178 
Antiseptic  Cottons  and  Gauzes. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
April,  1887. 
brittle,  and  help,  also,  the  retention  of  the  acid  in  a  more  than  ordi- 
narily soluble  form.    Benzin  is  used  to  reduce  the  cost. 
Sublimated  Gauze. — This  dressing  is  occasionally  employed,  but  not 
nearly  to  the  same  extent  as  carbolized  gauze.  It  contains  1  part,  in 
2000,  or  20  of  one  per  cent,  of  its  active  constituent. 
Corrosive  sublimate   0.85  gm.  (13  gr.) 
Alcohol   28.5  gm.  (1  oz.  av.) 
Water   2268  gm.  (5  R>  av.) 
Gauze   1700  gm.  (59  oz.  av.,  423  gr.) 
Dissolve  the  sublimate  in  the  alcohol,  dilute  with  water  and  treat 
the  gauze,  in  layers,  with  the  liquid.    Hang  up  to  dry. 
Absorbent  Canton  Flannel. — Under  this  term  we  use,  in  the  Phila- 
delphia Hospital,  a  canton  flannel  rendered  absorbent  by  boiling  in  a 
3  per  cent,  solution  of  caustic  soda  for  1J  or  2  hours,  until  all  the 
fatty  matter  in  the  fibres  is  decomposed,  then  washing  in  several  por- 
tions of  cold  water,  then  macerating  for  10  or  15  minutes  the  product 
in  a  1.5  per  cent,  solution  of  hydrochloric  acid,  whereby  any  traces 
of  free  soda  are  neutralized,  and  the  fibres  of  the  goods  are  whitened ; 
and,  lastly,  followed  by  several  washings  in  water,  wringing  out  with 
a  machine  and  drying.  This  product  has  been  found  to  be  peculiarly 
serviceable  in  hospital  practice  as  a  cheap,  efficient  and  reliable  substi- 
tute for  all  the  minor  cases  where  at  present  the  so-called  patent  lint  is 
generally  demanded ;  for  example,  in  local  applications  of  lotion  of 
lead  water  and  laudanum,  and  as  a  dressing  Avith  various  oint- 
ments upon  chronic  sores,  ulcers,  etc.  The  proof  of  its  utility  may  be 
inferred  from  the  fact  that  while  we  used,  during  1886,  1500  yards  of 
patent  lint,  we  used,  also,  2500  yards  of  this  absorbent  canton  flanneL 
In  cost  it  is  almost  one-half  of  that  of  patent  lint. 
Apropos  of  the  subject  of  antiseptics,  the  author  was  led  some 
months  ago  to  advocate  the  use  of  iodized  starch  as  an  addition  to  our 
rapidly  growing  list  of  these  compounds.  Reasoning  that  the  anti- 
septic activity  of  iodoform  and  bismuth  subiodide  must  depend,  in 
part  or  in  whole,  upon  the  iodine  freed  in  their  decomposition,  in  con- 
tact with  decomposing  putrescent  organic  matter,  it  was  thought  that 
if  an  iodized  compound,  readily  decomposable,  was  subjected  to  the 
same  conditions,  that  it  would  induce  the  same  healthful  process  in  the 
latter  case  as  well  as  in  the  first.  Full  experience  has  demonstrated 
the  value  of  the  theory  in  this  instance,  and  iodized  starch  is  now  used 
daily  in  our  hospital  practice,  and  recognized  as  a  valuable  adjunct  in 
