^ovJembe?hi8™'}    Recent  Literature  Relating  to  Pharmacy.  607 
RECENT  LITERATURE  RELATING  TO  PHARMACY. 
THE  PREPARATION  OF  HIGHLY  PHOSPHORESCENT    STRONTIUM  SULPHIDE. 
According  to  J.  R.  Mourelo  (Compt.  Rend.,  124,  1024),  the  most 
satisfactory  phosphorescent  strontium  sulphide  is  prepared  as  follows: 
An  intimate  mixture  of  285  grammes  commercial  strontium  car- 
bonate, 62  grammes  flowers  of  sulphur,  4  grammes  crystallized 
sodium  carbonate,  2-5  grammes  sodium  chloride  and  0-4  gramme 
bismuth  subnitrate  is  placed  in  a  crucible,  covered  with  a  layer  of 
coarsely  powdered  starch,  then  submitted  for  five  hours  to  a  bright 
red  heat  and  allowed  to  cool  very  slowly  during  ten  or  twelve  hours. 
A  white,  friable  mass  is  thus  obtained,  which  develops  a  fine 
greenish-blue  phosphorescence  when  exposed  for  about  one  second 
to  daylight,  and  so  intense  as  to  be  plainly  visible  in  a  shaded  situa- 
tion. The  mixture  becomes  inert  when  powdered,  but  may  usually 
be  restored  by  re-ignition  with  starch. 
PARAFORMIC  ALDEHYDE  AS  AN  ANTISEPTIC. 
Dr.  B.  H.  Paul  and  A.  J.  Cownely  [Pharmaceutical  Journal,  Au- 
gust 7,  1897),  have  conceived  the  idea  that  paraformaldehyde, 
which  is  a  solid  substance,  volatilizable  at  about  ioo°,  might  be 
used  as  a  more  compact  antiseptic  than  formaldehyde,  since,  by 
boiling  with  water,  the  para  modification  is  converted  into  form- 
aldehyde. 
Since  the  latter  in  40  per  cent,  solution  is  the  only  form  that  is 
possible  commercially,  there  would  be  a  considerable  saving  in 
transportation,  both  in  volume  and  by  using  the  para  modification. 
For  comparative  experiments  the  authors  boiled  the  solid  modi- 
fication with  water  in  the  proportion  of  four  to  ten,  connecting  the 
flask  to  an  inverted  condenser.  The  conversion  was  effected  in 
about  two  hours,  as  was  also  the  case  when  the  operation  was  con- 
ducted in  a  sealed  tube.  In  both  cases  clear  solutions  were  obtained 
with  only  traces  of  acidity.  The  products  were  assayed  by  the 
ammonium  hydrate  method  and  found  satisfactory.  The  conclu- 
sions are  that  it  is  readily  possible  to  convert  the  insoluble  para- 
formaldehyde into  its  soluble  modification,  formaldehyde,  and  that  it 
would  seem  to  be  more  advantageous  to  produce  paraformaldehyde 
than  formaldehyde  for  commercial  use,  as  the  former  is  more  readily 
manipulated  and  is  easily  rendered  soluble  to  a  suitable  degree  of 
