9o8  Hydrocyamc  Acid.  { ^"D.LZberS; 
not  to  be  expected,  immediate  nor  early  blindness,  from  such  a 
draught.  And  therein  lies  the  danger,  so  apparent  to  all  who  are 
familiar  with  the  cumulative  action  of  drugs  and  the  insidious  in- 
fluence of  liquor. 
Proper  djoses  of  paraldehyde  produce  some  physiological  effects 
associated  with  ethyl  alcohol.  It  has  been  stated,  but  not  authorita- 
tively supported,  that  paraldehyde  was  shipped  to  Russia  from 
another  country  (not  the  United  States)  to  serve  as  a  substitute  for 
vodka.  We  are  familiar  with  the  historic  accounts  of  ether  sprees 
indulged  in  by  the  Irish  and  "Piccadilly  Willies,"  and  recent  medical 
literature  tells  of  the  successful  use  of  oil-ether  cocktails  prior  to 
dressings  of  seriously  wounded  soldiers.  So  a  variety  of  intoxicants 
and  exhilarating  soporifics  are  actually  available,  but  their  names  and 
associations  are  those  of  drugs,  hence  their  use  is  not  common.  If 
we  can  but  divorce  the  name  and  promote  the  recognition  that  these 
"-ol"  bodies  are  in  fact  drugs  and  dangerous,  liable  to  produce 
blindness,  the  very  element  of  fear  alone  will  have  a  most  salutary 
effect  in  protecting  men  and  women  from  themselves. 
Producers  of  90  per  cent,  of  the  refined  methyl  hydroxide  in 
this  country  have  decided  that  hereafter  all  packages  containing  it 
shall  be  labelled  "methanol,"  and  so  their  advertisements  read  in 
the  trade  journals  this  day. 
This  change  in  nomenclature  has  been  recognized,  but  the  usage 
cannot  be  brought  about  instantaneously  and  will  require  time. 
The  word  will  continue  as  a  synonym  in  any  event,  although  through 
concerted  action  it  may  become  more  or  less  obsolete.  No  form  of 
legislation  can  eliminate  the  name.  This  is  an  appeal  to  chemists 
to  assist. 
THE  DETERMINATION  OF  HYDROCYANIC  ACID.* 
By  R.  Leitch  Morris,  F.T.C. 
For  the  determination  of  cyanides,  a  number  of  volumetric  pro- 
cesses have  been  used. 
The  principal  are: 
I .  The  original  process  of  Liebig :  Titration  of  the  alkaline  cyan 
ide  solution  with  standard  silver  solution. 
This  is  quite  satisfactory  when  properly  carried  out. 
•Reprinted  from  The  Pharmaceutical  Journal  and  Pharmacist,  July,  24,  1920. 
