550 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



CROTONATE OF CHLORAL. 



Dr. Liebreich not long since presented to the consideration 

 of the medical profession a new narcotic, which he named 

 crotonate of chloral, and which he obtained by the action of 

 chlorine upon allyl. The influence of this substance upon 

 animals diners from that of chloral, the first result being a 

 profound anaesthesia of the brain, the sensibility of the re- 

 mainder of the body being retained. In the second stage, 

 loss of function in the spinal cord occurs, characterized by 

 the entire absence of reflex excitability. The pulse and res- 

 piration are unaffected. If the dose be increased, death re- 

 sults in the third stage from the paralysis of the medulla ob- 

 longata. The animals may be kept alive by means of artifi- 

 cial respiration, because the crotonate of chloral does not af- 

 fect the heart's action, while chloral causes paralysis of the 

 muscles of the heart. Journal of Physiological Medicine, 

 April, 1872, 377. 



COD-LIVER OIL PILLS. 



Dr. Van der Court, of Brussels, prepares cod-liver oil by 

 adding carefully pulverized slacked lime to the oil, little by 

 little, until the consistency requisite for forming into pills is 

 obtained. Of this mass he gives four or five grains as a dose, 

 after each meal, flavoring it with a small quantity of oil of 

 bitter almonds, or other substance. This remedy he consid- 

 ers to be in many respects better than the liquid oil, and 

 quite useful in the early stages of consumption. The more 

 chronic the character of the disease, the more good may be 

 expected from its administration. 20 A, Dec, 23, 1871, 776. 



USE OF SULPHITES IN DISEASE. 



Professor Polli, of Milan, renews his recommendation for 

 the administration of the sulphites in zymotic diseases, and 

 states that in the hospital and general practice of Italy they 

 have proved of the utmost value. He claims that by their 

 means the course of eruptive fevers is entirely under control, 

 mild cases being rapidly cured, and aggravated ones being 

 rendered mild. In intermittent fevers the same results were 

 obtained, especially in Lombardy, where the amount of ma- 

 laria produced by the extent of the marshy lands causes fe- 



