Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  1 
Nov.,  1882.  J 
Ether  and  Methylated  Ether. 
553 
product  is  filtered  and  put  into  bottles.  In  this  state  it  is  ready  for 
sending  into  commerce^  but  it  is  of  advantage  to  add  1  or  2  per  cent, 
of  glycerin;  no  addition  of  alcohol  is  necessary.  The  liquid  so  pre- 
pared would  contain  about  5  per  cent,  of  bismuth.  It  may  be  further 
diluted  with  water  if  desired. 
The  hair  or  beard  when  saturated  wdth  this  liquid  acquires  after 
five  or  six  hours  a  deep  chestnut  color.  Upon  washing  the  hair  this 
<5olor  disappears^  giving  j)lace  to  a  delicate  flaxen  color.  By  repeating 
the  operation  daily  a  stage  is  arrived  at  when,  after  passing  through 
all  the  intermediate  shades,  the  deep  chestnut  color  remains  persistent. 
— Phar.  Jour,  and  Trans.,  Sept,  16,  1882,  from  Moniteur  Scientifique, 
[3],  xii,  880. 
EELATIVE  VALUE  of  ETHER  WHEN  PREPARED,  with 
"  RECTIFIED OR  METHYLATED  SPIRITS  of  WINE. 
By  H.  Bendelack  Hewetson, 
Honorary  Consulting  Surgeon,  Reynard  Hospital,  Willingham  Honorary  Oplitiialmic 
and  Aural  Surgeon,  Yorkshire  Institution  for  Infant  Deaf  and  Dumb; 
Acting  Surgeon,  7tli  West  Yorkshire  Rifles, 
The  subject  of  the  safest  drug  with  which  to  produce  anaesthesia  has 
been  sufficiently  discussed,  and  the  verdict  of  those  best  able  to  judge 
has  been  given,  out  and  out,  in  favor  of  ether,  as  against  chloroform, 
when  "properly  administered  by  a  skilled  etherist."  There  are,  how- 
ever, two  samples  of  ether  in  the  English  market  to  the  relative  value 
of  which,  I  believe,  the  profession  is  not  fully  alive.  The  two  forms 
of  "spirits  of  wine''  used  in  the  manufacture  of  ether  create  in  reality 
two  kinds  of  ether,  and  the  differences  between  them  are  important. 
Firstly,  the  ether  prepared  fro  :i  rectified  spirit  is  found  less  desirable 
as  an  anaesthetic  by  those  who  have  used  it,  and  it  is  not  considered  as 
safe,  producing  more  sickness  and  laryngeal  spasm  in  certain  cases  in 
which  there  is  a  tendency  to  such  complications.  Secondly,  it  is  about 
twice  the  cost.  For  instance,  the  methylated  ether  costs  'J^d.  per 
ounce,  and  the  rectified  ether  c;osts  4Jd.  per  ounce.  J  have  not  used 
the  rectified  ether  in  my  own  work,  so  cannot  s])eak  of  individual 
exj)erience  of  its  actions.  J^ut  of  the  use  and  a])|)licability  of  the 
methylated  ether — as  the  safest  anaesthetic  known,  when  carefully 
admi mistered  by  means  of  Clover's  inhaler — I  can  sj)eak  strongly  as 
the  result  of  my  daily  observation. 
It  is  a  very  ordinary  circumstance  to  occu])y  eighty  seconds  in  pro- 
