Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Jan..  1884. 
Varieties. 
51 
Besanez  in  the  leaves  of  Ampelopsis  hederacea.  It  is  undoubtedly  an  acid, 
and  amongst  the  known  aromatic  acids  most  closely  corresponds  in  its 
reactions  with  hydrocaffeic  acid.  In  conclusion,  the  author  suggests  the 
hypothesis  that  these  easily  oxidisable  bodies  belong,  in  their  physiological 
relations,  to  the  retrogressive  series,  perhaps  originating  from  the  breaking 
up  of  albumin,  or  formed  by  the  synthesis  of  the  products  of  such  decom- 
position, and  that  in  these  features  they  are  allied  to  the  process  of  respira- 
tion.— Jour.  Chem.  Soe.,  Sept.,  1883  ;  Zeitschr.  Physiol.  Chem.,  vi,  263. 
VAEIETIES. 
Use  of  Naphthalan. — Dr.  Lindenbaum  has  employed  this  remedy 
with  success  in  a  number  of  cases  of  frost-bite.  The  dressing  is  usually 
changed  every  seven  to  ten  days.  In  some  instances  the  patients  com- 
plained for  two  or  three  hours  after  the  application  of  severe  sticking  pains, 
caused  probably  by  small  crystals  of  naphthalin.  The  same  remedy  seems 
to  be  equally  beneficial  in  burns. — St.  Petersburger  Med.  Wochenschrift, 
June  2,  1883  ;  Med.  Record. 
Trichlor-phenol  has  been  experimented  upon  by  Dr.  Dianin,  and 
described  by  him  in  the  "  St.  Petersburger  Medicinische  Wochenschrift. 
It  is  prepared  from  carbolic  acid  and  chloride  of  lime.  ("  British  Medical 
Journal.'7)  Its  antiseptic  properties  are  said  to  be  more  active  than  those 
of  any  other  substance  used  in  medicine  (twenty-five  times  more  so  than 
carbolic  acid),  and  a  small  quantity  stops  fermentation.  It  is  also  a  deodo- 
rizer, while  its  own  smell  may  be  disguised  by  oil  of  lavender.  Dissolved 
in  water,  it  does  not  cause  irritation.  Its  sodium  and  calcium  salts  also 
exhibit  antiseptic  properties  ;  the  former  has  no  smell,  and  the  latter  is 
cheaper  than  phenol. — Louisv.  Med.  Neivs,  Sept.  15,  1883. 
Arbutin. — Dr.  H.  Menche,  in  "  Centralblatt  fur.  Klin.  Med.,"  finds  that 
it  acts  in  many  cases  as  a  valuable  diuretic.  Large  doses  may  be  taken 
without  any  ill  effects.  It  passes  in  the  urine  partly  in  the  form  of  hydro- 
chinon,  which  is  closely  allied  chemically  to  phenol.  Urine  containing 
hydrochinon  becomes,  by  standing,  of  an  olive-green  color,  just  as  happens 
in  carboluria.  Arbutin  is  of  service  in  urethritis  even  of  a  specific  nature. 
Brieger  has  employed  a  solution  of  hydrochinon  as  an  injection  in  gonor- 
rhoea, but  the  internal  administration  would  seem  to  answer  the  same  pur- 
pose. Arbutin  is  a  glucoside,  and  occurs  as  fine  white  stable  acicular  crys- 
tals, soluble  in  water,  of  neutral  reaction,  odorless,  and  of  slightly  bitter 
taste.  The  best  mode  of  administration  is  in  the  form  of  powder  dissolved 
in  a  tablespoonful  of  water.  Patients  do  not  complain  of  its  taste. — Louisv. 
Med.  JS/ews. 
The  Action  of  Quebracho. — A  number  of  experiments,  chiefly  by 
Italian  and  Spanish  physicians,  which  we  find  recorded  in  our  foreign 
exchanges,  satisfactorily  show  that  quebracho  and  its  alkaloids  aspidosper- 
