

Iodized Oils.-By combining iodine and sodium iodide with a small amount of glycerin, A. Schmitt (L'Union Phar.) finds that the solution is readily taken up by oils, and the preparation thus obtained is stable and elegant. It is thus possible to prepare an iodized oil quickly without the application of heat, which in the case of cod-liver oil is a great advantage. The proportions used are: sublimed iodine, 1 gramme, sodium iodide, 25 centigrammes, glycerin, 1 to 2 drops. Rub together until dissolved, then add the prescribed amount of cod-liver or other oil.

Cresamin.-This name has been applied to ethylene diamincresol, which was formerly known as tricresolamin, and which has been recommended as a disinfectant and antiseptic for the treatment of wounds. It is prepared by simply mixing tricresol with ethylenediamine. Cresamin solution is understood to mean a solution containing 1 per cent of tricresol and 1 per cent of ethylenediamine. It is