292 
Methyl  Alcohol. 
Am.  Jour.  Pliarm 
June,  1901. 
In  answering  a  query  in  the  Pharmaceutical  Era,  April  11,  1901, 
page  393,  "  May  wood  alcohol  be  used  as  a  preservative  for  witch 
hazel?"  they  say  that  the  manufacturers  of  Columbian  spirits 
state  in  their  advertisements  that  it  cannot  be  used  internally. 
In  connection  with  this,  the  attention  of  all  who  may  be  inter- 
ested in  this  subject  should  be  called  to  an  article  published  by 
Ferdinand  A.  Sieker  on  "  The  detection  of  methyl  alcohol  in 
pharmaceutical  preparations,"  appearing  in  the  Pharmaceutical 
Review  of  March,  1901,  and  other  journals. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  according  to  Mr.  J.  Wolff,  in  a 
paper  reported  at  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Paris  Academie,  distinct 
traces  of  methyl  alcohol  are  found  in  the  fermented  juices  of  many 
fruits,  amounting  to  as  much  in  some  instances  as  two  (2)  volumes 
for  every  one  hundred  (100)  of  ethylic  alcohol  formed  and  in  other 
fruits  only  0*2  volumes  tc  the  same  quantity  of  ethyl  alcohol.  See 
Compt.  rend.,  1900,  p.  1323.  Zeitschr.f.  {Inters,  d.  Na'ir.  u.  Genuss., 
iqoi,  p.  391. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  we  have  no  reports  on  the  use  of  methyl 
alcohol  as  a  menstruum  in  the  making  of  such  preparations  as 
those  in  which  the  final  product  contains  none  of  the  solvent, 
although,  as  Mr.  Gordon  says,  the  various  manufacturers  could,  no 
doubt,  furnish  some  very  interesting,  possibly  conclusive  evidence, 
if  they  would  but  report  their  experiences ;  neither  do  we  have  any 
report  upon  its  use  in  the  making  of  toilet  preparations,  although 
one  man  vigorously  protests  against  the  very  thought  of  its  use  in 
this  connection.  He  evidently  is  familiar  with  the  commercial 
grade  only  and  not  the  "  exceptionally  pure  and  odorless  article." 
Likewise  there  is  almost  no  mention  of  its  use  in  preparations 
intended  for  external  application. 
In  view  of  the  facts  above  cited  it  is  claimed  that  pharmacists  at 
present  are  not  justified  in  substituting  methyl  alcohol  for  grain 
alcohol  when  the  preparation  is  intended  for  internal  administration. 
For  heating  purposes  it  may  well  take  the  place  of  the  more  expen- 
sive liquids,  also  as  a  solvent  in  the  preparing  of  solutions  to  be 
used  in  the  arts,  as  varnishes,  etc.,  and  seemingly  without  objection 
in  the  making  of  pharmaceutical  preparations  in  such  cases  where 
none  of  the  methyl  alcohol  remains  in  the  finished  product. 
