2l6 
Current  Literature. 
f  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
<•     March,  1918. 
borax-glyeerol  solution  (i  gram  borax,  15  grams  glycerol)  to  the 
solid  residue.  Mix  thoroughly  and  place  one  drop  upon  a  Hartwich- 
Wiehmann  counting  cell.  View  through  a  microscope  by  means  of 
ultra-violet  light  and  count  the  number  of  shell  particles  visible  over 
a  given  area.  The  per  cent,  of  shells  present  can  be  ascertained  by 
counting  the  shell  particles  in  mounts  of  known  composition  pre- 
pared in  the  same  way  and  comparing  with  the  count  of  the  unj 
known.  The  samples  employed  for  comparison  must  have  about  the 
same  degree  of  fineness,    (From  The  Chemical  Engineer.) 
MEDICAL  AND  PHARMACEUTICAL. 
Paraffin  Treatment  of  Burns. — Various  preparations  of 
paraffin  have  been  made  under  Hull's  direction,  containing  acri- 
flavine,  brilliant  green,  chloramin-T,  etc.,  dissolved  in  the  paraffin 
base.  These  preparations  have  been  given  a  very  extensive  trial. 
Another  direction  in  which  the  new  antiseptics  have  been  given 
scope  for  improvements,  has  been  the  treatment  of  the  burn  by  an 
antiseptic  before  the  application  of  the  paraffin.  The  results  follow- 
ing this  modification  have  been  so  satisfactory  that  Hull  adopted  it 
as  a  routine  method.  The  method  of  application  of  the  paraffin  base 
is  the  same  in  all  cases.  The  burn  is  first  of  all  washed  with  physio- 
logic sodium  chloride  solution  or  1  in  1,000  acriflavine  solution  on 
gauze.  A  layer  of  paraffin  is  painted  over  the  burn.  The  paraffin 
is  applied  at  a  temperature  of  about  55  to  6o°  C.  A  thin  layer  of 
wool  is  placed  over  the  first  layer  of  paraffin  and  a  second  layer  of 
paraffin  at  the  same  temperature  is  painted  over  the  wool.  A 
dressing  of  wool  and  bandage  is  applied  over  the  paraffin  dressing. 
The  dressing  is  changed  every  twenty- four  hours.  The  addition  of 
antiseptics  to  the  paraffin  preparation  gave  better  results  than  prep- 
arations without  antiseptics.  The  first  antiseptic  to  be  extensively 
used  was  eucalyptus  oil,  which,  in  conjunction  with  betanaphthol,  is 
still  used  in  No.  7  paraffin.  Scarlet  red  paraffin  has  given  satis- 
factory results  in  general  use.  It  accelerates  healing.  Flavine  par- 
affin has  given  satisfactory  results.  Paraffin  preparations  of  brilliant 
green  and  chloramin-T  have  not  been  satisfactory  from  a  pharma- 
ceutical point  of  view,  the  antiseptics  being  difficult  to  incorporate 
in  the  paraffin. — From  the  British  Medical  Journal,  reprinted  from 
The  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association. 
