AmMMch, Sot?  11 "}     Approved  Proprietary  Preparations.  125 
that  this  report  be  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  American  Medical 
Association. 
The  recommendation  of  the  subcommittee  was  adopted  by  the 
Council  in  accordance  with  which  the  report  is  published. 
W.  A.  Puckner,  Secretary. 
In  a  letter  to  the  editor  of  the  Journal  of  the  American  Medical 
Association,  Mr.  Tyree  admits  changing  the  formula  of  the  powder, 
and  says  that  it  had  been  his  intention  to  state  to  the  medical  pro- 
fession his  reasons  for  making  the  change.  In  commenting  on  the 
letter  it  is  noted  that  Mr.  Tyree  does  not  state  whether  the  change 
was  made  one  year  ago  or  five  years  ago,  but  the  sample  for  the 
first  analysis  was  purchased  last  February,  and  the  first  chemist's 
report  was  submitted  to  the  Council  March  5,  1906.  On  April  4th, 
Mr.  Tyree  was  notified  by  the  Council  that  the  composition  of 
"  Tyree's  Antiseptic  Powder  "  did  not  correspond  with  the  formula 
published  by  him.  Whether  or  not  Mr.  Tyree  is  justified  in  offering 
to  physicians  a  preparation  as  composed  chiefly  of  borax  and  alum, 
when  in  reality  it  is  composed  of  boric  acid  and  zinc  sulphate,  is 
left  for  physicians  to  judge. 
FRAUD  AND  DECEPTION  IN  PREPARATIONS  OF  COD-LIVER  OIL. 
The  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  October  13, 
1906,  exposes  the  fraud  and  deception  practised  by  certain  proprie- 
tary firms  in  putting  on  the  market  preparations  purporting  to  con- 
tain cod-liver  oil,  when,  in  fact,  they  contain  no  oil  at  all.  It  is 
conceded  by  pharmacologists  that  the  value  of  these  remedies  de- 
pends on  the  nutritive  power  of  the  fat,  and  any  preparation  which 
contains  fat  must  respond  to  simple  tests  which  the  physician  can 
personally  apply.  The  preparations  claiming  to  represent  cod-liver 
oil  are  in  liquid  form,  and  if  they  contain  oil  it  must  be  in  one  of 
the  following  forms  : 
(1)  An  emulsion  of  the  oil  which  may  be  miscible  with  water,  but 
from  which  the  fat  tends  to  separate  and  rise  to  the  top.  In  this 
form  the  fat  can  be  seen  as  globules  under  the  microscope. 
(2)  A  solution,  resulting  from  the  saponification  of  the  oil,  con- 
taining a  soap  which  usually  will  be  alkaline  in  reaction,  especially 
when  mixed  with  water,  and  from  which  fatty  acids  are  separated 
as  a  precipitate  when  the  solution  is  acidified. 
