Am.  Jour.  Pharni.  "I 
December,  1913.  j 
Progress  in  Pharmacy. 
567 
of  all  sorts  of  small  wares  and  ready-made  medicines,  for  confec- 
tionery, cigars  and  fancy  articles,  it  cannot  and  should  not  be  relied 
upon  as  a  source  of  reliable  medicines.  The  well-equipped  and  con- 
scientious druggist  who  has  a  high  standard  of  work  and  lives  up  to 
it  should  be  encouraged.  Xo  physician  should  jeopardize  his  patients 
or  his  own  reputation  by  relying  on  a  prescription  service  which  he 
knows  to  be  poor.  If  necessary,  he  should  provide  and  dispense  his 
own  medicines. — /.  Am.  M.  Assoc.,  1913,  v.  61,  pp.  1392-1393. 
Alcohol  as  a  Food. — Editorial :  To  say  that  alcohol  may  be  a  food 
is  not  to  deny  that  it  is  a  dangerous  one.  If  it  is  given  too  freely  its 
oxidation  is  incomplete  and,  what  is  more  important,  the  untoward 
nervous  effects  become  prominent.  In  ordinary  conditions  of  health 
there  is  no  occasion  for  the  use  of  alcohol,  and  its  introduction  into 
the  regimen  of  daily  life  can  scarcely  be  defended  on  the  grounds  of 
nutritive  needs. — /.  Am.  M.  Assoc.,  1913,  v.  61,  pp.  966-967. 
Alypin. — Schroeder :  Does  not  agree  with  the  statement  of  Im- 
pens  that  the  toxicity  of  alypin  is  much  lower  than  that  of  cocaine  and 
that  the  maximum  dose  for  the  human  subject  is  0.2  gm.  of  alypin 
and  0.05  gm.  of  cocaine.  He  maintains  that  alypin  is  at  least  as  toxic 
as  cocaine,  and  supports  the  maximum  dose  given  for  it  by  L.  Lewin, 
0.05  gm..  which  has  been  adopted  in  the  supplement  to  the  Pharma- 
copoeia published  by  the  German  Apotheker  Yerein.  (Dent.  Med. 
Woch.,  1913,  1,  459:  Apoth.  Zeit.j  1913,  28,  590). — Pkarm.  /..  1913, 
v.  91,  p.  504. 
Balsam  of  Peru  and  Perugens. — Enz,  Karl :  All  of  the  samples 
of  genuine  balsam  of  Peru  examined  complied  with  the  require- 
ments of  the  Pharmacopoeia.  The  specific  gravity  occasionally  shows 
a  tendency  to  exceed  the  permissible  limit.  The  tests  given  by  the 
German  Pharmacopoeia  will  not  eliminate  perugens  or  other  fac- 
ticious  balsams  of  Peru  :  some  indication  is,  however,  given  by  a 
comparison  of  the  acid  number,  the  iodine  number  of  the  isolated 
cinnamine,  the  nitric  acid  reaction  and  the  behavior  of  the  product 
with  petroleum  ether. — Sudd.  Apoth.  Zeit..  1913,  v.  53,  pp.  600,  608- 
609. 
Bropheniiie,  is  a  complicated  phenetidine  derivative,  bromoiso- 
valerylamino-acetphenetidine.  of  the  formula  CoH5.O.C6PI4NH.CO.- 
CH2.CO.CHBr.CH(CH3)2.  It  is  a  white  amorphous  powder, 
slightly  soluble  in  water,  odorless,  and  tasteless,  melting  at  1500. 
Dose:  Five  to  20  grains  three  times  a. day. — Chcni.  &  Drug.,  1913. 
v.  83,  p.  526. 
