180 



Dr. E. A. Parkes on the 



[Feb. 12, 



The greatest fall in these three hours of the axilla temperature on a 

 water day was 0'6 Fahr. : the greatest fall on a brandy day was 1'2, and 

 on another day the fall was 1, or *6 and *4 more than on any water day ; 

 yet on the third day of brandy, when four fluid ounces ( = 2 fluid ounces 

 of absolute alcohol) were taken, the difference was only 0-2 Eahr. 



In considering the rectum temperatures it is necessary to omit the 

 fourth day of brandy, when impacted fsecal matter in the bowel evidently 

 lowered the reading of the thermometer. There was no fall with one 

 fluid ounce of brandy ( = | fluid ounce or 14 cub. centim. of alcohol), a fall 

 of 0*5 with two fluid ounces (=28-4 cub. centims. of alcohol), of only 0'l 

 with four fluid ounces, and of 0'6 with six fluid ounces. There was there- 

 fore no regularity with the increasing quantity of brandy. The greatest 

 fall (0*6) was not more than occurred on one of the water days. 



When these numbers, omitting the fourth brandy day of the rectum 

 series, are submitted to calculation according to the rule given by Mr. 

 Galloway in his Treatise on Probability, the following results are given : 



Difference of Temperature between 11 and 2 o'clock in Fahrenheit degrees. 



If the observations are not too few to be trusted, this calculation 

 shows that there was a slight fall in temperature in the three hours 

 following brandy. 



But it will be seen at once both how small the fall is, and how difficult 

 it is even yet to feel quite sure of the result. Taking the rectum 

 temperature for example, the probable errors of result as calculated out 

 are 0'll in the water and 0'07 in the brandy days ; the results in each 

 series might then have been a mean fall of 0p 16 in the water series 

 and of 0*23 in the brandy series, or there might have only been a 

 difference of -0-07. 



Still, looking at all these results, and especially to the fact that the 

 calculation is in all cases a little against the brandy series, it may 

 be concluded that in this man the brandy did produce a very slight 

 fall ; but that, if this is correct, the fall could not have been more than 0'35 

 Fahr., and may have been only '07 Fahr., in three hours. 



