Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
December,  191 7.  > 
Current  Literature. 
609 
The  aqueous  solution  thus  obtained  will  be  bright  red,  leaving  the 
powder  on  the  filter  grayish-violet.  This  red  aqueous  filtrate  is 
acidified  with  hydrochloric  acid  shaken  out  with  amyl  alcohol  and 
tested  with  uranium  acetate,  as  above.  It  gives  the  characteristic 
violet  reaction  of  ammoniacal  cochineal.  The  above  insoluble  cal- 
cium lake  left  on  the  filter  is  then  decomposed  with  hydrochloric 
acid ;  the  orange  acid  solution  thus  obtained  tested  in  the  same  way 
after  again  shaking  out  with  amyl  alcohol,  gives  the  emerald  green 
color  of  carmine.  (C.  F.  Muttelet,  Annates  des  Falsifications,  191 7, 
10,228,  through  The  Pharmaceutical  Journal  and  Pharmacist.) 
Production  of  Antipneumococcic  Serum. — In  the  production 
of  immune  serum  for  therapeutic  purposes  Cole  and  Moore  say  that 
strict  attention  must  be  paid  to  the  immunologic  specificity  of  the 
bacteria  used  for  immunization.  At  present  the  only  serum  of  which 
the  therapeutic  value  has  been  proved  is  that  effective  against  Type 
I  pneumococcus  infection.  This  serum  should  have  agglutinating 
power  for  Type  I  pneumococcus  and  should  have  the  power  of  pro- 
tecting mice  against  large  amounts  of  virulent  culture.  Experi- 
ments have  shown  that  for  producing  the  primary  immunity  most 
rapidly  several  series  of  small  doses  of  dead  cultures  should  be 
given,  the  injections  being  made  daily  for  six  or  seven  days,  fol- 
lowed by  a  week  in  which  no  injections  are  made.  To  produce  the 
highest  type  of  immunity,  probably,  living  organisms  are  required. 
These  should  be  given  in  moderate  doses  daily  for  three  days,  with 
an  interval  of  a  week  between  each  series  of  injections.  By  foil- 
lowing  accurately  the  methods  described,  horses  may  be  made  to 
produce  rapidly  a  high  grade  of  specific  serum.  The  observations 
so  far  made  indicate  the  importance  of  employing  small  doses  of 
culture  frequently  repeated  in  this  form  of  immunization.  {Journal 
of  the  American  Medical  Association.) 
Sodium  Perchlorate  as  a  Micro-Reagent. — In  191 3  it  was 
shown  that  sodium  perchlorate  affords  a  characteristic  micro-crys- 
talline precipitate  with  cocaine.  Subsequently,  it  was  found  that 
the  well-known  reaction  between  sodium  perchlorate  and  potassium 
salts  was  applicable  to  the  micro-detection  of  the  latter  alkali.  If  a 
drop  of  a  4  or  5  per  cent,  solution  of  any  soluble  salt  of  potassium 
is  treated  with  a  drop  of  a  1  : 20  aqueous  solution  of  sodium  per- 
chlorate, and  the  mixture  is  examined  under  a  low  power,  as  soon 
