462 
Current  Literature. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1 9 18. 
Oleic  Acid  Contaminated  with  Iron  Causes  Spontaneous 
Combustion. — In  a  technical  process,  fibers  were  oiled  with  oleic 
acid  and  then  conveyed  to  bins  in  a  current  of  air.  Spontaneous 
combustion  ensued.  The  oleic  acid  was  found  to  have  a  normal 
iodine  value,  and  other  tests  revealed  nothing  of  a  suspicious  nature. 
It  contained,  however,  iron  equivalent  to  0.1  per  cent,  of  ferric  oxide. 
This  was  proved  to  act  as  a  catalyzer  in  promoting  oxidation.  This 
degree  of  contamination  with  iron  is  not  uncommon  with  commercial 
oleic  acid.  Shaking  the  acid  with  dilute  hydrochloric  acid  does  not 
remove  the  iron. — W.  S.  Hughes  (/.  Ind.  Eng.  Chem.,  1917,  11, 
2280.    From  Pharm.  Journ.  and  Pharmacist) . 
The  Common  Frog's  Heart  Unsuitable  for  Digitalis  Stand- 
ardization.— The  isolated  heart  of  the  common  frog,  Rana  tem- 
p  or  aria,  should  not  be  used  for  accurately  standardizing  digitalis, 
since  it  absorbs  part  of  the  active  principles,  and  therefore  behaves 
differently  from  the  heart  of  the  edible  frog,  R.  esculcnta,  which 
alone  should  be  employed  for  the  purpose.  The  common  frog's 
heart  may  prove  useful  as  a  control ;  and  rough  determinations  within 
ten  per  cent,  of  accuracy  may  be  made  with  it  with  digitalis  and 
strophanthus.  M.  Krough  (Ugeskrift  for  Lacgcr:  J.  Amcr.  Med. 
Assoc.,  1917,  68,  1672.    From  Pharm.  Journ.  and  Pharmacist) . 
Chlorine  Useless  against  Mosquito  Larwe. — In  view  of  the 
fact  that  a  very  small  amount  of  free  chlorine  is  sufficient  to  render 
a  polluted  water  safe  for  drinking,  experiments  were  made  to  see 
if  it  had  an  value  as  a  larvicide  on  aquatic  larvae.  It  was  found, 
however,  that  the  larvae  of  the  mosquito,  Stcgioma  fasciata,  in  tap 
water,  or  in  stagnant  water,  their  natural  habitat,  were  unaffected 
by  chlorine  in  a  proportion  of  1  125,000.  In  a  1  : 100,000  dilution 
all  were  killed  in  24  hours.  This  proportion,  however,  is  greatly 
in  excess  of  what  could  be  practically  used.  It  is  concluded  that 
chlorine  is  useless  for  killing  mosquito  larvae. — J.  W.  S.  MacFie 
(Report  of  Accra  Lab.  Prop.  Diseases,  Bull.:  Chem.  Abstr.,  191 7, 
11,  2247.    From  Pharm.  Journ.  and  Pharmacist). 
A  New  Acid  Sodium  Phosphate. — This  salt,  Na4P6017,  for 
which  the  name  sodium  polyphosphate  is  proposed,  is  easily  pre- 
pared by  evaporating  mixtures  of  sodium  hydroxide  or  carbonate 
with  phosphoric  acid  and  heating  the  residue  finally  to  a  bright  red 
heat  in  a  muffle.    The  product  is  a  vitreous  mass  slowly  soluble  in 
