Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  \ 
March,  19 18. 
Current  Literature. 
219 
observations  of  Dakin  and  his  associates,  who  assert  that  the  chlo- 
rine in  dichloramin-T,  as  in  the  hypochlorites,  has  the  power  of  dis- 
solving dead  tissues.  In  the  degree  of  alkalinity  used  clinically,  the 
solvent  action  of  hypochlorite  is  absent  below  about  0.2  per  cent, 
sodium  hypochlorite  concentration.  None  of  the  antiseptics  studied 
had  demonstrable  solvent  action  on  blood  clot. —  (Journal  of  Experi- 
mental Medicine,  Baltimore,  reprinted  from  The  Journal  of  the 
American  Medical  Association.) 
Test  of  Digesting  Power  of  Gastric  Juice. — Ramond  adds 
5  Cc.  of  filtered  gastric  juice  to  5  Cc.  of  a  3  per  cent,  solution  of 
gelatin  in  a  test  tube  at  room  temperature.  Tubes  15  Mm.  in  diam- 
eter seem  best  adapted  for  the  purpose.  The  gelatin  is  sterilized 
at  a  temperature  not  surpassing  ioo°  C,  and  the  tube  should  be 
kept  strictly  vertical.  He  usually  adds  2  Cg.  of  thymol  on  top  of  the 
gastric  juice.  A  ring  forms  in  the  gelatin  below  the  surface  and 
makes  its  way  downward.  This  is  the  work  of  the  acid  in  the  gastric 
juice.  At  the  same  time  the  surface  of  the  gelatin  grows  lower  and 
lower,  but  much  more  slowly.  The  progress  of  this  digesting  away 
of  the  gelatin  can  be  watched  by  a  graduated  scale  on  the  tube  or  a 
paper  behind  it.  The  digestion  proceeds  normally  about  2.5  Mm. 
in  twenty-four  hours.  Several  tubes  are  used  for  each  gastric 
juice.  The  test  is  a  simple  and  practical  method  of  determining  the 
digesting  power  and  the  acidity  of  a  given  gastric  juice. —  (Bulletin 
de  la  Societe  Medicate  des  Hopitaux  de  Paris,  reprinted  from  The 
Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association.) 
Antagonism  Between  Atropine  and  Physostigmine. — The 
conclusions  from  225  tests  made  at  the  pharmacology  institute  of 
the  University  of  Utrecht  are  that  a  given  amount  of  atropine  is 
able  to  neutralize  the  action  of  physostigmine  in  the  proportions  of 
1  to  1,500  up  to  1  to  1,500,000.  From  N '  ederlaudsch  Tijdschrift 
voor  Genceskunde,  Amsterdam,  by  G.  den  Besten  and  A.  Sluyters — 
p.  1 137,  reprinted  from  The  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Asso- 
ciation. 
COMMERCIAL  AND  TRADE  INTEREST. 
Patent  Medicine  Situation. — Street  reviews  the  operation  of 
the  Federal  Food  and  Drugs  Act  and  the  Sherley  amendment  and 
directs  attention  to  the  requirements  drawn  up  by  the  National 
