Am.  Jour.  Pharra.l 
September,  1903.  I 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
415 
decomposed  by  alkalies.  Given  in  daily  doses  of  from  5  to  8 
grammes.  (Sud-Deut.  Apoth.  Zeit.y  1903,  page  295,  from  Repertoire 
de  P/iar.) 
Melting  Point  of  Paraffin. — This  is  given  in  the  German  Pharma- 
copoeia as  being  from  740  to  8o°  C.  Thede  {Phar.  Zeitg.,  1903,  page 
373)  says  that  in  twenty  years'  experience  with  different  kinds  of 
paraffin  he  has  never  met  with  a  sample  that  had  a  higher  melting 
point  than  65 0  to  66°  C.  By  far  the  greater  number  of  paraffine 
samples  have  a  melting  point  of  from  540  to  6o°  C.  Thede  further 
suggests  that  the  Pharmacopoeial  Commission  no  doubt  intended 
that  ceresin  be  used  in  place  of  paraffin. 
Narcotile. — An  abstract  in  American  Medicine  (June  6,  1903,  page 
930)  describes  the  method  of  administering  narcotile.  From  the 
description  given  it  would  appear  to  be  a  compound  somewhat 
similar,  in  its  effects  at  least,  to  chloride  or  bromide  of  ethyl.  It  is 
used  for  general  anesthesia  of  short  duration  or  as  an  introduction 
to  ether-narcosis. 
The  Gelatinization  of  Tincture  of  Kino. — Edmund  White  (Phar. 
your.,  1903,  page  644)  gives  a  preliminary  report  on  some  experi- 
ments that  he  has  been  making  with  tincture  of  kino,  with  a  view 
of  determining  the  cause  of  its  frequent  gelatinization. 
From  his  experiments  White  has  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
gelatinization  is  due  to  an  enzyme,  probably  an  oxydase,  and  sug- 
gests that  a  simple  heating  of  the  preparation  to  the  boiling  point 
would  effectually  prevent  gelatinization.  This  he  further  demon- 
strates by  reporting  some  comparative  experiments.  The  sample  of 
tincture  which  had  been  heated  remained  ljmpid  after  the  main  or 
unheated  portions  had  become  gelatinized. 
Note  on  Kino  Enzyme. — Following  the  report  of  the  experiments 
made  by  Edmund  White,  David  Hooper,  F.C.S.  [Phar.  Jour.,  1903, 
page  840),  publishes  some  experiments  which  he  made  with  several 
varieties  of  kino  with  a  view  of  determining  the  nature  of  the 
enzyme,  and  also  the  degree  of  heat  necessary  to  destroy  the  same. 
Hooper  finds  that  the  enzyme  is  an  oxydase,  and  will  readily  with- 
stand a  dry  heat  of  900  C.  for  several  hours.  Its  activity  is  readily 
destroyed,  however,  when  boiled  in  water  at  100°  C. 
If,  in  practice,  these  reports  are  found  to  be  based  on  fact,  they 
would  indicate  a  very  simple  procedure  to  prevent  gelatinization  in 
this  highly  useful  astringent  tincture.    Simple  boiling  in  water  of 
