Am.  Tour.  Pharm. 
May,  1919. 
Current  Literature. 
317 
adjusted  according  to  this  percentage.  C.  Pagel  (Bull,  des  Sc. 
Pharm.,  1918,  25,  263,  Sept.-Oct.)  considers  that  this  solution  is  too 
alkaline,  and  he  recommends  the  following  modification :  Mix  the 
required  quantity  of  chlorinated  lime  with  the  water,  and  filter  off 
the  clear  liquor.  Dissolve  the  sodium  carbonate  separately  in  water, 
and  mix  the  solutions.  Filter  off  the  precipitated  calcium  carbonate, 
wash,  and  treat  the  precipitate  with  hydrochloric  acid  to  form  a 
solution  of  calcium  chloride.  The  solution  of  sodium  hypochlorite 
is  then  exactly  neutralized  with  the  calcium  chloride  solution.  The 
product,  he  says,  contains  0.5  to  0.6  per  cent,  of  active  chlorine,  and 
is  very  stable.  It  has  given  great  satisfaction  in  the  hospitals  in 
which  it  has  been  used.    (From  The  Prescriber,  February,  191 9.) 
Paste  for  Ulcerated  Wounds. — With  a  view  to  supersede  the 
old-fashioned  occlusive  dressing  with  strips  of  plaster  in  the  treat- 
ment of  ulcerated  wounds  (note  syphilitic),  Morlet  (Presse  med., 
September  12,  1918)  has  devised  the  following  paste : 
Balsam  of  Peru    15.0  to    20.0  Gm. 
Bismuth  subnitrate    15.0  to    20.0  Gm. 
Fish  glue    50.0  Gm. 
Glycerin    50.0  Gm. 
Water    100.0  Gm. 
This  paste  is  absorbent  and  porous,  constituting  a  semi-occlusive 
dressing  which,  while  tending  to  dry  the  wound,  also  allows  any 
pus  formed  to  pass  out.  The  wound  is  first  cleansed  with  alcohol 
and  its  margins  loosened ;  a  bandage  impregnated  with  the  hot  paste 
is  then  applied,  covering  the  wound,  and  the  dressing  allowed  to  re- 
main for  from  twelve  to  fifteen  days.  Usually  one  or  two  dressings 
are  required,  rarely  three.  The  patient  may  walk  about  during  the 
course  of  the  treatment,  the  act  of  locomotion  having  the  effect  of 
an  actual  massage  of  the  wound.  (From  The  Prescriber,  Febru- 
ary, 1919.) 
Benzyl  Alcohol  as  a  Local  Anaesthetic. — The  value  of 
benzyl  alcohol,  phenmethylol,  or  methyl-hydroxybenzene,  C6H5- 
CH2-OH,  is  reported  on  by  D.  I.  Macht  (Jour.  Pharmacol,  and 
Exper.  Therap.,  1918,  II,  263,  Apr.)  who  concludes  that  it  pos- 
sesses powerful  local  anaesthetic  properties  with  a  very  low  toxicity. 
He  considers  that  these  properties,  together  with  the  simple  excre- 
tion of  the  drug  by  the  organism  and  the  ease  with  which  solutions 
