THE ALUMNI JOURNAL 163 



By inserting a wooden tube in each bottle considerable solution was 

 forced out which left sufficient space for the expansion of any gas that 

 might be liberated ; however, bottles now in use have too narrow a 

 mouth for this procedure. One mechanic is now working- on a hard 

 rubber and wood device which the writer has seen which promises 

 to give fairly satisfactory results. It is needless to say that such a 

 filling device will be a boon to the peroxide manufacturer. One 

 peculiarity that confronts every first purchaser of peroxide is the 

 fact that the bottles do not seem to be completely filled, and every 

 seller must go through the patient explanation as to why this condi- 

 tion exists. Even in the best products a certain amount of gas is 

 sure to escape and room must be left for expansion, otherwise the 

 bottle will be fractured or the cork expelled. 



CORKING THE BOTTLES. 



Experience has proved that it is best to use XXX extra long corks : 

 the better the cork the less liable the product is to decompose. A 

 few manufacturers put a thin coating of paraffin wax on these corks. 

 This fills the pores and prevents the cork dust from getting into the 

 solution. A poor grade of corks will invariably cause deterioration 

 in peroxide solutions. 



Some manufacturers wire the corks in the bottles. If a solution 

 is properly made this is unnecessary. In fact, a bottle with a wired 

 cork is to be regarded with suspicion, as the bottle is very apt to 

 break, thus causing injury to any one handling it. Several accidents 

 are on record caused by wired corks. A nurse in a large hospital 

 in New York City on a warm day attempted to open a bottle of 

 contract peroxide in which the cork was secured with a piece of 

 muslin. The bottle exploded lacerating a hand with pieces of glass 

 which had to be removed by a surgeon. The nurse being in poor 

 health at the time contracted blood poisoning and only with the 

 greatest difficulty was the hand saved from amputation. A pint 

 bottle in the hands of another user burst at an inopportune moment, 

 causing disfigurement of one side of the face and almost the loss of 

 sight. Innumerable reports are on record of bottles breaking on the 

 counters and in display cases in drug stores and other places of sale, 

 breaking other bottles and causing damage to labels and wrappers of 

 expensive goods. 



One of the early manufacturers was compelled to originate a safety 

 valve stopper and these have been known to go off at unexpected 



