should be less than that of ethyl alcohol. There is a lack of exact 

 experimentation on this point, but the evidence which has lately 

 been secured leads to the conclusion that some modification of this 

 common belief is necessary. The degree of toxicity of methyl and 

 ethyl alcohol in small amounts is largely in favor of the methyl 

 alcohol, while if relatively larger quantities are employed the methyl 

 alcohol is far more toxic than the ethyl alcohol, and, as a corollary 

 from this, formaldehyde under the same conditions should be more 

 toxic than acetaldehyde. Attention should also be called to the fact 

 that formaldehyde represents the simplest form of aldehyde known 

 that is, its chemical constitution shows that it is made up of carbon 

 and water. By multiplying the simple molecule, for instance, by six 

 the ordinary formula for a sugar is obtained. In other words, if a 

 chemist could start with six molecules of formaldehyde and put 

 them together in a strictly natural way, he would produce sugar, 

 which is a highly nutritious food in respect of its power to furnish 

 heat, energy, and fatty tissue. 



Physiological botanists suppose that formaldehyde is the first 

 product of chemical synthesis, tending to build up the cellulose or 

 woody tissue of plants, and forming by condensation the starch and 

 sugar which the plant contains. Its biological activity is supposed 

 by some physiologists to extend even further, so as to be a very 

 important aid in the building up of nitrogenous tissues. In this 

 connection it must be remembered that formaldehyde not only 

 possesses to a marked degree the property of combining with itself 

 to form new bodies, but, as has already been suggested, it unites in a 

 very intimate manner with the proteids. Therefore, when added 

 to milk, which contains a very large proportion of nitrogenous 

 materials, formaldehyde may enter into a chemical combination 

 with these substances. To determine whether any difference would 

 be observed in the activity of the preservative under these condi- 

 tions, the formaldehyde was administered immediately after it was 

 mixed with milk and also after allowing it to stand for forty-eight 

 hours in contact with the milk. This length of time gave ample 

 opportunity for the completion of any chemical reactions which the 

 formaldehyde might undergo in connection with the protein sub- 

 stances. 



Another point which was carefully considered was that presum- 

 ably, in the case of formaldehyde, we are dealing with a substance 

 universally considered to be of a poisonous character, and for this 

 reason much more care was necessarily exercised in regulating the 

 quantity administered in order that no sudden or unexpected toxic 

 effects might be produced. 



[Cir. 42] 



