496  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.     {Al October. Pi9™' 
The  Creosote  Question. 
By  William  Mittelbach. 
The  author  refers  to  the  action  of  the  A. Ph. A.  regarding  the 
nomenclature  of  creosote  and  said  it  was  hoped  that  "  coal-tar  creo- 
sote "  would  be  dropped  from  the  price  lists  of  manufacturers,  etc. 
With  but  few  exceptions  coal-tar  creosote  is  quoted  as  conspicuously 
as  heretofore,  one  has  it  14  commercial  creosote,"  another  quotes  it 
"  German  creosote,"  and  still  another  "  the  white  from  coal  tar." 
The  author  contends  that  the  use  of  the  word  creosote  in  connection 
with  any  other  product  except  that  from  beechwood,  should  be 
made  a  violation  of  law,  just  as  much  as  the  word  listerine  when 
used  by  substitution.  The  author  points  out  that  many  pharmacists 
and  physicians  buy  the  cheaper  product  regardless  of  its  derivation, 
and  they  seem  to  care  nothing  for  quality.  It  is  the  price  appar- 
ently of  the  coal-tar  product  that  keeps  it  in  use  and  not  the  merits 
of  the  article. 
The  Presence  of  Arsenic  in  Chemicals. 
By  Lyman  F.  Kebler. 
The  author  briefly  reviewed  the  history  of  the  Marsh  test  and 
made  comparative  tests  between  it  and  the  other  well-known 
methods  used  for  dectecting  the  presence  of  arsenic,  such  as 
Reinch's,  Bettendorff's,  Fleitman's,  Gutzeit's,  etc.  From  a  series  of 
tests  made  it  was  found  that  the  Marsh-Berzelius  test  was  much  the 
superior  and  reliable. 
Nearly  the  whole  realm  of  medicinal  chemicals  was  examined 
and  many  of  them  shown  to  contain  arsenic.  The  most  notable  was 
sodium  phosphate,  of  which  one  sample  contained  -J^  of  a  grain  of 
arsenic  in  5  grammes  of  the  material.  Not  a  sample  of  glycerin 
was  examined  which  did  not  contain  arsenic.  Honey  was  also  ex- 
amined and  found  practically  free  from  arsenic,  while  on  the  other 
hand,  tobacco  appeared  to  contain  a  considerable  amount. 
New  Methods  for  the  Microscopical  Examination  of  the 
Commercial  Starches. 
By  Henry  Kraemer. 
The  author  illustrated  the  effects  which  various  reagents  have  on 
starch-grains  by  means  of  drawings,  and  said  that  (1)  On  the  treat- 
