Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
Dec,  1884. 
Varieties. 
645 
that  analysis  showed  that  it  contained  a  large  amount  of  caffeine,  tannic 
acid,  and  a  little  theobromine.  Naval  surgeons  had  employed  it  with  suc- 
cess in  the  chronic  diarrhoeas  of  hot  climates,  and  its  use  was  likewise  in- 
dicated in  cardiac  affections  and  in  the  cachexise.  He  himself  had  seen 
good  effects  from  it  in  these  cases,  given  either  in  the  form  of  an  infusion 
of  the  roasted  nut,  as  an  elixir,  or  in  the  shape  of  chocolate.  In  all  these 
cases  it  acted  as  a  tonic  and  astringent. — Med.  Bulletin,  October,  1884. 
Use  of  Naphtalin. — Professor  Rossbach,  in  Jena,  has  observed  that  in 
all  catarrhal  conditions  of  the  intestines,  and  in  chronic  intestinal  affec- 
tions, naphtalin  is  a  specific,  and  invariably  causes  the  disappearance  of 
the  malady.  He  never  noticed  any  bad  side  or  after-effect,  and  most  of  the 
naphtalin  passed  off  again  by  the  bowels,  while  a  small  percentage  of  it, 
changed  to  phenol,  made  its  appearance  in  the  urine.  The  usual  dose  for 
adults  is  from  eight  to  ten  grains  daily.  The  remedy  has  also  a  very  favor- 
able influence  upon  vesical  catarrh,  the  purulent  discharge  at  once  ceasing, 
and  he  attributes  its  beneficial  effect  in  such  cases  to  the  changing  of  naph- 
talin to  phenol  in  the  urine.  Patients  generally  do  not  object  to  the  taste 
of  naphtalin,  purified  by  sublimation  ;  as  a  corrigens  for  its  odor,  a  few 
drops  of  oil  of  bergamot  is  recommended. — Deutseh.  Med.  Zeit. 
Bromide  of  Ammonium  is  comparatively  liltle  used  except  in  associa- 
tion with  the  other  bromides  and  with  hydrobromic  acid,  and  modern  ex- 
perience seems  to  indicate  that  it  is  perhaps  not  less  used  than  formerly, 
but  that  in  the  increasing  use  of  bromides  this  does  not  increase  as  rapidly 
as  the  potassium  salt.  The  taste  is  much  more  disagreeable  than  that  of 
the  potassium  salt,  and  becomes  more  disagreeable  by  prolonged  use,  and  it 
is  more  irritant  and  less  acceptable  to  the  stomach  ;  in  common  with  salines 
in  general,  it  is  best  given  in  iced  water.  The  dose  is  that  quantity  which 
will  yield  the  desired  degree  of  bromine  effect.  In  some  persons  this  may 
be  ten  grains  three  times  a  day,  and  in  others  fifty  grains.  For  its  full  effect 
bromism  must  be  induced,  and  the  dose  be  then  diminished  so  as  to  fall 
just  short  of  that.  For  such  use  about  twenty  grains  three  times  a  day  will 
be  about  the  proper  dose  to  begin  with.  Its  principal  use  is  in  the  treat- 
ment of  epilepsy,  but  it  is  probable  that  the  potassium  salt  is  better  adapted 
to  this  purpose. — Amer.  JPractitioner,  November,  1884. 
Hypodermic  Injection  of  Osmic  Acid.— A.  Eulenburg  reports  on 
twelve  cases  of  hypodermic  injection  of  osmic  acid.  The  amount  he  injects 
at  a  time  is  0*05  gram.  The  solution  used  is  never  greater  than  1  per 
cent.,  but  the  dose  is  repeated  sometimes  as  often  as  fourteen  times.  It  is 
desirable  to  pass  the  injection  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood of  the  affected  nerve.  Of  the  twelve  cases  of  different  forms  of 
neuralgia,  three  were  cured,  four  improved.  The  other  cases  were  of  long 
standing  and  were  not  improved.—  Weekly  Med.  Review,  September  20, 1884. 
Chloride  of  Methylene. — In  a  memoir  published  a  few  months  since 
Messrs.  Regnauld  and  Villejean  gave  their  reasons,  based  upon  chemical 
