974 Transactions of the American Institute. 



needle. These results arc not strictly comparable, as it is not cer- 

 tain that sensitiveness of the galvanometer was the same in the whole 

 series of observations. 



On this item Dr. VanderM'cyde remarked that we can scarcely con- 

 cieve the distance that the stars are from us, so to measure their heat 

 is a difficult matter with the instruments we have. The largest 

 variation in the heat of the stars ascertained by the thermo-electric 

 pile will probably be found only one degree of difference. Those 

 having the reddest colors will no doubt have the greatest heat. 



Mr. Cliarles F. Boyle, stated that the stars when seen through a 

 slightly polished glass the lines assume difi'erent colors. When per- 

 fectly polished they appear all white. The stars disappear with dif- 

 ferent degrees of color as they descend ; they decrease in the same 

 order as the sun does when setting. A decrease in the power of the 

 telescope will change the color of the stars. 



Dr. Yanderweyde said there are a great many double stars that 

 will appear different, even at the same distance from us. Some stars 

 will show many dark lines in the red, and some in the green. The 

 spectroscope shows these and also the shifting of the stars. He was 

 now making diagrams of the colors of the stars, which he would 

 show at a future meeting. 



Hydrate or Chloral. 

 This compound has been subjected to numerous experiments in 

 France since the first announcement that it possessed anresthetic 

 properties. It is formed by the action of perfectly dry chlorine gas 

 upon pure alcohol. The hydrogen atoms liberated are not replaced 

 entirely by chlorine atoms, since the chloral contains two atoms of 

 carbon, three of chlorine, and one of oxygen. In a short time it 

 ■undergoes a spontaneous change, but its hydrate is a crystalline solid. 

 It has been successfully administered to persons suffering from nervous 

 irritability, weakness and wakefulness. M. Bouchut, who has investi- 

 gated its properties with peculiar care, says : "As a therapeutical 

 agent, hydrate of chloral is the sedative of violent pain in gout, of 

 the atrocious sufferings occasioned by nephritic colic and dental 

 caries; in a word, it is the very best of anresthetics adminhtered 

 throuyh the stomach. Lastly, it is the quickest and most efficacious 

 remedy in intense chorea, when it is required to abate speedily a 

 condition of restlessness, which is in itself a peril to the life of the 

 patient." 



