260 
G. ARCHIE STOOKWELL. 
tions, the bottle being removed and shaken round during the 
time of expirations. Seated in an armchair in such a position 
as not to be likely to fall, the smelling, in less than half a min¬ 
ute, had passed the experimentor through the stage of stimu¬ 
lation, and could only be contiuued by determined effort, the 
bottle constantly tending to slip from the hand, and the arm 
almost refusing to move by order of the will. Sleep must 
have occurred before the power was entirely gone, for on 
waking, it was found that ten minutes had elasped since the 
beginning of the experiment. The bottle was found on its 
side on the floor, but with a considerable portion of the ether 
still in it. From this it is quite certain that from two to two 
and a half fluid drachms, if all utilized in the way described, 
is sufficient to anaesthetize one who is quite habituated to a 
prevalence of ether vapor around him. 
Further, regarding nausea and vomiting, which is such a 
bugbear to some, I may say that aside from the quantity of 
ether inhaled, if the patient, animal or man, has partaken of a 
minimum of easily assimilable food at some time previous, and 
not too remote from the hour of intended anaesthesia, emesis 
is not likely to supervene during narcosis, though it or 
nausea may obtain in some slight degree after partial return 
to consciousness; but in no case is it accompanied with the 
frightful tearing retching that so frequently follows chloroform 
anaesthesia. The point to be remembered is, to so plan the 
administration of the anaesthetic that it shall find the stomach 
partially, and the duodenum wholly, employed, that they may 
not through idleness appeal to the gastric plexes. Too much 
food is as bad, or worse, than too little, for then it is rejected 
by spasmodic contraction of a distended gastric viscus. As a 
matter of fact, in domestic animals emesis is less apt to super¬ 
vene in equines, who vomit only with difficulty, as the sequel 
of ether anaesthesia, than through chloroform anaesthesia ; 
and the same is equally true of the Canidcz and Felidce as a 
class, and who reject the Contents of their stomach with the 
greatest facility. 
The instances where chloroform should be preferred to 
ether cannot be accurately defined ; this must be decided b} r 
the anaesthetist according to circumstances, and the surround¬ 
ings and conditions affecting the one to be anaesthetized. 
