Am.  Jour.  Pharm.) 
December,  1904.  > 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
589 
Presence  of  Formaldehyde  in  Smoke. — A.  Trillat  finds  that  for- 
maldehyde is  invariably  present  in  the  products  of  combustion  and 
smoke  of  organic  materials,  such  as  wood,  paper,  cellulose  and 
tobacco.  In  some  cases  as  much  as  i-i-ooo  of  the  material,  even 
simple  hydrocarbons,  like  benzol,  toluene  and  xylene,  give  apprecia- 
ble quantities.  He  concludes,  therefore,  that  formaldehyde  is  a  con- 
stant and  normal  constituent  of  the  combustion  products.  {Compt. 
Rend.,  through  Phar.  Jour.,  September,  1904,  page  378.) 
Poisoning  by  Wood  Alcohol. — Dr.  Frank  Buller,  of  Montreal,  and 
Dr.  Casey  A.  Wood,  of  Chicago,  presented  a  lengthy  report  on  the 
cases  of  death  and  blindness  from  wood  alcohol,  Columbian 
spirits  and  other  methylated  preparations  before  the  section  on 
ophthalmology  at  the  meeting  of  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion in  Atlantic  City  last  June.  This  report  has  been  published 
(Jour.  Am.  Med.  Assoc. ,  October  1,  8,  15,  22  and  28),  and  contains 
much  that  should  be  of  interest  to  the  pharmacist. 
Among  the  commmercial  forms  of  methyl  alcohol  the  authors 
enumerate  as  crude  productions :  wood  alcohol,  wood  spirit,  pyro- 
ligneous  spirit,  wood  naphtha  and  methylated  spirits.  Of  the  deodo- 
rized products,  Columbian  spirits,  Colonial  spirits,  Union  spirits, 
Eagle  spirits,  green  wood  spirits  and  standard  wood  spirits.  These 
several  products  have  been  and  are  being  recommended  to  be  used 
for  bathing,  burning  and  cleaning.  In  all  of  these  uses  ample 
opportunity  is  afforded  for  absorption  of  the  poison. 
The  authors  conclude  that  methyl  or  wood  alcohol  in  any  of  its 
forms  is  a  dangerous  poison,  menacing  both  life  and  eyesight.  To 
this  date  at  least  153  cases  of  blindness  and  no  less  than  122 
deaths  have  resulted  from  its  use. 
Almatein  is  a  combination  of  hematoxylin  with  formaldehyde 
and  is  an  odorless  powder,  soluble  in  alcohol  and  in  glycerin.  It  is 
being  recommended  as  a  substitute  for  iodoform.  [Phar.  Cent.  Halle , 
1904,  page  794.) 
Cyclogalliphanc  Acid  is  the  name  given  by  Kunz-Krause  and  Schelle 
to  a  new  acid  which  they  have  isolated  from  gall-nuts.  The  acid 
crystallizes  in  prisms,  and  is  insoluble  in  water,  but  soluble  in  most 
organic  solvents.  Its  formula  is  C21H36Os.  It  is  non-basic,  yields  a 
mono-acetyl  derivative  and  gives  a  blue  precipitate  with  ferric 
chloride.    (Chem.  and  Drug.,  September,  page  546.) 
Digalen. — This  is  said  to  be  a  soluble  digitoxin,  obtained  by  a 
