THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[April 22,1871. 
S54 
to be permeable by certain gases. In the case of steel, 
as Mr. Williams states, the burning is limited to the oxi¬ 
dation and consequent removal of the carbon which 
takes place even at a low red heat. The permeability of 
red-hot steel by oxygen and carbonic oxide enables us to 
understand the process of the internal oxidation of the 
carbon. The “toads’ eyes,” or conchoidai;facets of the 
strychnine, in a case of diabetes, had been signally suc¬ 
cessful. He believed the bromide of quinine to be the 
best preparation in cases of remittent or intermittent fever. 
Dr. Richardson next mentioned bromal hydrate, which 
he said was less soluble, and produced more convulsive 
action than chloral hydrate, and could not, he thought, 
replace it. He then exhibited a specimen of pure anhy- 
so-called crystals, Mr. Williams explains by supposing a drous chloral, which by the addition of pure water was 
piece of steel at the temperature most favourable to the converted into chloral hydrate. He suggested that as 
rapidest endosmosis of oxygen and the exosmosis of car- chloral itself was a fluid caustic, abstracting water ra- 
bonic oxide to be suddenly cooled, and the possible occlu- pidly, it might be usefully employed in some cases where 
sion of the carbonic oxide to be arrested. The result soft fungous growths had to be removed. A specimen 
'would be a certain molecular disintegration and porosity , of metachloral, an insoluble white substance, obtained by 
-of the steel, presenting those conchoidal spots. This the action of sulphuric acid upon chloral hydrate, was 
view is further supported by the fact that burnt steel then shown. It is isomeric with chloral, and when treated 
may be cured by reheating and hammering, or rolling at with an alkali is resolved into chloroform and chlorate 
a welding heat. of the alkali employed. It seemed to act as a gentle 
“On the Formation of Sulpho-acids,” by Dr. Arm- narcotic when administered to inferior animals. Lastly, 
strong. Occupied with an investigation into the con- Dr. Richardson exhibited a specimen of mercaptan, or 
stitution of sulphuric acid, the author turned his atten- sulphur alcohol (C,H fi S), in which the oxygen of ordi- 
tion to chlorhydric sulphate, a body discovered some nary alcohol is replaced by sulphur. He furnished con- 
years ago by Professor Williamson. When that sub- siderablo information concerning the action of this agent, 
stance, S0 2 1I0 Cl, is made to react on benzol, the chief and specially mentioned the mental depression produced 
product of the reaction is sulphobenzid, sulphobenzolic by it even when taken in very minute quantities. He 
chloride and sulphobenzolic acid being also formed, but said also that it communicated to the breath a peculiar 
in relatively very small quantity. This led Dr. Arm- odour like that met with in wasting diseases, a fact which 
strong to commence a series of experiments to determine, might furnish the groundwork for a new line of research 
if possible, the conditions under which the one or the 
other of the above reactions took place, and to arrive at 
a general expression for the action of chlorhydric sul¬ 
phate on organic bodies. The bodies he had until now 
acted upon with S 0 2 H 0 Cl are brombenzol, nitrobenzol, 
nitrophenol (both modifications, the volatile and the 
-non-volatile), and naphthalin. The results of his ex¬ 
periments lead the author to conclude that the normal 
action, so to speak, of SCLHO Cl is to form a sulphacid, 
the Cl of the chloride removing H from the body acted 
upon and replacing it by the groujD S0 3 H; it is only 
nnder certain conditions that both Cl and HO are re 
in the diagnosis of disease. 
SOCIETY OF ARTS. 
The Cultivation of the Beet-root in England. 
At the Ordinary Meeting of this Society held on Wed¬ 
nesday, March 8 th, a paper was read by Dr. Augustus 
Yoelcker, F.R.S., on “The Cultivation and Uses of 
Sugar-Beet in England.” The author commenced by 
stating that scarcely more than half a century had 
passed since the first beetroot sugar manufactory was 
moved from the chloride, and a sulphobenzid-analogous ere< ^ e ^ * n Germany, and sugar was extracted from beet- 
compound formed. What these conditions are, Dr. Arm- i r , 00 ^ on . a commeicial scale; yet in spite of many hm- 
strong- hopes to establish by further experiments. I fiances m the shape of vexatious fiscal regulations, and 
ihe nature of the geological stratum from which it takes 
Austria. It had also found its way into Russia, Sweden 
its origin. The water above-mentioned comes from what and the United States. At present there were over 500 
Dr. Dawson terms the Middle Coal Formation of Nova 
Scotia, which includes the productive beds of coal, and 
which, according to the same authority, are destitute of 
properly marine limestone. The analysis of the water 
.seems to bear out the latter assertion, since the water is 
very poor in chlorides. 
MEDICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 
beetroot sugar factories and distilleries in France, nearly 
200 in Belgium and about 300 in Prussia. Probably 
the number of Continental factories did not fall far short 
of 2000, most of which were reported as doing a lucrative 
business. Notwithstanding the success which had at- 
i tended the industry abroad, few attempts had been made 
in England to cultivate this useful crop, which he attri- 
I buted to the fact that while on the Continent the manu¬ 
facturer was often himself a farmer, this was not the 
case in England; and, therefore, the farmer in this 
At the meeting of the Medical Society on Monday, I country did not pay such special attention to thecultiva- 
March 13, Dr. B. W. Richardson read a paper, entitled tion of roots rich in sugar. 
Some Further Additions to Therapeutics : Organic Bro- In speaking of the cultivation of the beetroot, Dr. 
mides, Metachloral; with a Note on Sulphur Alcohol.” Voelcker described it as a biennial plant, growing wild 
After reference to the methods of research in therapeu- in the south of Europe. It was introduced into the 
tics, he introduced some new medicinal bromides, viz. Netherlands by the Spaniards, and thence brought into 
biomide of quinine, bromide of morphine, and bromide Germany. The common field beet, of which the German 
Gi sti) chnme, together with some combinations of them, name is “ mangelwurzel,” was introduced into this 
He said that bromides^ were best administered in the country from Germany during the last century. The 
lorrn of s\ i ups, containing one grain of the bromide of sugar-beet is a variety of the common mangelwurzel 
quinine, one-eightli of a grain of morphine, or one thirty- obtained by crossing and culture. Of the different sorts, 
second pait of a grain of bromide of strychnia in the i the white Silesian root (Beta alba ) is the most valued as 
drachm of each of the respective syrups. Compounds of being particularly rich in sugar. When grown in per- 
the syiups of the bromides of quinine and morphine, and fection it is pear-shaped, white in the body, shows very 
of quinine, morphine and strychnine were also useful 
In each drachm of these the same proportion of dose was 
maintained. He had found the bromide of quinine of 
great service in syphilitic ulceration. Repeated doses of 
little above ground, penetrates about twelve inches into 
the soil and has numerous radicles. It is light green on 
the top, has white flesh, green leaves with lighter 
coloured ribs, and strong long petioles. The specific 
syrup of bromide of quinine and morphine in cases of gravity of the beetroot affords a good test of its quality; 
neuralgia, and the syrup of quinine, morphine and the greater its specific gravity the richer, as a rule, will 
