^'^l'im!xm'}  Sodium  Silico- Fluoride. 
607 
for  preserving  food  without  communicating  any  taste  to  it.  Many 
experiments  had  been  made  with  it  for  surgical  purposes. 
A  saturated  solution,  which  contained  0'61  per  cent.,  was  not  irri- 
tating to  wounds,  whilst  it  possessed  greater  antiseptic  power  for 
animal  tissues  than  one  part  of  perchloride  of  mercury  in  1000  of 
water,  which  is  a  stronger  solution  than  could  be  employed  for  surgical 
purposes  without  producing  poisonous  effects.  The  paper  attracted 
much  attention,  the  opinion  expressed  being  that  an  apparently  impor- 
tant discovery  had  been  made. 
At  the  request  of  Dr.  Thomas  G.  Morton,  surgeon  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Hospital,  I  have  prepared  some  fluosilicate  of  sodium  for  his 
use,  and  now  show  the  salt  to  the  College  as  a  novelty  not  yet  com- 
pletely exploited.  No  doubt  Dr.  Morton  will  soon  report  on  its  anti- 
septic properties,  though  necessarily  such  results  as  pass  the  critical 
tests  of  surgery  require  extended  time  for  observation.  The  salt  is 
made  by  generating  hydrofluosilicic  acid,  passing  it  into  water,  and 
then  saturating  the  liquid  with  carbonate  of  sodium.  There  are  some 
few  little  inconveniences  in  its  preparation,  and  care  must  be  observed 
in  the  proper  proportions  of  the  materials  used  in  the  generation  of  the 
acid,  as  an  excess  of  hydrofluoric  acid  is  dangerous  to  the  operator. 
Should  this  salt  prove  to  be  all  that  has  been  said  of  it,  no  doubt 
the  surgeon  will  gladly  welcome  it  as  a  substitute  for  the  various  anti- 
septics so  invaluable  in  the  healing  art.  The  use  of  iodoform  and 
corrosive  sublimate,  carbolic  acid,  and  the  various  compounds  brought 
forward  would  be  lessened,  and  the  disagreeable  surroundings  accom- 
panying them  be  avoided. 
September  15th,  1887,  17th  and  Fitzwater  streets. 
Tlie  Prevention  and  Treatment  of  Fly  Bites.— Mylius,  of 
Leipzig,  has  found  that  flies  have  a  most  acute  sense  of  smell,  and  that  the 
irritation  of  their  bites  is  caused  by  an  acid  lodged  in  the  wound  by  the 
sting.  After  a  long  series  of  experiments  with  ointments  and  perfumes,  he 
failed  to  find  a  satisfactory  agent  for  preventing  fly  bites,  which  could  be 
conveniently  used  with  children.  As  a  means  of  treatment  Mylius  has 
prepared  pencils  of  ammonium  carbonate,  camphor,  and  menthol  which 
can  be  instantly  applied  after  a  bite.  Occasional  cases  were  observed  in 
which  the  sting  had  entered  the  lymphatics  producing  more  severe  infec- 
tion. Such  cases  may  be  treated  by  cold  compresses  saturated  with  equal 
parts  of  dilute  carbolic  acid  solution  and  lead  water,  to  which  is  added  10 
per  cent,  spirit  of  camphor. — Deutsche  medicinische  Wochenschrift ;  Med- 
News,  September  3,  1887. 
