^38 
ON  THE  COMPOSITION  OF  CHLORODYNE. 
definite  result ;  and,  after  a  careful  survey  of  the  correspondence 
which  has  been  kindly  permitted  to  occupy  the  pages  of  the 
"Pharmaceutical  Journal,"  I  am  sorry  to  say,  quite  contrary 
though  it  be  to  the  opinion  of  one  of  your  correspondents,  that 
the  composition  of  Dr.  Brown's  chlorodyne  is  by  no  means 
cleared  up.  At  the  same  time,  before  proceeding  further,  I 
must  state  that  ever}'  respect  and  consideration  ought  to  be  paid 
to  the  careful  chemical  investigation  of  Mr.  Smith,*  which  I  con- 
sider, of  all  others,  the  most  to  be  relied  upon.  Facta  non 
Verba  versus  Verba  non  Facta  ;  and,  in  making  this  remark 
upon  Mr.  Smith's  formula,  I  do  so  upon  the  grounds  that  his 
analysis  was  carefully  and  skilfully  conducted,  and  that  his 
formula  is  based  upon  such  investigation,  that  is,  by  the  result 
of  actual  experiment,  meaning  by  this  primd  facie  evidence. 
Although  I  credit  this  able  analyst  with  using  his  best  powers 
to  arrive  at  the  chemical  composition  of  Dr.  Browne's  chlorodyne, 
— and  doubtless  he  is  absolutely  correct  as  far  as  his  analysis 
goes, — yet  I  feel  persuaded  there  is  something  more  in  it  which 
Mr.  Smith  has  failed  to  detect,  and  I  believe  this  to  be  bella- 
donna. Mr.  Smith  frankly,  and  without  reservation,  admits 
that  the  positive  detection  and  isolation  of  the  alkaloids  in  com- 
plex organic  mixtures  is  not  always  a  very  easy  task,  more 
especially  when  they  exist  in  small  proportions.  And  again, 
Mr.  Smith  states  "  all  my  attempts  to  obtain  the  evidence  of 
atropia  failed."  Here,  then,  we  have  both  positive  and  nega- 
tive evidence.  No  one  can  doubt  from  his  own  assertion  the 
inability  of  even  a  scientific  analyst  like  Mr.  Smith  to  discover 
the  small  traces  of  atropine  which  exist  in  a  complex  organic 
mixture  like  chlorodyne.  How  frequently  has  it  been  the  case, 
in  times  past,  that  the  analyst  has  been  unable  to  discover  the 
presence  of  strychnine  in  organic  mixtures,  when  the  physiologist 
has  come  forward,  and  rendered  its  existence  indisputable  by 
the  tetanic  action  produced  upon  the  frog !  and  the  mere  fact  of 
the  chemist  being  unable  to  detect  atropine  in  chlorodyne  does 
not  for  one  moment  destroy  my  belief  in  its  presence,  as  I  main- 
tain that  I  have  proved  physiologically,  beyond  doubt,  that 
belladonna  is  present.    At  all  events,  if  I  have  not  proved  satis- 
*  See  page  263  of  the  present  volume. 
