Am.  Jour.  Pharm. ") 
Feb.,  1892.  J 
Estimation  of  Iodoform. 
99 
aged.  Since  boric  acid,  at  ordinary  temperature,  is  only  soluble  in 
water,  to  the  extent  of  4  per  cent ,  a  boric  substance  was  sought  for 
possessing  greater  solubility  and  yet  retaining  its  other  properties. 
This  combination  of  properties  was  found  in  a  mixture  of  equal 
parts  of  boric  acid  and  borax.  The  body  so  formed  does  not  differ 
from  boric  acid  in  its  antiseptic  and  pharmacological  properties ;  it 
is  neutral  in  reaction  and  forms  hard  crystals,  soluble  in  water,  in 
ordinary  temperatures,  to  the  amount  of  16  per  cent.  At  the  ordi- 
nary temperature  of  the  body  a  30  per  cent,  solution  can  be  made. 
At  boiling  temperature  70  per  cent,  is  dissolved,  and  this  does 
not  separate  quickly  on  cooling.  The  combination  of  boric  acid  and 
borax  has  been  employed  with  great  advantage  in  purulent  affec- 
tions of  the  middle  ear.  It  is  prepared  by  heating  equal  parts  of 
borax,  boric  acid  and  water  to  boiling  point ;  on  cooling,  crystalline 
masses  separate.  As  the  substance  is  only  slowly  dissolved  at 
ordinary  temperatures,  the  author  advises  that  a  solution,  in  the  first 
place,  be  made  with  water  at  a  boiling  temperature. 
[Note. — The  proportions  given  by  Dr.  Jaenicke  correspond  to 
rather  more  than  six  molecules  of  boric  acid,  B(OH)3,  for  one  of  borax, 
and  the  resulting  product  consists  chiefly  of  Atterberg's  (1875)  salt, 
B405(OH)2.3B203  -f  ioH20.  In  prescriptions  it  has  been  designated 
boroboric  acid. — Editor  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.] 
THE  ESTIMATION  OF  IODOFORM. 
By  H.  Droop  Richmond. 
When  iodoform  is  heated  with  alcoholic  soda  it  is  split  up  with 
the  formation  of  sodium  iodide,  sodium  -formate  and  other  sub- 
stances; the  proportions  appear  to  be  that  i6CHI3  require  42NaOH, 
and  give  35  Nal  and  4KHC02 ;  the  estimations  made  were  as  fol- 
lows: for  100  parts  iodoform: 
Found.  Calculated  from  above  proportions. 
Soda,   264  26' 6 
Iodine  as  iodide,  ....  69*3  to  70*4  70*2 
Formic  acid,   3*34  2-92 
These  figures  show  that  the  reaction  is  a  complex  one,  and  I 
have  not  attempted  to  construct  an  equation  to  express  the  changes 
which  take  place ;  with  the  assumption  that  for  every  100  parts  of 
iodoform,  70  parts  of  iodine  are  produced  as  iodide,  a  fairly  reliable 
method  of  working  is  possible;  about  -i  —  -15  gram  of  iodoform 
