THE ALUMNI JOURNAL 137 



Do you have pains in your head when your head aches? 



Do you take exercise in the Summer or in the country? 



Do the joints trouble you, and if so, why frequent them? 



When you laugh, does your face hurt you more than those who 

 look at you ? 



Are you easily shocked, or do you patronize musical come- 

 dies ? 



PEROXIDE PRODUCTION, PAST AXD PRESENT.* 



J. S. BREWER, PHAR. D. 

 N. Y. C. P. '02. 



A vast amount of literature exists relating to peroxide of hydrogen, 

 or hydrogen dioxide. It has for many years been one of the fore- 

 most topics of discussion among scientific men in both chemical and 

 medical circles. It has formed the subject of conversation at meet- 

 ings of chemical societies and other learned bodies. It presents, 

 nevertheless, at all times a deeply interesting subject for study and 

 discussion. 



Its peculiar properties, its instability and its production has long 

 been a puzzle to some of our best scientific men, particularly those 

 who have endeavored to produce a permanent medicinal solution 

 for commercial purposes. Hours, days, months and even years have 

 been spent in experimenting. Thousands of dollars and even life 

 and limb have been sacrificed to produce the present-day product, 

 conforming to the requirements of the United States Pharmacopoeia. 

 The modern preparation falls far short of the ideal, although it is 

 placed in the hands of the consumer in such a form as to meet the 

 average requirements. 



HISTORICAL. 



The chemical union of two atoms of hydrogen and two atoms of 

 oxygen was first effected and established as a definite chemical body 

 by Thenard in 1818. A curious fact in this connection is that the 

 experiment at that time was conducted with the use of dilute acid^ 



*Read at the Summer Meeting of the Northwestern Branch of the A. Ph. A., at 

 Winona, Minn., June 19th, 1912. — Reprinted from Jour. A. Ph. A. 



