THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [September 21, 1872. 
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mouth, chloral. Chemists could not at first agree as to 
the nature and composition of these two bodies, and then 
commenced the great controversy between Liebig and 
Dumas, which chemists of that day followed with so much 
anxiety, and we read with so much interest, not knowing 
which most to admire, the ardour that filled the two 
champions, or the admirable logic of their arguments. 
We cannot deal here with this controversy, in which 
the views of Dumas ultimately triumphed, hut it is in¬ 
teresting to note what researches originated in these two 
bodies, to which was reserved so brilliant a future. The 
history of chloroform and chloral is a proof of the gene¬ 
ral axiom, that every fact seriously and disinterestedly 
studied, with the sole object of arriving at the truth, 
however far off the possibility of its practical employment 
may seem, will sooner or later find an useful applica¬ 
tion. For many long years chloroform was only an 
object for theoretic speculation ; but when, thirty years 
since, the American Jackson discovered the anaesthetic 
properties of ether, the hour sounded for chloroform 
also. At the commencement of 1847, Flourens showed 
that the vapour of chloroform exercised upon animals 
an action analogous to that of ether; and at the end of 
the same year, that is to say fifteen years after its dis¬ 
covery, James Simpson, of Edinburgh, used chloroform 
for the first time as an anaesthetic. Nor was it a mere 
lucky chance that introduced this important agent into 
medicine. Simpson sought systematically for a substance 
possessing the anaesthetic properties of ether, but not 
exercising like it an inj urious influence upon the system, 
and it was only after having carefully compared a long 
series of organic compounds that he decided in favour of 
chloroform. Since then, notwithstanding numerous at¬ 
tacks and many propositions to substitute it by other 
bodies, chloroform has victoriously held its place among 
the best auxiliaries of the surgeon and the accoucheur. 
The history of the introduction of hydrate of chloral 
into therapeutics is, perhaps, even more interesting. Its 
discovery preceded that of chloroform; for it was in 
1832, while studying chloral which he had just dis¬ 
covered, that Liebig for the first time met with chloro¬ 
form. It is singular, that nearly forty years elapsed 
before the marvellous physiological properties of chloral 
were suspected. Although at the time of its discovery 
chloral attracted the attention of all chemists, and its 
discovery was of great importance in the solution of 
various questions, for a long period it was only the ob¬ 
ject of rare researches. And this was not without 
reason, for in a field that had been explored by Liebig 
there is generally but little probability of making a 
rich gleaning. Thus chloral fell into oblivion, being 
scarcely known from personal study to the younger ge¬ 
neration of chemists; therefore, the astonishment was 
the greater when suddenly it reappeared upon the scene 
in a most unexpected manner. Again, it was not by 
chance that the physiological properties of chloral were 
discovered; if ever a discovery responded to that which 
was expected by its author, it was the marvellous action 
of chloral upon the organism discovered by Liebreich. 
One of the most remarkable reactions of chloral is the 
transformation which it undergoes under the influence 
of alkalies. In 1832, Liebig demonstrated that in the 
presence of alkalies the molecule of chloral seizes the 
elements of water and breaks up into chloroform and 
formic acid. In 1868, Liebreich asked this question, 
“ How does this reaction affect the system if, instead of 
taking place in the retort of the chemist, it occurs in the 
living organism ? ” The transformation of chloral into 
chloroform and formic acid takes place even under the 
influence of extremely dilute alkaline solutions. Chloral 
is soluble in water, and consequently easily absorbable by 
the organism; once absorbed, it comes into contact with 
the blood which has an alkaline reaction. So that here 
there was a question fairly put to Nature; and never 
does she refuse to reply to such questions. 
We cannot here trace the progress of the em¬ 
ployment of chloral, but it will give some idea of it to say 
that all the chloral prepared for the requirements of 
science from 1832 to 1868, scarcely amounted to one 
kilogram, while to-day the manufacturers of Berlin alone 
send one hundred kilogrammes into commerce daily. 
As to the manner in which chloral acts upon the economy, 
physiologists are not yet agreed, but no medical man of 
the present day doubts that in it he has always a practi¬ 
cable means of producing a more or less profound 
anaesthesia, and that therein organic chemistry has fur¬ 
nished to therapeutics one of its most valuable agents. 
But one need not be a physician to appreciate the value 
of this service; one need only experience its marvellous 
properties, or see them exercised upon others. Science, 
especially, has reason to rejoice concerning them, for 
during the severe illness which recently menaced the life 
of the great chemist who discovered chloral, he was able 
by its use to obtain beneficial and reparative sleep. 
If I have dilated somewhat upon the introduction of 
chloroform and chloral into medicine, it is because this 
introduction was the commencement of a new phase in 
the relations between organic chemistry and therapeutics. 
As long as the researches of organic chemistry were 
confined to the domain of analysis, therapeutics was con¬ 
tent to receive, with thankfulness, the fruits of those 
labours, and even when the study of the metamorphoses of 
organic bodies commenced, its role was scarcely changed. 
In the first case it accepted gladly indications as to the 
nature of the substances it used ; in the second, it was 
happy to enrich itself with the discoveries due to the 
progress of chemistry. But the relations between the 
two sciences quickly changed: therapeutics was no 
longer content only to receive ; already it stretched out 
a hand towards the treasures which incessant labour had 
acquired for organic chemistry. It was in the presence 
of a well-defined want that it examined these treasures, 
searching and trying, and finishing by placing its hand 
upon chloroform, which answered so well to its expecta¬ 
tion. But as chemistry discovered fresh reactions, 
therapeutics made them the objects of remarkable specu¬ 
lation, and it was thus that the action of chloral was 
discovered. This is a method that ought incontestably 
to offer to therapeutics an immense field for development. 
He who examines this field, who knows with what ardour, 
perseverance, care and love, chemists have cultivated it; 
he who has seen this field, in the first decades of this 
century a waste, and now a verdant oasis, transformed 
by the cares of indefatigable workers into a flourishing 
garden; he who knows the fruits already produced by 
this garden, will have no doubt that therein is a rich 
harvest for therapeutics to gather; and as formerly the 
problem chemists had to resolve was to determine the 
composition of substances used as medicines, so it is now 
for the physician to examine the physiological properties 
of the numerous substances that have had their origin 
in systematic chemical research, and to seek to profit by 
them. In such researches it is necessary that a choice 
should be based upon an intimate acquaintance with the 
substance; to ascertain the facilities existing for procur¬ 
ing it; and never to lose sight of the relations which exist 
between it and substances already tried. Often the study 
of a single compound will suffice to give an idea of the 
physiological action of all the bodies of a series; but 
always investigations conducted in this manner will 
exercise an important influence upon the development of 
therapeutics. 
There is still another direction in 'which organic che¬ 
mistry has rendered services to therapeutics. It is well 
known what singular modifications may occur in the 
physiological properties of a substance when it unites 
with one or more elements to form a more complex 
body. Thus, arsenicum, combined with oxygen or 
hydrogen, under the form of arsenious acid or of ar- 
seniuretted hydrogen, constitutes a deadly poison. If 
besides the oxygen and hydrogen, it unites with carbon 
to form such a compound as the oxide of cacodyle or 
