126 ON THE CHEMICAL EFFECTS OF C FI LORAL HYDRATE, ETC. 
table tissues as revealed by the microscope; when once wit¬ 
nessed it can never be forgotten. 
Experiment -—A section of a tender vine was made and placed 
on a glass slide with water, and chloral hydrate added; a 
reddish tint pervaded some of the cells; but when ammonia 
and chloral were added together, the tissue became tinged with 
a dirty red. 
Again: prussic acid and ammonia combined were added to 
another vine section, and produced a most beautiful and 
striking reaction. The woody ducts were seen filling up with 
bright red fluid. In both these instances I have no doubt 
formyl, or formic acid, attacks the iron combined with the 
fluids or tissue of the plant. 
I can adduce a number of similar experiments, carried out 
with the same chemical agents, which more or less yield evi¬ 
dence of a similar kind of reaction; but this would prove 
tedious and superfluous. 
I now proceed to sum up my experiments. Hydrate of 
chloral administered by the stomach or subcutaneously 
injected, gives rise to the production of bright red or dark 
red particles, masses, or globules in the blood. Starchy 
bodies are also met with accompanying these charges. The 
urine also exhibits these bodies. The same results follow 
when vapour of hydrate of chloral is applied to fresh-drawn 
blood. 
Ammonia, administered by the lungs, or subcutaneously 
injected during the action of hydrate of chloral on the animal 
economy, appears to heighten these effects. 
Formic acid added to fresh blood also causes the production 
of dark red globules and particles. 
Lactic acid conjoined with prussic acid does the same. 
Prussic acid and ammonia conjoined yields the same 
results. 
4 
The action of hydrate of chloral, while decomposing under 
ammonia on a salt of iron, presents changes which to my mind 
are identical. 
The chemical effects of hydrate of chloral and ammonia, of 
prussic acid and ammonia, on some vegetable tissues, appear 
to be much the same in character as those produced in the 
blood, minus, of course, the solid albuminous matter. All 
these results I refer to the action of formyl or ammonio- 
formate on the iron in the blood, or in the vegetable tissues. 
The decomposition of lactic acid with prussic acid can 
supply chemically the elements necessary for the production 
of formyl or formate of ammonia; as also prussic acid and 
ammonia. 
