93G 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
[May 20,1871. 
A Large Dose of Chloral Hydrate. 
As illustrating the variable effects of this drug - , a cor¬ 
respondent of the Lancet mentions a case where a patient 
saved up five draughts, each containing twenty-five 
grains of chloral hydrate, for the purpose of committing 
suicide. He found her just woke from, a very deep 
sleep in an excited state, crying and complaining of 
great pain at the heart. Knowing that she was addicted 
to drink, and being told that she had taken more than 
half a bottle of brandy besides other liquor, he attributed 
her state to that cause. Afterwards, however, she con¬ 
fessed to having taken the five draughts, making a dose 
of 125 grains. The next morning, with the exception of 
being unable to sleep or take food, and the pulse being- 
irregular, she seemed as usual. 
©Mtanr. 
SIR JOHN FREDERICK WILLIAM 
HERSCHEL, BART. 
On Thursday, the 11th instant, a man whose name has 
been for the greater portion of the present century 
honourably associated with those of the pioneers of sci¬ 
ence, passed away. The announcement of the death on 
that day of Sir John Frederick William Plerschel, Bart., 
chronicles the last stage of a long life spent in active 
scientific investigation, which resulted in discoveries that 
have added considerably to the stores of human know¬ 
ledge. 
John Horschel was born in 1792 at Slough, where his 
father, Sir William Hersehel, had just previously com¬ 
pleted the erection of his forty-foot telescope, at that 
time looked upon as one of the marvels of the day. Being 
the only child in the house, and continually surrounded 
by the appliances for astronomical study, it is not sur¬ 
prising that he early displayed a love for natural philo¬ 
sophy; the inherent mathematical powers of his mind 
being developed under the most favourable circumstances. 
His early education he received from, a private tutor. 
At Cambridge, where he entered St. John’s College, he 
was senior wrangler and Smith’s prizeman in 1813. The 
same year he published his first work, ‘ A Collection of 
Examples of the Application of the Calculus to Finite 
Differences.’ His father’s great discovery of the motion 
of the binary stars seems to have produced a powerful 
impression on his mind, and in 1816 he commenced to 
examine and catalogue the nebula) and clusters of stars. 
This work was continued by him—part of the time in 
conjunction with the late Sir James South—until 1830, 
the results being recorded in the Philosophical Transac¬ 
tions and the Memoirs of the Astronomical Society ; the 
importance of the services being recognized by the award 
to him of the astronomical prize of the French Academy 
of Sciences and the gold medal of the Astronomical 
Society. .In 1822 he published a treatise on the absorp¬ 
tion of light by coloured media; another, on Sound, 
was also supplied by him to the ‘ Encyclopaedia Metro- 
politana.’ In 1830 his Preliminary Discourse on the 
Study of Natural Philosophy appeared in ‘ Lardner’s 
Cabinet Cyclopaedia,’ and caused a considerable amount 
of discussion. Although it has not taken the rank which 
its admirers at .first claimed for it, it gives abundant 
proofs of the writer’s eloquence and learning. 
Being dissatisfied with the small amount of time during 
which our changeable climate allowed of the use of the 
telescope, and being desirous of making a survey of the 
southern heavens, he, in November, 1833, left England 
for the Cape, and fixed his residence in the neighbour¬ 
hood of I able Bay. There he set up his instruments, 
and for four years devoted his energies to the work he 
had proposed for himself. At the end of that time he 
returned to England. The scientific world had -watched 
with great interest his proceedings in connection with 
this visit to the Cape, and upon his return the public ap¬ 
probation was manifested in the liveliest manner. He- 
was entertained at a great public dinner in London, and 
the Government of the day offered to reimburse him all 
the expenses of the expedition, a proposition that he dis¬ 
interestedly declined. He had previously received from 
King William IV. the Guelphic order of Knighthood, 
and on the occasion of the coronation of Queen Victoria 
he was made a baronet. The presidency of the Royal 
Society having become vacant by the resignation of the 
Duke of Sussex, it was proposed to elect Hersehel to the 
honourable office, and, but for his declining to stand, he 
would probably have been chosen. In 1842 he was 
elected Lord Rector of Marischal College, Aberdeen, and 
in 1848 he became president of the Royal Astronomical 
Society. In 1850 he was appointed to the Mastership of 
the Mint, a post which he resigned in 1855, when he was 
succeeded by the late Professor Graham. 
Sir John Hersehel’s scientific acquirements were not 
limited to the particular branch of astronomy with which 
his name is more generally connected. He also made 
some original researches in optics, and was an accom¬ 
plished chemist and electrician. Wo do-not propose here¬ 
to give a complete list of his writings, nor of the honours 
which he received from many other countries. But we 
would mention the peculiar charm with which he con¬ 
trived to invest somewhat abstruse subjects, and the suc¬ 
cessful manner in which he popularized scientific teach¬ 
ing. After his retirement he still occasionally qsed his 
pen in the service of the public, and within the last two 
or three years he contributed to ‘ Good Words’ a series 
of popular articles on the wonders of the universe. 
■w At the request of many eminent scientific men, Sir- 
John Hersehel was buiied in Westminster Abbey, on 
Friday, the 19th instant. 
Sir John Hersehel married in 1829 Margaret Brodic, 
daughter of the Rev. Dr. Alexander Stew r ait, by whom 
he had nine daughters and three sons. He is succeeded 
in the title by his son Mr. William Hersehel, of the 
Bengal Civil Service, who was bom in 1833. 
JAMES YATES, F.R.S. 
We regret to have to announce the death of Mr. James- 
Yates, M.A., F.R.S., which took place at his residence, 
Lauderdale House, Ilighgate, on the 7th inst. Although 
better known of late years as the chief and liberal pro¬ 
moter of the International Association for the intro¬ 
duction of the Metric System of Weights and Measures- 
into this country, he was distinguished by his classical 
and scientific attainments. His learning was not only 
very extensive, but profound and accurate, and he con¬ 
tributed largely to several classical and archaeological 
works. He always took an active interest in the pro¬ 
ceedings of the Royal Society. He was also an influ¬ 
ential member of the Geological Society, and of other 
learned and scientific bodies. 
CoMMENTAR ZUR OSTERREICHISCHEX PlIARMACOPOS, eili 
Handbuch fur Apothcker, Sanitatsbeamte und Aerzte, 
mit Rucksicht auf die wichtigsten Pharmacopoeen des 
•Auslandcs. By F. C. Schneider, Professor at the 
Imperial Josephinum, and Dr. Aug. Vogl, Lecturer 
at the Vienna University. 3 vols.; 2nd edition. 
Vienna: Manz’sche Buchhandlung. 
This is a capital book, ever} 7, page of which bears wit¬ 
ness not only that the authors are fully at home in the 
matters they treat of, but also that they have the rare gift 
of communicating their information in a lucid and at¬ 
tractive manner. The student is carried along from one 
subject to the next, seldom without gaining some new 
and useful information; he soon learns to handle the- 
