444 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
(  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I  September,  1902. 
per  cent,  solution  of  hydrogen  dioxide  to  minus  20  or  23  degrees 
centigrade.  Despite  the  fact  that  this  crystalline  compound  com- 
bines with  explosive  violence  with  readily  oxydizable  materials,  it 
appears  to  be  quite  stable  under  favorable  conditions. 
Microcidin  (Sodium  naphtolatej.  Belioz  [Jour,  des  Practiciens)  has 
used  this  for  several  years  and  considers  it  a  powerful  antiseptic.  It 
may  be  made  according  to  the  following  formula : 
Naphtol  B  25 
liquid  caustic  soda,  30  per  cent.  ............  40 
Distilled  water  40 
Mix  the  soda  solution  and  water  and  dissolve  the  naphtol  by  aid 
of  heat.  Evaporate  to  dryness.  The  resulting  powder  is  white  or 
nearly  white,  and  freely  soluble  in  water.  As  an  antiseptic  it  is  said 
to  be  used  in  solutions  of  from  three  to  five  parts  in  a  thousand. 
Opium. — According  to  Gehe  &  Co.'s  "  Handelsberichte  "  this  drug 
is  being  systematically  and  extensively  adulterated.  It  appears 
that  there  are  two  distinct  varieties  of  opium — the  soft  or  manu- 
facturers opium,  used  largely  for  the  production  of  opium  alkaloids, 
is  usually  sold  by  units  of  assay ;  while  the  other,  that  is  known 
as  Smyrna  or  druggists  opium,  if  it  meets  the  particular  pharmaco- 
pceial  requirement  for  morphine,  has  other  points  of  favor  beside 
the  total  alkaloidal  content.  It  is  this  latter  grade  of  opium  that  is 
being  systematically  cheapened  by  the  admixture  of  either  cheaper 
grades  of  opium  ;  or  where  this  will  not  reduce  the  morphine  strength 
sufficiently,  or  is  not  readily  available,  the  opium  is  cheapened  by 
the  addition  of  wheat-flour  or  powdered  poppy  heads.  It  is  then 
worked  over  into  cakes  and  wrapped  in  poppy  leaves,  like  the 
original.  Von  Vogl,  in  calling  attention  to  this  same  fact,  states 
that  he  had  seen  a  sample  of  opium  in  which  the  adulterant  had 
evidently  been  an  inferior  grade  of  gum  arabic  or  gum  tragacanth. 
Pancreone. — This  substance  is  a  reddish-gray  powder,  nearly  or 
quite  tasteless,  insoluble  in  water  or  dilute  acids,  but  freely  soluble 
in  faintly  alkaline  media.  It  is  obtained  by  the  action  of  tannin  on 
pancreatin,  and  is  said  to  be  capable  of  withstanding  the  action  of 
the  gastric  juices  without  injury,  becoming  active,  however,  in  the 
alkaline  fluids  of  the  intestines.  It  is  given  in  doses  of  from  o-io 
to  0-50  in  the  form  oi  powder,  cachet  or  tablet  [Muench.  Med.  Woch.) 
Pulmoform  is  the  name  given  to  methyl  guaiacol,  or  a  combina- 
tion of  formaldehyde  and  guaiacol.  Said  to  be  odorless  and  tasteless 
