76  On  tlie  Properties  of  Opium,  etc.  {^eb^Mwf** 
duced  to  experiment  whether  hydrate  of  chloral,  which  contains  the 
elements  of  chloroform  and  formic  acid, 
C2HC]30,  H20  =  CHC13  +  CH202 
could  be  decomposed  into  those  two  bodies  without  the  intervention  of 
alkalies.  The  following  experiment,  repeated  several  times,  always 
yielded  concordant  results  : — If  hydrate  of  chloral  be  dissolved  in  five 
times  its  weight  of  syrupy  glycerin,  and  the  mixture  heated  in  a  retort 
furnished  with  a  receiver,  at  about  110°  C,  a  regular  action  is  estab- 
lished which  continues  up  to  about  230°  ;  at  this  temperature  the  gly- 
cerin is  strongly  colored,  and  becomes  thick,  and  it  is  advisable  to 
stop  the  operation  so  as  not  to  complicate  the  results.  The  product 
condensed  in  the  receiver  is  liquid,  and  separates  into  two  layers;  the 
underneath  layer  consists  of  chloroform,  the  upper  one  contains  formic 
acid,  hydrochloric  acid,  formate  of  allyl,  and  hydrate  of  chloral  dis- 
solved in  water.  The  proportion  of  chloroform  produced  as  the  mean 
of  three  operations,  was  31  per  cent,  of  the  hydrate  of  chloral.  The 
formation  of  the  formate  of  allyl  is  secondary,  as  also  that  of  the  hy- 
drochloric acid.  These  two  bodies  are  relatively  in  small  quantity^ 
and  proceed,  the  first  from  the  decomposition  of  glycerin  under  the 
influence  of  heat  and  nascent  formic  acid ;  the  second  from  the  de- 
composition of  chloroform.  In  order  to  obtain  the  above  results  it  is 
important  to  use  syrupy  glycerin  ;  if  water  be  added,  the  greater  part 
of  the  hydrate  of  chloral  distils  over  without  being  decomposed. — - 
Lond.  Pharm.  Journ.  and  Trans.,  Jan.  4,  1873. 
ON  THE  PHYSIOLOGICAL  AND  THERAPEUTICAL  PROPERTIES 
OF  THE  DIFFERENT  IMMEDIATE  PRINCIPLES  OF  OPIUM. 
By  Dr.  Rabuteau. 
In  a  long  and  interesting  series  of  researches  Dr.  Rabuteau  has 
extended  the  investigations  of  Claude  Bernard  upon  the  physiological 
and  therapeutical  properties  of  the  constituents  of  opium.  Dr.  Rabu- 
teau has  examined  these  properties,  not  only  as  they  affect  the  lower 
animals,  but  also  the  human  subject,  and  he  has,  moreover,  consid- 
ered the  alkaloids  of  opium  in  relation  to  their  anodyne  and  anexos- 
motic  effects.  [By  the  word  anexosmotie  Dr.  Rabuteau  indicates  the 
property  of  preventing  the  flow  of  liquid  through  the  intestinal  walls 
into  the  intestinal  canal. — Reporter.]  He  has  specially  examined 
these  two  effects,  because  opium  is  very  frequently  employed  to  allay 
pain  and  to  arrest  diarrhoea;  and  he  has  not  only  examined  the  pro- 
