342 
RICHARD MIDDLETON. 
irritability is manifested. After, the completion of the opera¬ 
tion, the hobbles are removed, but the patient is allowed to 
lie as long as he does not manifest any desire to rise ; when 
compelled to stand, the gait is unsteady, and it is much safer 
to station a man at the tail who should be instructed to steady 
the motions of the body, and prevent a probable headlong 
fall. 
In long lasting and deep narcosis, the movement of respi¬ 
ration ceases generally while the patient is in a dazed condi¬ 
tion, and after the operation is ended. This ^causes great 
alarm among those unacquainted with the course of such 
cases. The synchronous movements of the chest are re-es¬ 
tablished by a sharp, stinging blow with the palm of the hand 
upon the wall of the thoracic cavity; in this manner I have 
returned the movements in one-half to three-quarters of a 
minute after they had ceased. With the modern apparatus 
of Fohringer a saving of chloroform is secured ; the time, 
however, is longer than by the method herein described. 
The intravenal injection of chloral hydrate and the intra- 
rectal application of ether are not to be recommended for the 
purpose of anassthesia. In the first there is much difficulty in 
fixing the dose, and a venous thrombus from the wound of the 
injection is by no means precluded. Moreover, the narcosis 
so induced, passes rapidly away and cannot be relied upon. 
In an old experimental case, I saw death ensue from apncea 
brought on by administering one and one-half ounces of 
chloral hydrate. 
The intrarectal ether injection produces only after a long 
time, a very incomplete and unreliable anaesthesia. The 
effort to use bromathyl as an anaesthetic was not successful, 
from the fact that this agent froze during the administration 
and therefrom was irrespirable. The method of gradually 
dropping the chloroform upon a flannel cloth placed over the 
nostril can be recommended when narcosis is needed. It is 
possible with horses as with men, that individual idiosyncra¬ 
sies may cause the application to be dangerous ; in general 
there is very little danger associated when carried out as 
herein stated. 
