432 
Note  on  Formaldehyde. 
/Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t  September,  1898. 
tone,  became  lighter  in  color ;  that  macerated  in  chloroform  devel- 
oped a  purplish-brown  color. 
The  secretion  reservoirs  in  cotton  root  bark  appear  not  to  have 
been  mentioned  heretofore,  and  as  it  is  not  unlikely  but  that  it  is  in 
the  products  secreted  here  that  the  value  of  this  drug  depends,  fur- 
ther botanical  and  especially  micro-chemical  study  on  these  reservoirs 
or  glands  is  desired.  Furthermore,  a  detailed  study  of  the  origin 
of  these  secretion  reservoirs  is  desirable. 
v 
NOTE  ON  TESTING  FORMALDEHYDE. 
By  Lyman  F.  Kebi/er. 
During  the  past  few  years  formaldehyde  has  been  forging  to  the 
front  very  rapidly  as  a  preservative  and  disinfectant.  As  a  disin- 
fectant it  has  gained  much  favor  with  the  medical  profession,  so 
much  so  in  fact,  that  the  Pharmacopceial  Research  Committee  has 
deemed  it  desirable  to  investigate  the  relative  efficiency  of  the 
various  methods  proposed  for  estimating  the  strength  of  the 
formaldehyde  solutions  on  the  market.  This  duty  was  delegated 
to  Prof.  Carl  E.  Smith,  whose  results  appeared  in  the  February 
number  of  this  Journal  of  the  current  year. 
As  is  naturally  to  be  expected  when  an  unusual  demand  arises 
for  a  high-priced  commodity,  articles  of  various  degrees  of  strength 
and  purity  find  their  way  into  commerce.  And  in  devising  a 
method  for  assay,  all  the  various  contaminating  and  disturbing  ele- 
ments must  be  taken  into  consideration. 
I  had  been  using  the  ammonia  process  proposed  by  L.  Leger/and 
applied  by  various  workers  during  the  past  few  years.  In  every 
case  the  ammonia  was  allowed  to  react  with  the  formaldehyde  over 
night,  and  the  results  always  proved  satisfactory ;  2  c.c.  (which  is 
practically  2  grammes)  of  the  formaldehyde  were  added  to  25 
c.c.  of  normal  ammonia  solution  and  allowed  to  stand  over  night. 
Shortly  after  the  appearance  of  Professor  Smith's  contribution,  I 
received  a  sample  of  formaldehyde,  with  the  request  that  a  report 
was  desired  on  short  notice.  Calling  to  mind  the  results  of  the 
above  paper,  it  was  naturally  inferred  that  by  making  a  suitable 
correction  the  formaldehyde  could  be  estimated  by  allowing  it  to 
1  Ber.  d.  deut.  Chem.  Ges.,  10,  1333. 
