Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
December,  1914.  / 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
563 
possibility  for  denaturing  the  product  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  the 
tax-free  article  available  for  external  use  in  medicine. 
Amylum.  (Southworth,  Thomas  S.) — While  it  is  an  established 
fact  that  even  young  infants  are  prepared  to  digest  moderate  quan- 
tities of  boiled  starch,  the  indication  for  its  use  appears  to  lie  in  those 
suffering  from  disturbances  of  digestion  and  nutrition.  The  chief 
end  subserved  by  the  addition  of  starch  is  not  solely  to  nourish  the 
infant,  but  to  promote  nutrition  by  making  possible  a  more  orderly 
digestion  and  absorption  of  its  main  nutriment,  milk. — /.  Am.  M. 
Assoc.,  1914,  vol.  63,  p.  1377. 
Camphor.  (Cairis,  Valentine.) — The  comparative  toxicity  of  cam- 
phor in  different  vehicles.  In  the  undissolved  state  the  lethal  dose  of 
camphor  in  the  digestive  system  of  the  guinea-pig  is  between  0.14  and 
o.i8~Gm.  per  100  Gm.  body  weight.  In  ether-alcohol  solution  the 
toxicity  is  markedly  increased.  Dissolved  in  oil,  it  is  notably  less 
poisonous.  When  given  hypodermically,  the  toxicity  of  camphor  in 
oily  solutions  is  far  below  that  in  alcohol  and  water,  and  in  all  cases 
is  greater  than  the  effect  produced  by  oral  administration.  The 
toxicity  is  much  higher  by  peritoneal  injection  than  by  any  other  way 
of  administration;  but  by  this  method  the  oily  solution  is  still  the 
least  toxic  of  any. — /.  Pharm.  Chem.,  1914,  vol.  10,  p.  224 ;  Pharm.  J., 
1914,  vol.  93,  p.  457. 
Cottonroot  Bark. — Power  and  Browning  report  a  chemical 
examination  of  cottonroot  bark.  No  alkaloid  is  contained  in  the 
bark,  and  no  evidence  could  be  obtained  of  the  presence  of  tannin.— 
Pharm.  J.,  1914,  vol.  93,  p.  423. 
Ergot.  (Rosenbloom  and  Schildecker.) — The  successful  isola- 
tion of  ergotin  in  crystals  from  certain  organs  in  a  case  of  acute  ergot 
poisoning. — /.  Am.  M.  Assoc.,  1914,  vol.  63,  pp.  1203,  1204. 
Ipecac.  (Hesse,  O.) — Ipecamine  and  hydroipecamine,  two  new 
alkaloids,  were  found  in  the  course  of  an  investigation  of  the  alka- 
loidal  constituents  of  ipecacuanha. — Liebig's  Annalen,  1914,  vol.  403, 
p.  1 ;  Pharm.  J.,  1914,  vol.  93,  p.  425. 
Mercuric  Benzoate.  (Rupp  and  Hermann.) — Mercuric  benzoate, 
which  is  official  in  the  French  Pharmacopoeia,  has  been  recom- 
mended as  the  most  suitable  salt  for  hypodermic  injection.  Since 
it  is  a  normal  salt  it  is  not  apparent  why  it  should  be  less  ionized  in 
solution  than  any  other  mercuric  salt. — Arch.  d.  Pharm.,  vol.  252,  No. 
3 ;  Pharm.  J.,  1914,  vol.  93,  p.  323. 
