Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
December,  1917.  J 
Advances  in  Pharmacy. 
589 
Dosage :  This  chemical  is  commercially  available  in  the  form  of 
tablets  combined  with  sodium  carbonate  (or  sodium  borate)  and 
sodium  chloride ;  one  of  these  tablets  containing  from  0.004  to 
0.008  Gm.  of  the  active  chemical  is  added  to  a  liter  of  water. 
It  is  a  white  powder  having  a  strong  odor  of  chlorine.  It  is 
slightly  soluble  in  water  and  chloroform ;  insoluble  in  petroleum 
ether ;  soluble  in  glacial  acetic  acid,  benzene,  and  with  the  formation 
of  the  salt  in  alkali  hydroxide  solutions.  Crystallizes  in  stout 
prisms  from  glacial  acetic  acid.  When  pure  the  melting  point  is 
2130  C.  Parasulphonedichloramidobenzoic  acid  was  first  made  by 
Dakin  and  Dunham  (British  Medical  Journal,  May  20,  19 17,  p. 
682)  under  the  name  "  Halazone."  It  is  prepared  by  oxidizing 
paratoluenesulphoneamid  to  parasulphoneamidobenzoic  acid  and 
chlorinating  the  latter.  It  liberates  iodin  from  neutral  solution  of 
sodium  iodide  and  bromine  from  a  neutral  solution  of  sodium 
bromide.  The  available  chlorine  content  is  26.2  per  cent,  and  should 
not  be  lower  than  24  per  cent.  (Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  Oct.  6, 
1917,  p.  1166). 
Ambrine. — This  much  advertised  French  preparation  which  has 
been  recommended  so  highly  for  burns  consists  principally  of  hard 
paraffine,  to  which  its  efficacy  is  entirely  due.  Like  many  proprie- 
tary preparations  of  a  secret  nature  its  composition  is  not  always 
constant.  It  consists  essentially  of  a  hard  paraffine  combined  with  a 
small  quantity  of  an  asphalt-like  body  and  to  which  combination  a 
fatty  oil  has  been  incorporated.  Undoubtedly  a  number  of  com- 
mercial paraffines  on  the  market,  even  without  admixture  of  other 
substances  will  be  found  to  answer  just  as  well,  in  fact  some  ob- 
servers have  found  them  decidedly  superior  to  ambrine.  There  is 
no  reason  why  a  simple  paraffine  wax,  with  a  melting-point  of  be- 
tween 440  and  480  C,  should  not  answer  every  requirement  for  mak- 
ing these  paraffine  films  (Jour.  Amer.  Med.  Assoc.,  vol.  68,  p.  1497). 
Sparteine  More  Soluble  in  Cold  than  in  Hot  Water. — It 
has  been  noticed  that  sparteine  becomes  less  soluble  in  water  as  the 
temperature  rises.  The  least  elevation  of  temperature  in  a  solution 
saturated  in  the  cold  causes  a  turbidity  which  rapidly  disappears  on 
cooling.  It  has  also  been  noticed  that  the  presence  of  sodium  car- 
bonate adds  to  the  sensitiveness  of  the  phenomenon  to  such  a  degree 
as  to  afford  a  delicate  test  for  the  identification  of  the  base.  To 
identify  sparteine  sulphate  the  test  which  follows  is  suggested :  A 
