256 



name of the compound Hcoh. Formol is the commercial name 

 given by Schering & Co. to a 40 ''/^ solution of this substance in 

 water. Formalin is the commercial name given to the same solu- 

 tion by Meister, Lucius & Brüning. Some writers use these terms 

 indiscrimioately, with the result of giving rise to much confusion. 



One of the first writers to call attention to this subject was 

 F. Hermann. His paper in Anat. Anzeiger, Bd. IX, 1893, No. 4, 

 p. 112, is an example of the confusion in question. The title brackets 

 the terms formalin and formaldehyd as if they were equivalent, and 

 in the first few lines we meet with the phrase "das Formaldehyd, 

 oder wie das Mittel im Handel heißt, das Formalin". In the body of 

 his paper Hermann discusses the hardening properties of a "0,5 — 1 *^/o" 

 solution, without giving the reader the least clue by which to discover 

 whether he is to understand a solution containing l^j^ of form- 

 aldehyde or one containing 1 n/^j of formalin and being therefore two- 

 and-a-half times weaker in formaldehyde. Only towards the end of 

 the paper does the indication that a kilo of "40 ^lo Formalinlösung" 

 furnishes 40 litres of "Conservirungsfliissigkeit" suggest that the 

 author means 1 ^j^ of formaldehyde. 



Van Gieson (Anat. Anzeiger, Bd. X, 1895, Ko. 15, p. 494) is 

 reported in a similarly vague manner, "solutions of formaline of four, 

 six and ten per cent" being spoken of. 



Parker and Floyd (Anat. Anzeiger, Bd. XI, 1895, No. 5, p. 156) 

 recommend the employment of a "2 7o solution of formol", which they 

 say will harden a sheep's brain in a week or ten days. One naturally 

 thinks that by "2^/o formol" is meant a mixture of two volumes of 

 formol with 98 of water, and there is nothing in the text of Parker 

 and Floyd's paper to negative that view. Are we to understand the 

 writers to mean that a solution containing considerably less than l"/o 

 of formaldehyde will harden a sheep's brain in a week? Or to the 

 writers mean 2 °/o formaldehyde? That would appear possible. A 

 note to their paper shews that they mistake the term formol for the 

 chemical name of the compound Hcoh. The say "the formol employed 

 was that sold as formaldehyde 40 "/o". 



At any rate I think it must be admitted that the proper way of 

 stating the strengths of these solutions is to say "formol, or formahne, 

 diluted with so many volumes of water". The present confusion is 

 most inconvenient. 



Frommannsche liuchdruckerei (Hermann Pohle) iu Jena. 



