Am  jour.  Pharm.  i    Review  of  Advances  in  Pharmacy.  ^67 
June,  1919.       J  3  J  ou/ 
plants  at  various  seasons  leads  him  to  believe  that  during  winter 
starch  is  commonest  in  regions  remote  from  centers  of  production, 
and  in  cells  with  thick,  well-lignified,  small-pitted  walls,  and  that  fat 
is  most  abundant  in  and  near  the  phloem,  close  to  the  vessels,  and 
in  cells  with  thin  or  unlignified  walls  or  large  pits.  He  says  that 
where  the  movement  of  liquids  is  slow,  starch  predominates,  and 
where  such  movement  is  easy,  starch  disappears  at  the  beginning 
of  the  winter,  and  fat  is  produced.  He  believes  that  this  manner 
of  food  reserve  may  be  due  to  differences  in  the  water  content  of 
the  storage  cells  giving  a  modification  of  enzyme  action  or  to  differ- 
ences in  the  case  with  which  enzymes  have  effective  access  to  the 
storage  cells. — Botan.  Gazette,  vol.  66,  p.  162,  through  the  Pharma- 
ceutical Journal,  March  8,  1919. 
Comfrey  Extract  for  Boils. — Dr.  Brunier  states  that  a  soft 
extract  of  comfrey  root  in  his  hands  has  been  found  to  be  an  excel- 
lent remedy  for  the  treatment  of  those  distressing  things,  boils.  He 
gives  it  in  doses  of  0.6  Gram  three  times  a  day.  At  the  end  of 
from  twenty-four  to  forty-eight  hours  the  inflammation  lessens,  the 
pain  disappears,  and  on  the  third  or  fourth  day  the  pus  is  discharged. 
If  there  happen  to  be  several  boils  the  more  advanced  ones  go 
through  the  process  just  described  and  the  others  are  absorbed ;  no 
new  ones  are  developed. — Presse  Medicate,  May,  1918,  through  the 
Pharmaceutical  Journal,  March  8,  191 9. 
Castor  Oil  as  a  Dressing  for  Wounds. — Dr.  Revillet  in  the 
Lyon  Medicate,  Repertoire  de  Pharmacie,  states  that  in  his  experi- 
ence he  has  found  this  oil  to  be  an  excellent  basis  as  a  dressing  for 
wounds.  He  claims  that  it  is  non-irritant,  non-drying,  does  not 
adhere  to  the  tissues,  penetrates  well,  and  mixes  with  alcohol  and 
essential  oils.  He  found  the  following  mixture  ideal  for  this 
purpose : 
Oil  of  thyme    45.0  Mils. 
Oil  of  lavender    45.0  Mils. 
Oil  of  eucalyptus    5.0  Mils. 
Castor  oil,  to  make    1,000.0  Mils. 
This  mixture  may  be  applied  direct  to  the  wound  or  used  to 
impregnate  the  gauze  compresses  or  muslin  bandages. — The 
Pharmacuetical  Journal,  March  8,  1919. 
The  Pharmacologic  Action  of  Allocable  S. — This  drug  and  Allo- 
caine  A.  are  synthetics  made  by  Nagai  by  introducing  into  mydriatine 
