, 1870-07-07
The New AnHslhetlc Choral,


Prof. John Darby, writing for the american
Grocer, anticipates that, not long hence, the
vial Of chloral will take it's place beside the
eamphoE bottle and other household remedies,
dispiacing, to great degree, the paregoric
and lAudannm- Opium and its derivatives
have held high place in the esteem Of nan
k1nd and, nfler centuries Of use, are to-day
more highly priced than ever before.
We have felt c1nsoled that, in our ex-
tre1neet agonies, We had within our reach
an agent that could arrest or mitigate our suf-
3e1ngs, and gaye us ease md quiet. But coz
Dected with the use Of opium, there arc
seqnelH that are disagreeable. Headsche,
sickness Of the stomach, loss of appetite, and
other unpleasant results are sure 10 follow its
administration. How much more highly
should we esteem opium il these unpleasant
consequences could be avoided If we could
the price for our rest. II our pains could be
relieved, and our deliverer would leave no
sting behind
Ch!oral seems to fulfill theso conditions. II
produces refreshing sleep from the most .o1-
c1ueiating pains, and the sleeper awakes Ms
from natural aleep, with no unpleasant
symphonic from the action of the ch1oral.
Chlora1 wns discovered Iy Liebig, in 1882,
and stood more than thirty gears IN tho list OF
recorded discoveries, exciting no interest out
side the field Of Chemistry On the ID Of
June, 1868, it WAS brought before the Medical
Society Of Berlin, prussia, as new hypnotic
(prod1cer Of sleep) and anes,hetic, By ',r.
otto Liehreich. fnre choral ia colorless
fluid, With sharp, pungent Taste and oior,
not diaagreeable- When united with one
atom OF water it becomes white solid, re-
tanning its odor and taste. II is III this form
tlat it occurs for use. It disso1rcs rapidly it.
water. 1t is not an anEsthctc, as clloloform,
protoIlde OF nitrogen, and ether arc. as it
does not usually produce iuBensibilitY when
it. produces sleep, unless given in large guam
titles. It's true influence IL to produce sleep,
as naturally as though thos had taken moth
ing, The cat is said to lie down, adjust her
paw, and with her accustomed low pu.r, ,..paas
into the etate Of sleep, and after FIVE or six
hours, wake up naturally, as from her accus-
TONED slunber. So in the human subjects, it
produces . peaceful sleep Of any length OF
time, depending on the dose given
The following points have been well estab-
lished IN regard to eficieut doses Of the by
d1ate Of ch1oral:
/, It produces deep sleep quickly after ad-
minishation.
9. The action produces no excitement.
3. No bad effects result from its action.
4. The brain is first affected, then the
lugs, and lastly the heart. The heart ia said
to best, when fatal doses have been taken,
after all other functions have ceased.
!, Extensive experiments have been made on
NE lower animals to develop the properties
=, ~ cn'ofal m md they have all been in conform
~ - tae above principles. We select the fol
loNing cases reported IN European journals
.aal1 An msane person, il a high state Of excite
men., men, ~ae put to sleep in few minutes by
twenty grains and slept Eve hours. 4 wo-
man With painful inflammation Of The wrist
1slnt, ak, vas put 70 quiet sleep b forty grains
o. cn!oIai LADY, suffering internally from
could not be relieved by morph;ne
snd atropa,, took thirty grains OF chlo1al
which produced night OF perfect.
ly tranquil sleep, from which she awoke fresh
and well ss from natural slumbe1. A la5v
suffered from prolonged neuralgia, and ali
ordinary eedadves proved unavailing, when
forty grains Of chloral produced imnediate
relief.
In case Of comminuted fracture Of the hu-
meIus, the patient became furious]y maniacal,
and every attempt to FIX the limb proved
abottire, although excessive doses Of opium
were given. Sixty grains Of chlorA were Civ
en-, and IN quarter Of m hour the patient
WAS last asleep and continued to sleep quietly
until the next morning
= ".,aau nho Aau ooeu III a1,d without mose