322 
Liquid  Petrolatum. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1914. 
the  value  of  the  legislation  is  largely  nullified  by  the  amended  form 
in  which  the  bill  was  passed.  This  law  provides  that  "  Tablets  con- 
taining more  than  i/io  grain  of  mercury  bichloride  must  be  of 
either  triangular,  diamond,  square,  oblong,  or  other  irregular  shape, 
and  their  color  must  be  either  blue,  purple,  or  green,  with  the  word 
'  Poison  '  imprinted  or  embossed  on  each  tablet.  Further,  these 
tablets  can  only  be  sold,  dispensed,  or  given  away  in  bottles  upon  one 
side  of  which  the  word  '  Poison  '  has  been  blown,  and  when  a  label 
with  the  word  '  Poison  '  is  placed  on  the  face  of  the  bottle." 
The  restrictions  regarding  the  package  and  labelling  are  such  as 
are  commonly  employed  by  all  of  the  manufacturers,  but  the  very 
needed  protection  to  the  consumer  has  been  lost  sight  of  by  the  over- 
powering commercial  spirit  that  prevented  the  selection  of  a  dis- 
tinctive shape  for  the  tablets.  Any  one  of  a  number  of  shapes  is 
equivalent  to  no  shape,  and  the  very  indefiniteness  of  the  act  as 
passed  through  the  influence  of  the  manufacturers  destroys  its  value 
as  a  measure  for  the  safety  of  the  public. 
LIQUID  PETROLATUM  OR  "  RUSSIAN  MINERAL  OIL." 
Report  of  the  Council  on  Pharmacy  and  Chemistry. 
The  following  report  was  submitted  to  the  Council  by  a  referee 
and  publication  authorized. 
W.  A.  Puckner,  Secretary. 
Petroleum  has  been  in  use  as  a  medicine  from  time  immemorial. 
It  was  known  to  Herodotus  400  years  before  Christ,  and  is  mentioned 
by  Plutarch,  Dioscorides,  Pliny,  and  other  early  writers.  It  was 
extensively  used  by  the  Arabians  and  evidently  played  an  important 
part  in  the  practice  of  medicine  in  India,  being  known  to  the  Benga- 
lese  as  Muthe  Katel.  The  raw  product  was  the  substance  used  in 
earlier  times  and  differed  much  in  character  and  composition,  as 
obtained  from  different  sources. 
As  an  internal  remedy  it  was  early  employed  in  chronic 
pulmonary  affections,  in  obstinate  skin  diseases,  in  rheumatism,  and 
for  the  expelling  of  tapeworms.  It  was  extensively  used  for  these 
several  purposes  in  France  under  the  name  "  Oleum  Gabianum  "  and 
in  North  America  as  "  Seneka  oil."  The  internal  use  of  the  refined 
product  may  be  traced  to  a  patent  granted  to  Robert  A.  Chesebrough, 
