Vol. XXIV. No. i.] 
POPULAR SCIETTCE NEWS. 
15 
stomach, and frequent vomiting followed quickly. 
The patient became almost unconscious. Cerebral 
symptoms and violent delirium soon succeeded. 
This condition continued for almost two days. 
A ciRiOL's case of poisoning is reported from 
New South Wales {Australasian Med. Gaz.) A 
woman who was suckling twins took a dose of 
chlorodyne at night and suckled the twins afterward. 
In the morning they showed signs of narcotic 
poisoning, and died during the day. 
Semmola declares that the administration of 
antipyretics in continued fevers, produces a poison- 
ous rather than a beneficial effect, the repose secured 
being at the expense of vital force. 
Dr. Koniostein, while giving directions in his 
class on the uses and prescribing of spectacles, said 
that green glass as a protection against strong rays 
was worse than useless, and did more harm to a 
sensitive eye than good, as they allowed the yellow 
rays to be transmitted, and unnecessarily irritated 
the eve. As a protection against strong rays, the 
blue or smoked glasses were the only real protection. 
The blue should be light. 
Semmola proposes sulphur as the coming antis- 
eptic, most serviceable, he thinks, forusein derange- 
ments of the alimentary canal. 
AN E.XPERIMENT IN COLOR-BLINDNESS. 
ExA.MiNATioN of Several color-blind persons hav- 
ing convinced me of the practical value of a com- 
pound tassel of green and gray silk cords as a 
preliminary indicator of defective color-vision; and, 
moreover, having studied Professor William Pole's 
interesting memoir, describing his own case, which 
is illustrated by a diagram, showing bands of 
" neutral gray " appearing to him in the middle of 
the green and at the deepest red, or crimson, o 
Chevreul's colored cercle chromatique ; I felt very- 
desirous of trying an experiment to see for myself 
whether it was possible, by the administration of af 
small dose of santonine, — which is said to cause 
temporary color-blindness, — to realize in my own 
case the imperfection of vision which seems common 
to most color-blind patients. 
Such an experiment I made on the 29th of 
August; but, before proceeding to describe the 
result, it should be mentioned that I have good 
proof of my being blessed with the possession of a 
normal sight ; for in the course of a long experience 
with coal-tar colors, and having frequent occasion 
to compare observations with regard to slight dif- 
ferences of tint with my six colleagues, I have never 
perceptibly deviated from the consensus of the labo- 
ratory staff, and may fairly claim to be reliable on 
this score. On a fine day, provided with an ample 
selection of chemical specimens and colored objects, 
and Ladd's direct vision spectroscope ready to hand, 
I took, fasting, a small dose of santonine, a grain 
and a half, dissolved in a small quantity of alcohol 
and diluted with water. In less than five minutes 
the drug had taken effect; the white table-cloth 
appeared of a delicate bluish green color — pale tur- 
quoise, and all objects were seen as through specta- 
cles of that precise tint. A rapid survey was made 
of my varied collection of objects, and I went into 
the garden to use my spectroscope. I could see all 
the solar colors in unbroken series with scarcely 
perceptible variation ; the Fraunhofer lines were 
there as usual (not th-ckened), the violet extending 
up to the usual limit, and so with the red end, with 
slightly diminished brilliancy, but hardly appreci- 
able absorption ; there was no neutral gray hand in 
the green, but this portion of the spectrum appeared 
quite normal and splendidly brilliant. The obser- 
vation was repeated a few minutes later with the 
same results. 
Turning to my colored specimens: Nickel, cop- 
per, and iron sulphates, iodide and chromate of 
lead, ultramarine, and ammonio-sulphate of copper, 
were quite normal; oxalate of cobalt had not lost its 
delicate pink color, nor nitrate of uranium its well- 
known shade. On the other hand, scarlet iodide of 
mercury was decidedly dulled, and a fine sample 
of carmine appeared more like crimson. By run- 
ning my eyes along the book-shelves in my library, 
I soon noticed that (jmelin's Chemistry — Cavendish 
Society series — and other old-fashioned green bind- 
ings assumed a kind of slatey appearance, crimson 
backs appeared as maroon, dark brown was con- 
verted to chocolate ; but I could see violet quite 
well, bright green pretty much as usual; the Chem- 
ical News, bound in scarlet, appeared red, and 
neutral gray bindings looked only darker in color. 
I could see quite distinctly the difference between 
light-green and slate-gray silk tassels, so that my 
condition was not so abnormal as many of my color- 
blind friends, who fail to see any radical tint-distinc- 
tion between these two dissimilar colors. 
