Am.  Jour.  Pharni. 
June,  1901. 
Methyl  Alcohol 
291 
In  the  communication  above  mentioned  they  say:  "We  believe 
that  the  results  secured  are  such  as  to  convince  almost  any  one  that 
wood  alcohol  is  present  in  large  quantities  in  the  essence  of  ginger 
examined.  It  must  also  be  concluded,  since  the  tincture  of  ginger 
made  with  ethylic  alcohol  has  never  produced  the  toxic  and  sight- 
destroying  effects  described  by  Dr.  Harlan,  that  methylic  alcohol  is 
entirely  unfit  for  internal  administration." 
In  the  Built  tin  of  1  harmacy,  of  March,  1901,  page  96,  an  instance 
is  reported  of  a  party  of  four  men  having  indulged  in  the  drinking 
of  some  essence  of  ginger  that  resulted  in  the  death  of  two,  and  only 
the  most  active  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  physicians  saved  the  other 
lives. 
The  Druggists'  Circular,  of  March,  1901,  reported  another  case  in 
which  a  sailor,  during  "  shore  leave,"  drank  a  quantity  of  essence  of 
ginger.  He  experienced  the  symptoms  before  mentioned,  followed 
by  permanent  blindness. 
The  instance  cited  by  Drs.  MacCoy  and  Michael,  several  years 
ago,  was  that  of  a  young  man  who,  while  convalescing  from 
measles,  succeeded  in  obtaining  two  ounces  of  methyl  alcohol,  "  the 
article  being  a  highly  purified  one."  Two  hours  afterwards  he 
took  a  similar  quantity  and  as  a  result  experienced  the  usual, 
immediate  symptoms  and  eventually  almost  total  blindness. 
In  the  same  article,  in  commenting  upon  these  cases  they  say, 
"  There  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  all  the  people  mentioned 
above  were  simply  poisoned  by  wood  alcohol ;  as  in  addition  to  the 
finding  of  that  substance  in  the  ginger  preparations,  it  is  shown 
that  the  same  result  followed  the  use  of  a  peppermint  essence  in 
which  it  was  also  detected."  *  *  *  Whether  the  wood  alcohol 
used  in  making  the  preparations  which  have  brought  about  such 
dire  results  was  "  crude  "  or  "  purified"  is  apparently  unknown.  It 
is  reasonable  to  infer,  however,  that  anyone  employing  it  for  such 
purposes  would  choose  the  latter  on  account  of  its  comparative 
freedom  from  disagreeable  odor.  *  *  *  The  foregoing  should 
sufficiently  dispose  of  all  theorizing  as  to  the  possible  harmlessness 
of  a  purified  wood  alcohol.  Even  if  it  were  known  that  it  could  be 
so  purified  as  to  render  it  no  more  harmful  than  grain  alcohol,  one 
would  have  to  remember  that  there  would  always  be  uncertainty 
as  to  its  purification  having  been  fully  accomplished.  With 
ordinary  alcohol  we  have  no  parallel  risk." 
