130 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
J  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\     March,  1910 
that  drugs  like- veronal  could  not  be  so  easily  obtained. — Pharm.  ]., 
Lond.,  1909,  83,  p.  690. 
Adulterated  Squill. — Karl  Dieterich  reports  sorting  over  20  kilos 
of  squill  and  separating  out  upward  of  1  kilo  of  fair-sized  fragments 
of  stone.  This  he  thinks  is  too  great  a  proportion  to  accept  as  being- 
accidental. — Pharm.  Zentralh.,  1909,  50,  pp.  971-972. 
Echinacea. — A  report  of  the  Council  on  Pharmacy  and  Chem- 
istry of  the  American  Medical  Association  reviews  the  history  and 
the  uses  of  echinaceas  and  points  out  that  its  use  is  characterized 
by  an  absolute  lack  of  scientific  scrutiny  of  the  claims  that  have 
been  made  for  it,  and  that  until  more  reliable  evidence  is  presented 
in  its  favor  it  is  unworthy  of  consideration. — /.  Am.  M.  Assoc., 
53,  P-  1836. 
Sugar  Production. — An  abstract  from  the  Board  of  Trade 
Journal  gives  the  total  sugar  production  of  Europe  during  the 
season  1908-9  as  being  6,487,000  metric  tons  as  compared  with 
6,562,274  metric  tons  in  1907-8.  The  production  of  sugar  in  extra 
European  countries  is  estimated  at  7,765,500  metric  tons,  thus 
making  a  total  sugar  production  for  1908-9  about  14,252,500  metric 
tons  as  compared  with  13,911,655  metric  tons  in  1907-8. — Pharm.  /., 
Lond.,  1909,  83,  p.  690. 
Hydrogen  Dioxide. — Endemann  (Annates  de  chimie  analytique) 
remarks  that  the  acidity  of  this  substance,  when  titrated  with  sodium 
hydrate,  using  phenolphthalein  as  an  indicator,  will  vary  with  the 
age  of  the  preparation.  According  to  his  observations  the  addition 
of  sodium  hydrate  to  an  active  solution,  of  hydrogen  dioxide  tends 
to  form  NaOOH  which  does  not  give  an  alkaline  reaction  with  the 
phenolphthalein.  To  obtain  exact  results  he  proposes  adding  an 
excess  of  alkali,  heating  to  decompose  the  peroxide,  and,  after  cool- 
ing, titrating  back  with  solution  of  hydrochloric  acid. — /.  de  Pharm. 
d'Anvers.,  1909,  65,  p.  863. 
Gelatin,  Sterilized  Solutions  of. — George  P.  Forrester  points 
out  that  the  possibility  of  gelatines  harboring  tetanus  spores  makes 
the  preparation  and  use  of  solutions  of  gelatin  a  source  of  anxiety 
to  the  manufacturer  and  the  physician.  He  outlines  several  methods 
for  preparing  solution  of  gelatin,  including  that  of  the  Swiss  Phar- 
macopoeia, which  provides  for  controlling  the  sterility  of  solutions 
of  gelatin  by  injecting  them  into  guinea-pigs  and  white  mice. — 
Pharm.  J.,  Lond.,  1909,  83,  p.  794. 
Colors,  Odors,  and  Flavors  in  Pharmacy. — These  are  discussed 
