November 25, 1871.] THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. 
425 
by conducting chlorine gas into allylene. A peculiar ac¬ 
tion of this new substance upon animals is, that at first a 
high degree of anaesthesia in the head is produced, while 
sensibility in the other parts of the body remains intact. 
The second stage is, that the spinal cord loses its func¬ 
tion, and reflex excitability is everywhere extinguished. 
During that stage both pulse and respiration remain 
unchanged. The third stage, which is induced by large 
doses, is characterized by paralysis of the medulla ob¬ 
longata and death. Animals may, however, be kept 
alive by artificial respiration, because the function of the 
heart is not interfered with ; while the ultimate effect of 
hydrate of chloral is to paralyse the heart. The first 
therapeutical experiments with the new compound were 
made in the University Clinique of Berlin. Complete 
anesthesia of the fifth pair- of cerebral nerves was pro¬ 
duced in a child, reflex excitability in the other parts of 
the body continuing unchanged at the same time. 
Pulse and respiration remained exactly the same during 
the whole time of the narcosis. Further experiments 
upon insane patients showed that we possess in croton- 
chloral a remedy hy means of which the brain may be 
profoundly narcotized without any other functions being 
disturbed, while by chloral not only the brain, but the 
nervous system altogether, is rendered anaesthetic, and 
the heart’s action is diminished, which must always con¬ 
stitute a source of danger. Croton-chloral, therefore, 
promises to produce all the good effects of hydrate of 
chloral without any drawback being attached to its 
judicious use. Its apparently specific effects on the 
fifth pair of cerebral nerves makes us indulge the hope 
that it may perhaps be found useful in that most intrac¬ 
table affection, true tic-douloureux, or epileptiform neu¬ 
ralgia of the face.” 
SYRUP OP SENNA. 
BY J. B. MOORE. 
This syrup, which was officinal in the U. S. P. of 1850, 
was omitted in that of 1860, the aufhors, perhaps, think¬ 
ing that its place might be supplied by the fluid extract; 
but, as the syrup has been so long known and used, not 
only in professional but also in domestic practice, there 
still exists for it a lingering demand, which is likely to 
continue. To supply this demand the pharmacist is 
compelled to keep the syrup constantly on hand; and, 
as the formula of the U. S. P. of 1850 yielded rather an 
uncertain preparation, which was very liable to spoil if 
long kept, I thought I would offer a formula for its pre¬ 
paration, which I have used for several years, and which 
will afford a reliable and permanent syrup. As an evi¬ 
dence of this, I have samples of it which have kept for 
nearly three years unaltered. The demand for the 
syrup in some localities being limited, and the fact of its 
being an unstable preparation as made by the late 
officinal formula, some pharmacists have been led to the 
habit of making it, in small quantities, as needed, from 
the fluid extract; but this practice should not be en- 
couraged, and it is only when the pharmacist makes 
correctly his own fluid extract, and is sure of its reliable 
quality, that this mode of preparing the syrup should 
ever be employed. 
The following is the process which I have adopted:— 
R. Pulv. Sennm, No. 60 . . . £ij troy. 
„ Foeniculi, No. 60 ... „ 
Sacchar. alb., sifted .... *ix ,, 
Glycerin®.f^iv „ 
Alcohol, dil.sufficient quantity. 
Mix the powders, and, having moistened the mixture 
"with dil. alcohol, pack it firmly in a glass funnel pre¬ 
pared for percolation, and gradually pour diluted alcohol 
upon it until sixteen fluid ounces are obtained, or until 
the mixture is exhausted. Set aside in a shallow dish, 
in a warm place, the first four fluid ounces which pas 3 , 
to evaporate spontaneously to two fluid ounces. To the 
remainder of the percolate add the sugar, and evaporate 
it in a water-bath at a temperature not exceeding 160°, 
with frequent stirring, until the whole measures, when 
cold, ten fluid ounces. To this add the glycerine and 
reserved portion, mix well and strain through muslin. 
If the percolation is managed with care, the reserved 
percolate will contain at least four-fifths of the active 
properties of the senna and the aromatic qualities of the 
fennel. This, then, being evaporated spontaneously, 
and the remaining portion protected by the sugar from 
the injui'ious clfects of the atmosphere during the con¬ 
centration, furnishes a syrup embodying the virtues of 
the senna and fennel unimpaired. 
One serious objection to the process of the U. S. P. 
1850, was the prolonged exposure to heat necessary to 
reduce the syrup to the “proper consistence,” during 
which a great portion of the volatile oil of the fennel 
must have been dissipated, and the purgative properties 
of the senna in a measure diminished, while at the same 
time its griping tendency was promoted. 
This same objection applies with double force to the 
present British process, presented in the last edition of the 
U. S. Dispensatory. In that process about one hundred 
fluid ounces of infusion are directed to be reduced, by 
evaporation, to ten fluid ounces. It can well be imagined 
what influence this torture, as it were, would exert upon 
the medicinal properties of the senna, if they are at all 
vulnerable to the effects either of heat or atmospheric 
oxygen. 
Another very objectionable feature of the British 
syrup is that of its strength, which is about four times 
as great as that of the U. S. P. 1850. Upon this point 
Dr. Wood, in his comments upon the process in the 
U. S. Dispensatory, very properly makes the following 
remarks :—“ The present British syrup, which has su¬ 
perseded the former syrups of the London and Edin¬ 
burgh colleges, differs from them, as well as from that 
of the U. S. P. of 1850, very greatly in strength, so that 
in prescribing it physicians accustomed to the doses of 
the former syrups must be on their guard not very 
seriously to overdose their patients.” These remarks 
are equally applicable to its use in domestic practice; 
and, since it is chiefly given to children, its administra¬ 
tion in excessive doses might be attended by mis¬ 
chievous results. 
As the British process is the only one that the late 
edition of the U. S. Dispensatory offers to American 
pharmacists for their guide in the preparation of this 
syrup, and as it has an established reputation they are 
obliged to keep it in stock, I think it highly important 
that it should be reinstated in the next edition of our 
Pharmacopoeia, and a good working formula given, 
which will yield a reliable and at the same time a per¬ 
manent preparation, corresponding in strength with that 
of the U. S. P. 1850. 
The proportions of senna and fennel, in the formula 
given above, correspond precisely with those of the for¬ 
mula of our late Pharmacopoeia ; but in the latter pro¬ 
cess the volatile oil of the fennel was only partially 
extracted by the aqueous menstruum, and a portion 
even of that must have afterwards been lost in the eva¬ 
poration of the syrup. This, therefore, necessitated the 
employment of a large excess of the fennel. 
Now, since in the process proposed by me the aroma¬ 
tic properties of the latter are entirely extracted, and 
there is but slight if any loss by subsequent evapora¬ 
tion, I think that the quantity of the fennel might with 
propriety be reduced one-half, and still be sufficient to 
answer all purposes for which the aromatic is employed, 
without in the least impairing the virtues of the syrup. 
It will be observed that in the above formula I have 
employed diluted alcohol as the menstruum in the place 
of water, which has heretofore been exclusively used. 
This has not been done unadvisedly, but from a strong 
