a*fITi]  Si"'  }        Polymerides  of  Morphia,  etc.  79 
alkaloids  of  opium,  therefore,  generally  continue  the  anodyne  action 
of  chloroform,  although  they  are  not  at  all  soporific,  but  they  almost 
all  possess  the  property  of  diminishing  sensibility.  Claude  Bernard 
and  Nussbaum  have  found  that  when  an  opiate  subcutaneous  injection 
was  performed  in  certain  cases  of  operation  on  the  human  subject, 
and  chloroform  was  subsequently  given,  the  patient  did  not  awake  as 
usual,  but  continued  to  sleep,  and  during  this  sleep  there  was  insensi- 
bility to  punctures,  incisions,  and  even  the  actual  cautery.  Dr.  Rabu- 
teau,  therefore,  thinks  that  insensibility  might  be  obtained  with  greater 
certainty  and  safety  by  the  combined  administration  of  a  solution  of 
chloroform  and  an  opiate,  than  by  giving  either  agent  alone. — Amer* 
Journ.  of  Med.  Sciences,  Jan.,  1873  ;  Brit,  and  For.  Med.-Ohir.  Rev.^ 
Oct.,  1872,  from  Gazette  Hebdomadaire,  April  and  May,  1872, 
RESEARCHES  ON  THE  POLYMERIDES  OF  MORPHIA  AND 
THEIR  DERIVATIVES. 
By  E.  Ludwig  Mayer  and  C.  R.  A.  Wright,  D.  Sc. 
Before  the  London  Chemical  Society  a  memoir  of  the  above  title 
was  read  by  Dr.  Wright,  and  illustrated  with  specimens  of  many  of 
the  substances  mentioned.  The  memoir  consisted  of  several  papers, 
the  first  being  on  the  action  of  zinc  chloride  on  morphia.  At  low 
temperatures,  and  with  concentrated  solutions  of  the  zinc  salt,  tetra- 
po-dimorphia  (apomorphia)  appears  to  be  the  principal  product,  but 
at  higher  temperatures  and  with  the  addition  of  strong  hydrochloric 
acid  a  "  tetra  polymeride  of  apo-morphia  is  formed,  which  may  be 
called  octapo-tetramorphia.  The  principal  results  enumerated  in  the 
second  paper,  "On  the  Action  of  Hydrochloric  Acid  on  Morphia," 
are  that  besides  apo-morphia  mixtures  of  three  bases  are  produced 
which  may  be  written  if+3HCl,  i¥-j-3HCl— H20  and  JL/4HC1— 
2H20,  where  M  stands  for  morphia,  C3iH38N206.  The  action  of  sul- 
phuric acid  on  morphia  appears  generally  to  yield  polymerides  with- 
out abstraction  of  water,  the  principal  products  being  the  sulphates 
of.  trimorphia,  Cl02HluN6O18,  and  tetra-morphia  C136H152N8024.  The 
authors  also  describe  the  results  of  the  action  of  hydrochloric  acid 
on  trimorphia  and  tetra-morphia  and  state  the  physiological  action  of 
the  various  bases,  concluding  with  a  table  of  the  names,  formulas, 
&c,  of  no  less  than  nineteen  derivatives  of  morphia. 
The  Chairman  in  thanking  the  authors  for  laying  before  them  the 
