Am'oSt^.arm'}  Abstracts  from  the  French  Journals.  499 
Aug.  8  and  15,  1893).  The  authors  state  that  asaprol  is  the  sul- 
phuric ether  of  /9-naphthol  in  the  state  of  the  calcium  salt.  It  is 
extremely  soluble  and  in  antiseptic  power  nearly  equal  to  sodium 
salicylate,  than  which  it  is  better  tolerated,  although  an  intra- 
veinous  injection  of  a  solution  of  asaprol  is  more  poisonous  than  a 
similar  administration  of  sodium  salicylate  solution.  The  adult 
dose  is  usually  about  6  gm.,  preferably  in  solution,  and  acts  as  an 
antithermic  and  analgesic.  It  is  rapidly  eliminated  in  the  urine,  a 
test  for  its  presence  in  which  is  the  appearance  of  a  black  coloration 
approaching  blue,  upon  addition  of  a  few  drops  of  perchloride  of 
iron. 
Steresol  is  the  name  given  by  Mr.  Berlioz'to  a  new  preparation, 
which  he  reported  to  the  Acad'emie  de  Medicine  (Rep.  de  pharm.y 
July,  1893,  p.  362),  and  which  is  applicable  for  antisepsis  of  the 
mucous  membranes  and  the  skin.  The  formula  is  :  purified  shellac, 
270  gm.;  purified  benzoin,  10  gm.;  balsam  tolu,  10  gm.;  crystallized 
carbolic  acid,  100  gm.;  Chinese  oil  of  cinnamon,  6  gm.;  saccharin 
6  gm.;  and  alcohol  sufficient  to  make  one  liter. 
Methylene  blue. — Dr.  C.Ferreira  (Bull.  gen.  de  therapy  June,  1893, 
p.  488)  cites  a  large  number  of  cases  of  malarial  fevers,  which  were 
treated  successfully  by  methylene  blue,  and  states  that  it  is  tole- 
rated without  the  slighest  inconvenience  even  by  young  children  to 
whom  it  is  administered  in  doses  varying  according  to  age,  and  that 
it  has  a  manifest  action  on  the  malarial  germs,  causing  the  disappear- 
ance of  the  characteristic  stigmata  and  especially  of  the  enlargment 
of  the  liver  and  the  spleen. 
Dabrowski  (Gaz.  lek.,  1893,  through  Nouv.  rein.,  June,  1893,  p. 
274)  also  testifies  to  the  antimalarial  action  of  the  methylene  blue, 
and  that  it  has  been  well  tolerated  in  all  cases,  but  one,  which  have 
come  to  his  notice.  He  considers  that  the  favorable  action  is  due 
not  to  its  direct  influence  on  the  germs,  but  to  its  so  modifying  the 
constitution  of  the  blood,  as  to  render  the  multiplication  of  the 
micro-organisms  impossible. 
Calcium  phosphate. — In  the  course  of  an  article  discussing  the 
therapy  and  pharmacology  of  the  calcium  phosphates,  P.  Carles 
arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  the  normal  or  tribasic  phosphate  only 
should  be  employed.  In  the  hydrated  form,  it  is  most  easily 
assimilable,  being  most  soluble  in  the  gastric  humors.  It  is  best 
prepared  from  pulverized  animal  charcoal,  and  if  it  is  precipitated 
