Am'jJa°nri£7.arm'}    Practical  Notes  from  Various  Sources.  19 
change  but  that  of  diluting  the  mixture,  but  upon  examination  the 
next  morning  the  color  was  so  much  deepened  that  it  appeared  worthy 
of  investigation.  To  this  end  a  mixture  of  the  syrups  above  described 
was  made  with  spirit  of  nitre,  one  of  syrup  of  squill  and  nitre,  and 
another  with  syrup  of  wild-cherry  bark  and  spirit  of  nitre,  all  in  the 
proportion  of  one  part  of  the  spirit  to  three  of  the  syrup. 
The  syrup  first  described  and  that  of  wild-cherry,  became  in  the 
course  of  twelve  hours,  very  much  darker,  the  wild-cherry  syrup  and 
nitre  if  anything,  darker  than  the  other,  while  no  perceptible  difference 
could  be  observed  in  the  mixture  of  squill  and  nitre.  The  change 
would  seem  to  be  dependant  upon  the  coloring  matter  of  the  bark  and 
the  nitre  as  no  iron  could  be  detected  in  either  the  squill  or  nitre. 
PRACTICAL  NOTES  FROM  VARIOUS  SOURCES. 
By  The  Editor. 
Methylal  posesses  anaesthetic  and  hypnotic  properties  according  to 
the  investigations  of  Personali  of  Turin  (Nouv.  Hemedes,  Oct.  15,  p. 
459).  On  injecting  subcutaneously  into  dogs  from  0*10  to  015  per 
cent,  of  their  weight,  methylal  produced  anaesthesia  and  deep  sleep 
with  suspended  reflex  action  followed  by  rapid  recovery  and  no  ill  ef- 
fects. The  heart-beats  are  somewhat  augmented,  the  blood  pressure  is 
slightly  decreased  and  the  respiration  is  slower  and  deeper.  It  relieves 
the  tetanic  spasms  caused  by  strychnine.  Applied  externally,  in  the 
form  of  liniment  or  ointment,  containing  15  per  cent,  of  methylal,  it 
acts  promptly  as  an  anaesthetic  ;  and  taken  internally,  it  relieves  nervous 
pains  of  the  stomach. 
Methylal  was  first  obtained  pure  by  Malaguti  (1839),  by  distilling 
2  parts  each  of  black  oxide  of  manganese  and  methyl  alcohol,  with  a 
cold  mixture  of  3  parts  each  of  sulphuric  acid  and  water,  and  treating 
the  portion  boiling  below  60°C.  with  potassic  hydrate.  It  is  a  thin, 
colorless  liquid,  of  an  agreeable  odor  resembling  that  of  chloroform 
and  acetic  ether,  has  at  17°C.  the  spec.  gr.  0*8551,  and  boils  at  42° 
C.  It  has  a  warm,  aromatic  taste,  is  freely  soluble  in  alcohol  and 
ether,  and  dissolves  in  three  volumes  of  water.  Chemically,  it  is 
methylene-dimethylether,  its  composition  being  CH2  (OCH3)2  or 
C3H802. 
Eulyptol  is  a  mixture  of  salicylic  acid  6  parts,  carbolic  acid  1  part, 
and  oil  of  eucalyptus  1  part,  which  Dr.  Schmeltz  believes  (Bull.  gen.. 
