N. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND HYGIENE. 559 



N. MATERIA MEDICA, THERAPEUTICS, AND 



HYGIENE. 



THE POISONOUS PROPERTIES OF ALCOHOLS. 



Dujardin-Beaumetz and Andige have made some curious 

 toxicological experiments with the fermentation alcohols of 

 ethyl, propyl, butyl, and amyl. Over sixty dogs were sub- 

 jected to investigation, and each poison was tested not only 

 through the stomach, but also by administration through 

 the skin. The intensity of the poisoning is greatest when 

 the alcohol is taken into the stomach, and seems, if we ar- 

 range the four substances above named in a series, to increase 

 in a serial way. Thus ethyl alcohol (common alcohol), hav- 

 ing the lowest molecular weight, is the least poisonous, 

 while amyl alcohol (fusel-oil), at the other end of the list, is 

 the most so. 6 I>, July 26. 



A NEW SEDATIVE. 



M. Bonneville has investigated the therapeutic properties 

 of monobrominated camphor, and finds it to be a decided sed- 

 ative. Tested upon small animals, like rabbits and cats, 

 lie found it to depress the action of the heart, to diminish 

 the number of respirations without disturbing their rhythm, 

 and to lower the bodily temperature very regularly, in a 

 remarkable degree. Tested upon human beings, it gave sat- 

 isfactory results in cases of chorea, hysteria, cardiac affec- 

 tions of nervous origin, and epilepsy. The new remedy was 

 dissolved, sometimes in alcohol, sometimes in glycerine, but 

 the dose is not stated. 6 B, August 9. 



DETECTION OF ARSENIC IN TISSUES. 



The problem of detecting arsenic in medico-legal cases is 

 often rendered obscure by the liability the chemist incurs 

 of losing a large part of the poison. Gautier now proposes 

 a method by which almost every trace of the arsenic con- 

 tained in a quantity of muscle, or other animal matter, can 

 be recovered and estimated quantitatively. The finely 

 chopped muscle, liver, or brain, as the case may be, is treat- 



