^'^jun"e?i888^'*°''}        iVo^es  on  Some  Neic  Remedies.  275 
to  10  milligrams.  The  average  number  of  days  of  treatment  for  each 
of  the  twenty  patients  was  37*02  ;  average  number  of  injections  to  each 
patient,  27*7  ;  average  age  of  patients,  23*2  years.  All  the  cases  were 
those  of  secondary  syphilitic  lesions. — Med.  Jour,  and  Emm.,  May, 
1888,  p.  305. 
a  OxYNAPHTOic  ACID  has  been  recommended  as  a  valuable  disinfec- 
tant. Eller,  who  first  prepared  this  compound  twenty  years  ago, 
named  it  carbonaphtholic  acid.  Subsequently  L.  Schaffer,  [Annalen 
1869,  vol.  152,  p.  291),  distinguished  the  a  and  /9  acids,  of  which  the 
former  is  colored  blue,  but  the  latter  purplish-black  by  ferric  chloride. 
K.  Schmitt,  in  1884  {Berichte,  1885,  Kef.,  p.  204)  had  a  process  pat- 
ented for  the  manufacture  of  carbonaphtholic  or  oxynaphtoic  acids, 
which  consisted  in  treating  sodium  naphthol  with  carbonic  acid  under 
pressure  and  heating  to  between  120°  and  140°  C.  Of  the  various 
compounds  which  may  thus  be  obtained,  the  a  acid  is  now  prepared 
on  a  large  scale  and  has  been  ascertained  to  possess  valuable  disinfec- 
tant properties.  It  crystallizes  in  colorless  needles,  has  an  odor  recall- 
ing that  of  naphthol,  is  sternutatory,  and  when  carefully  heated  sub- 
limes without  decomposition.  It  is  soluble  in  alcohol  and  ether,  but 
requires  about  30,000  parts  of  water  for  solution.  This  solution  of 
the  pure  acid  remains  unaltered  on  exposure,  but  that  of  the  crude 
acid  turns  yellow  and  red.  On  boiling  decomposition  takes  place 
with  the  production  of  carbonic  acid  and  naphthol.  The  crude  acid 
leaves  about  0.4  per  cent,  of  ash.  Its  antizymotic  properties  are  con- 
siderably greater  than  those  of  salicylic  acid.  It  has  been  found, 
when  added  to  the  substances  named,  to  prevent  the  decomposition  of 
blood,  urine,  mucilage,  paste  and  similar  articles,  and  to  render  sinks 
and  water  closets  inodorous.  Owing  to  its  poisonous  properties  it  is 
not  adapted  for  the  preservation  of  articles  of  food,  but  as  a  surgical 
antiseptic  it  appears  to  be  useful,  and  an  oxynaphtoic  coUodium  has 
been  recommended  containing  one-half  per  cent,  of  this  compound. 
Creolin  is  a  product  of  the  dry  distillation  of  coal  and  forms  a  black- 
-ish  brown,  almost  syrupy  and  viscous  liquid,  having  a  tar-like  odor 
and  when  dropped  in  water,  forming  delicate  white  clouds,  a  single 
drop  rendering  from  250  to  300  cc.  water  uniformly  milky  and  opaque. 
It  has  been  employed  by  Dr.  J.  Neudoerfer  {Phar.  Post,  1888,  p.  24) 
as  an  antiseptic  for  wounds  and  in  several  cases  of  erysipelas,  and  was 
usually  applied  by  means  of  gauze,  previously  freed  from  fat,  in  the 
form  of  solution  of  two  drops  to  200  cc.  water. 
