Am'jinu,ri884arm'}  Naphthol,  its  Uses  and  Value.  27 
the  acids  by  the  different  congealing  points  of  their  glycerides  and  by 
their  partial  saponification,  I  think  it  more  than  probable  that  this 
new  acid  will  be  found  to  be  closely  allied  to  oleic  acid  and  its  analo- 
gues ricinoleic  and  linoleic. 
In  conclusion,  I  have  shown,  first,  what  the  conditions  are  which 
obtain  in  the  separation  of  croton  oil  by  alcohol  into  its  vesicant  and 
purgative  parts.  Secondly,  the  vesicating  activity  of  the  alcohol- 
soluble  croton  oil  I  have  proved  not  to  exist  in  the  free  acids  and  not 
to  belong  to  any  basic  constituent,  but  to  reside  in  the  combined  non- 
volatile fatty  acids.  These  have  been  separated  to  a  considerable 
extent,  if  not  to  complete  isolation,  and  the  probable  position  of  the 
new  acid  in  the  fatty  acid  series  I  have  indicated.  The  further  eluci- 
dation and  study  of  the  new  acid  I  reserve  for  a  future  communication. 
— Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  Dec.  8,  1883. 
NAPHTHOL :  ITS  MEDICINAL  USES  AND  VALUE. 
In  a  paper  under  this  title,  read  before  the  Philadelphia  County 
Medical  Society  on  October  17th.,  by  Dr.  John  V.  Shoemaker, 
Physician  to  the  Philadelphia  Hospital  for  Skin  Diseases,  that  distin- 
guished dermatologist  calls  attention  to  naphthol  in  a  manner  calculated 
to  ensure  for  that  drug  a  more  extensive  trial  by  the  profession  of  the 
United  States,  than  has  yet  been  accorded  it. 
Naphthol  is  a  derivation  of  napthalene,  a  hydrocarbon  found  in 
large  quantities  in  coal  tar,  belonging  to  the  so-called  aromatic  group. 
It  bears  the  same  relation  to  naphthalin  that  phenol  does  to  benzol, 
and  cresol  to  toluol.  It  was  first  employed  by  Professor  Kaposi  as  a 
substitute  for  tar  in  skin  diseases,  being  considered  by  him  as  the 
essential  curative  ingredient  of  that  substance,  while  being  free  from 
its  objectionable  features.  The  preparation  employed  in  the  cases  which 
form  the  basis  of  Dr.  Shoemaker's  report  was  that  made  after  the 
method  of  Dr.  Justus  Wolf,  being  free  from  odor  and  coming  in  beau- 
tiful crystalline  scales.  This  preparation  decomposes  under  the  influ- 
ence of  heat  when  it  again  becomes  odorous  and  pungent.  The  com- 
mercial naphthol  contains  impurities  which  unfit  it  for  use  in  medicine. 
Naphthol  thus  properly  purified  is  an  extremely  powerful  antiseptic 
and  disinfectant.  One  part  added  to  480  of  urine  kept  the  latter  from 
decomposing  for  six  months,  while  another  sample  of  the  same  urine 
