Am  Dec.?i887arm'}    Abstracts  from  the  French  Journals.  613 
dation.  Thirty-six  hours  afterward  the  pupil  commenced  to  contract ; 
accommodation  was  established  on  the  third  day,  but  dilatation  did 
not  end  until  the  fifth  or  sixth.  He  noted  that  in  dilatation,  after  in- 
gestion, the  right  pupil  was  much  more  dilated  than  the  left.  Brom- 
hydrate  of  hyoscine,  in  doses  of  one-quarter  to  one-half  mgm.  as  a 
potion  or  hypodermic  injection,  gave  excellent  results  in  insomnia 
caused  by  mental  strain  (surmenage),  and  in  ptyalism. 
Formulae  for  Iodol  (as  used  by  Professor  Trousseau)  are  given 
in  the  Union  Med.  An  ointment  is  made  with  equal  parts  of  iodol 
and  petrolatum ;  and  a  solution  (for  external  use)  is  composed  of  io- 
dol, 1  gm.  ;  alcohol,  1.5  gm ;  glycerin,  35  gm.  Iodol  is  said  to  con- 
tain 80  to  90  per  cent,  of  iodine,  and  possesses  the  advantages  of  iodo- 
form without  its  odor.  It  is  thought  to  be  excellent  as  a  dressing  in 
ulcerative  cancer ;  and  in  obstinate  ulcers  is  superior  to  iodoform  in 
anaesthetic  and  antiseptic  properties.  Dr.  Trousseau  has  said  to  have 
had  good  results  from  it  in  ocular  therapeutics,  to  wit :  blepharites 
with  ulceration;  scrofulous  or  lymphatic  affections  of  the  conjunctiva; 
granular  or  phlyctenular  conjunctivites;  sluggish  ulcerations  of  the 
cornea,  and  maladies  of  the  lachrymal  passages.  See  also  Am.  Jour. 
Phar.,  1887,  p.  461. 
Phenic  Acid  Measured  by  Droppers. — M.  Fleury  (J.  de  Ph. 
et  de  Ch.)  finds  that  for  small  quantities  of  the  diluted  mixture  a 
correct  dropper  is  much  more  accurate  than  a  scale.  He  says  also 
that  the  use  of  95  per  cent,  alcohol  as  a  diluent  gives  rise  to  great 
variations  in  the  strength  and  character  of  the  mixture.  He  uses  a 
solution  of  equal  parts  by  weight  of  acid  and  of  alcohol  of  60  per 
cent.  M.  Fleury  adopts  this  because  solutions  of  phenic  acid  and 
strong  alcohol  are  volatile  and  would  soon  possess  a  disproportionate 
amount  of  acid ;  and,  finally,  the  influence  of  temperature  upon  the 
weight  and  volume  of  the  drops  is  increased  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  alcohol  contained  in  them. 
Naphtol  :  Reactions  and  Solubility. — In  the  Archives  de 
Pharm.,  November  5,  1887,  M.  Desesquelle,  a  Parisian  pharmacist, 
makes  some  strictures  upon  current  opinions  concerning  /9  naphtol. 
German  chemists,"  he  writes,  "  say  that  ft  naphtol  dissolves  in  about 
1000  parts  of  cold  water  and  75  parts  of  boiling  water;  Andouard 
(Traite  de  Pharm.,  1886)  says  that  it  dissolves  in  550  parts  of  cold 
water.  I  find  that  both  writers  exaggerate  the  solubility  of  naphtol. 
It  requires  about  5000  parts  of  distilled  water  at  +18°  to  dissolve 
