TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION I. 873 



(3) To make a thorough course of instruction in anmsthotics a necessary part 

 of the medical educat-on of every practitioner, and 



(4) To require hospital authorities to register every annesthetic administered 

 within their respective institutions. 



It is a matter for great congratulation that the General Medical Council have 

 recently looked favourably upon the more important of these reforms, and it is to 

 be hoped that ere long legislation may be granted in the directions indicated. 



9. Is Alcoliol a Food of Muscle ? A Comparison of Chloroform, Ether, 

 and Alcohol. By Professor A. D. Waller, F.Ii.S. 



Dr. Waller described his method of work. Two frog mus::le3 (Sartorius), each 

 immersed in salt solution contained in two glass tubes, are arranged in one electric 

 circuit, so that they can be stimulated simultaneously and their contractions 

 recorded on two smoked plates fixed each on a small railway-truck moved 

 simultaneously by a clock. A series of normal contractions were first recorded 

 on the smoked plates ; then the salt solution was replaced by the same quantity 

 of the liquid to be tested, and the record continued. In this way the effects of a 

 series of alcohols and different strengths of alcohol were compared. It seemed as 

 though alcohol in weak solution of about one per cent. 'acted on muscle as a food — 

 that is to say, not only calling out the energy there but supplying fresh energy — 

 but the experiments are not conclusive enough to give a definite answer. 



By this method, also, the toxicity of chloroform was compared with that of 

 alcohol and ether. The toxic value of one ounce of chloroform is equivalent 

 physiologically to nearly half a gallon of alcohol. More precisely, the order of 

 toxicity is — 



1 molecule of chloroform is equivalent to 

 12 molecules of ether and to 

 100 molecules of ethyl alcohol. 



The object of these latter experiments was to determine the safe administration 

 of chloroform, a continuation of work extending over the last fifteen years. 



FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. 



Discussion on Mental and Muscular Fatigue. 



(i) Fatigue. By Dr. W. MacDougall. — See Reports, p. 479. 



(ii) Fatigue. By Professor T. H. Milroy. 



Professor Milroy referred to a special form of fatigue — namely, fatigue to 

 colour, and especially with regard to its efiect upon those phenomena which are 

 referred to under the term ' simultaneous contrast.' 



Simultaneous contrast requires two fields, an inducing and a reacting field ; 

 and the visual sensation derived from a stimulation of the latter is of the nature of 

 that furnished by the colour complementary to the inducing colour. 



Two explanations of this have been given, a psychological and a physiological 

 one. The former, formulated by Helmholtz, may be stated in the following 

 way : — 



When a small colourless field is included in a coloured one, a false judgment 

 is made as to the nature of the former owing to the observer subtracting frgm the 

 pmftll central field the colour of the larger coloured field. 



