Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1918. 
Current  Literature. 
463 
cold  water,  more  rapidly  dissolved  on  warming.  The  solution  is 
nearly  neutral  to  both  phenolphthalein  and  methyl  orange.  It  is 
difficult  to  obtain  the  pure  salt,  since  it  has  a  powerful  corrosive 
action,  especially  near  its  melting  point,  on  vessels  of  all  material. 
Platinum  used  with  it  becomes  so  brittle  that  it  may  be  torn  like 
paper;  nickel  was  attacked  until  the  mixture  consisted  entirely  of 
nickel  and  sodium  pyrophosphates ;  glaze  of  porcelain  was  badly 
corroded,  alkalies  being  removed  and  silica  liberated ;  even  quartz 
dishes  were  perceptibly  attacked  and  silica  contaminated  the  salt 
contained  in  them. — J.  H.  Smith  (/.  Soc.  Chem.  Ind.,  1917,  36,  419. 
From  Pharm.  Journ.  and  Pharmacist) . 
MEDICAL,  PHARMACEUTICAL  AND  DISPENSING 
NOTES. 
Methods  of  Control  of  Clothes  Louse  {Pediculus  Humanus 
Vestimenti). — W.  Moore,  of  St.  Paul,  shows  that  sachets  are  not 
sucessful.  Talc,  20  Gm.,  creosote,  1  Cc,  and  sulphur,  0.5  Gm.,  is 
six  times  as  effective  a  louse  powder  as  naphthalene,  creosote  and 
iodoform,  causing  less  irritation  to  the  skin  and,  being  dry,  is  easier 
to  apply.  Impregnation  of  the  underwear  does  not  appear  promis- 
ing, but  a  cheesecloth  suit  impregnated  with  saturated  solution  of 
sulphur  in  creosote  could  be  successfully  worn  outside  the  under- 
wear. Chlorpicrin  can  be  used  as  a  fumigant,  penetrating  the  cloth- 
ing and  killing  the  lice  in  all  parts  of  the  clothing  in  fifteen  minutes 
and  the  eggs  in  thirty  minutes.  By  increasing  the  heat  in  the  fumi- 
gation chamber,  the  time  required  to  kill  the  eggs  could  be  reduced. 
(From  The  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association,  March 
23,  1918.) 
Ameba  Found  in  Trench  Fever. — Truidin  is  convinced  that 
the  infectious  disease  he  describes,  known  as  "  trench  fever,"  is  a 
disease  sui  generis.  Also,  that  the  ameba  he  found  in  the  blood 
stands  in  some  causal  relation  to  it.  He  found  the  protozoon  in  75 
per  cent,  of  his  twenty-four  cases,  but  exclusively  during  the  first 
three  days  of  the  disease.  The  blood  showed  the  characteristics  of 
a  severe  blood  disease.  Coagulation  was  retarded ;  in  some  it  began 
at  the  tenth  minute,  in  others  not  until  the  twenty-third.  The  aver- 
age was  eighteen  minutes.     (From  Russkivy  Vrach,  Petrograd, 