Now for a word of caution. I had taken only 
what might be described as a quarter-dose, — " 2 to 6 
grains"' is the stated quantity in Martindale's Extra 
Pharrnacopaia : other authorities say more, — but at 
the end of fifteen or twenty minutes, the tension 
upon my nervous system proved so serious that I 
feared the worst consequences. I felt so giddy and 
depressed, with a kind of mild tetanus, that I was 
obliged to resort to an emetic, — mustard and warm 
water, — which soon gave me relief. I would 
earnestly warn my readers of the danger of repeat- 
ing this experiment; and now, on fuller inquiry, 
I learn that santonine is a drug reported to be 
" sometimes uncertain in its action," and occasion- 
ally developing " poisonous symptoms from its 
depressing effects on the nervous system." I had 
read of Dr. W. G. Smith taking a 5-grain dose to 
induce color-blindness, without dangerous conse- 
quences, and resolved to take a very much smaller 
quantity, 1V2 grains, in the first instance, well know- 
ing that more than this had often been' given to 
children. Perhaps taking it in the state of solution, 
and before breakfast, or a wrong dose, made all the 
difference. However that may be, I shall never 
again try ophthalmic experiments with santonine, 
and would warn others against doing so without 
proper medical advice. 
My object is accomplished : I wanted to search 
for Professor Pole's neutral gray bands in the solar 
spectrum, as he sees them in Chevreul's famous 
cercle chromatique diagram, but did not find them. 
Nor, it may be added, do any of my color-blind 
friends see any break in the solar spectrum, although 
we know that the heavy green pigments are by them 
so often mistaken for gray. Furthermore, it does 
not appear that santonine gives the same kind of 
color-blindness as commonly presented by the natu- 
ral defect, or my color test of green and gray would 
at once have indicated it. — Read by Prof. John 
Spiller, before the British Association. 
ON THE DILUTION OF COW'S MILK IN 
INFANT FEEDING. 
The writer, in September, 18S6, had occasion to 
consider this question in his daughter's case, owing 
to the mother's deficiency in milk. The food used 
as a substitute on that occasion has proved so suc- 
cessful in more than one case that it merits record- 
ing. 
The formula is mainly based on a process devised 
by Professor Frankland in rearing one of his own 
children. In his paper (published December, 1S54) 
Prof. Frankland gives the percentage amounts of 
the different constituents of human, ass's, and cow's 
milk as follows : 
Womatu Ass. Cow, 
Casein 2.7 1.7 4.2 
Butter 3.5 1.3 3.S 
Milk-sugar 5.0 .,.5 3.S 
Salts .; .5 .- 
These figures for human and cow's milk differ in 
several respects from the averages deduced from a 
wider range of analyses which are quoted bv Mr. 
Thomas Maben in a paper published in the Pharma- 
ceutical .Tournal, the most notable differences being 
those of sugar and fat; but on referring to the min- 
imum and maxinumi figures found bv Professor 
Leeds, from analyses of eighty samples of human 
milk from different sources, it will be seen that 
those given b_y Professor Frankland provide him 
with a basis for a formula which produces a fair 
imitation of human milk with that of the cow. 
In this formula. Professor Frankland takes no 
account of the differences in coagulable and non- 
coagulable albuminoids existing in each of the re- 
spective milks. His process practically consists in 
a precipitation (by means of rennet) of one-third of 
the casein from fresh cow's milk, and the addition 
of one-third more milk-sugar, but this was found by 
the writer somewnat tedious, except to a specially 
trained person. The process of dilution with water 
was adopted because it was simpler, and would 
enable the food to be prepared in a few minutes 
whenever it was required. 
Taking Professor Frankland's figures for the 
average of fresh cow's milk, as quoted, it will be 
seen that when it is diluted with water in the pro- 
portion of three parts of the former to two parts of 
the latter, the average amount of constituents is 
modified as follows : 
Fresh cow's milk, 3 parts; water, 2 jjarts — 
Casein. z.^z p^r cent. 
Fat i.iS 
Sugar 2.2S " 
Ash. 
.4Z 
From these figures the writer compiled the fol- 
lowing formula. The albuminoids, fat, and milk- 
sugar are by calculation made to approximate as 
nearly as possible to the average of these constitu- 
ents in human milk. 
Finely ground oatmeal. . .1/4 gradually increasing to '/j ounce. 
Fresh butter 1 drachm. 
Milk-sugar 2 drachms. 
Fresh cow's milk 6 fluid ounces. 
Pure water 4 fluid ounces. 
Salt 5 grains, or a sufficiency. 
Mix gradually the water with the oatmeal, milk- 
sugar, and salt, so that no lumps are formed in the 
mixture, then add the milk and butter, and heat to 
the boiling-point in a clean, enamelled saucepan. 
The product should be made up to the measure of 
half a pint, if necessary, and given lukewarm with 
a spoon when required. 
The oatmeal was introduced as a useful attenu- 
ant, and it has been found to act as a laxative, and 
also as a direct fat and heat-producer in tlie process 
of digestion. The process of feeding with a spoon 
is at first troublesome, but it is to be preferred to 
the use of a feeding bottle, as, if care be taken to 
have all the vessels employed scrupulously cleah, 
the infant will enjoy an immunity from thrush 
{Oidium albicans), diarrhoea, and other diseases 
that follow in their train.— George Smith, in 
Pharmaceutical Journal. 
THE STOMACH-BRUSH. 
A DENTAL journal publishes the following, trans- 
lated from the German : In 17 13 there was pub- 
lished a pamphlet entitled " A Complete Account of 
the most Useftil Stomach Brush which is now to be 
