DS^ember;  1^9^20'""  1     ^^^^s  ItefHS  and  PeYsoual  Notes.  937 
candle.  A  long  lasting  flame  test  is  thus  obtained.  Ind.  Eng. 
Chem.,  1920,  12,  500;  through  The  Pharm.  Jour.  &  Pharmacist,  Sept. 
4,  1920.) 
UrKa  in  Urine. — M.  Frenkel  strongly  recommends  the  xanthy- 
drol  method  devised  by  Fosse  (Comptes  Rendus,  191 3  and  19 14)  as 
being  readily  carried  out  and  much  more  accurate  than  the  hypo- 
bromite  method,  which  is  at  best  quite  approximate.  The  reagent 
is  a  I  in  10  solution  of  xanthydrol  in  methyl  alcohol,  and  the  urine 
should  be  adjusted  to  contain  from  i  to  2  Gms.  of  urea  in  a  liter. 
The  determination  is  carried  out  as  follows:  Dilute  10  Cc.  of  the 
urine  to  100  Cc. ;  add  35  Cc.  of  glacial  acetic  acid;  then  add  at  intervals 
of  10  minutes  5  X  i  Cc.  of  the  reagent,  rotating  each  time;  set  aside 
for  an  hour,  filter,  wash  with  20  Cc.  of  95%  alcohol  in  small  por- 
tions, dry  at  100°,  and  weigh.  The  weight  divided  by  7  gives  the 
weight  of  urea.  {Ann.  de  Chemie  Anal.,  ii.  Vol.  II,  p.  234;  through 
The  Pharm.  Jour.  &  Pharmacist,  Sept.  4,  1920.) 
Albumen  in  Urine. — M.  G.  Pegurier  proposes  the  following 
modification  of  Mehu's  method  of  determining  albumin  in  urine  by 
means  of  a  solution  of  phenol  and  acetic  acid  in  90  per  cent,  alcohol : 
Triturate  10  Gms.  of  colorless  phenol  crystals  with  10  Gms.  of 
powdered  citric  acid  and  20  Gms.  of  95%  alcohol  in  a  mortar  until 
dissolved,  and  filter;  to  a  convenient  quantity  of  the  urine  add 
acetic  acid  drop  by  drop  until  the  reaction  to  litmus  is  distinctly 
acid,  and  filter  off  50  Cc.  Heat  this  in  a  beaker-flask  until  it  just 
begins  to  boil,  remove  the  source  of  heat,  and  add  5  Cc.  of  the  phenol- 
citric  acid  reagent;  rotate  until  the  flocculent  precipitate  collects, 
filter  through  counterpoised  double  filter  papers,  wash  with  boiling 
water  until  the  reaction  is  no  longer  acid,  and  then  with  ether- 
alcohol,  dry  at  100°  and  weigh,  using  the  outer  filter  as  counter- 
balance for  the  inner.  The  weight  of  the  albumen  multiplied  by 
twenty  gives  the  weight  of  albumen  in  a  liter  of  urine.  Urine  that 
is  highly  albuminous  must  be  appropriately  diluted  before  acidifica- 
tion. The  precipitation  and  washing  are  rapidly  completed.  {Rep. 
de  Pharmacie,  76,  p.  225;  through  The  Pharm.  Jour.  &  Pharmacist, 
vSept.  4,  1920.) 
NEWvS  iTEMvS  AND  PERSONAL  NOTES. 
Admiral  vStitt  Appointed  Surgeon-General  of  the  Navy. — 
President  Wilson  has  appointed  Rear-Admiral  Edward  Rhodes  Stitt 
