Miscellany. [Volume: 2, Issue: 9, April, 1861, pp. 523-528]

PERISCOPE OF MEDICAL AND GENERAL SCIENCE.

527

In a notice of the transactions of the Ohio State Med. Soc., the Cincinnati Lancet and Observer says that " The Effects of Chloroform upon
the Intellectual Processes is the title of a very valuable report by Dr.
Thos. L. Wright, of Bellefontaine. Dr. Wright has discussed the subject
with the spirit of a philosopher, and his argument will be read with a
great deal of interest. The whole paper, which is quite lengthy, is
summed up with several propositions, the most important of which are:
' 5th. The evidence of a person respecting transactions that occur to the
mind while partly conscious, is always liable to the most monstrous fallacies, and it should not be received as sufficient proof of any fact. 6th.
Evidence of females respecting rape upon themselves while unconscious
from chloroform, is particularly liable to suspicion.'
In an interesting letter on the surgical practice of the Vienna Hospitals, the correspondent of the Brit. Med. Jour. thus writes (Med. News)
on the subject of phosphor necrosis: "An affection of the bones, of which
we happily see but little in this country, comes daily before the notice of
those attending the surgical wards of the Viennese hospitals; it is the
peculiar form of necrosis developed in the upper and lower maxillae by
exposure to the fumes of phosphorous acid. This disease is now even in
Germany much less common than formerly, owing to the employment, in
the manufacture of lucifer matches, of the red allotropic form of phosphorus, which does not undergo slow combustion in the air. Indeed,
almost all the examples of these unfortunate sufferers who now present
themselves are from some few manufactories where, from a false economy,
the ordinary form of phosphorus is still made use of. The treatment of
this affection is removal of the diseased bone; and from the cases that I
saw in Vienna, I conclude that there surgeons consider extirpation of the
whole bone necessary."
The editor of the Chemical News gives the following method of cleaning tarnished silver. It should, however, be borne in mind that the agent
recommended is a powerful poison, and must therefore be employed with
care. "The following plan is very successful in removing tarnish, grease,
and other objectionable matter from silver and plated goods: Make a
solution of one part cyanide of potassium in six parts of water, dip a soft
hog's-hair brush into the liquid and gently brush it over the edges, handles,
and feet of mounted work-such as cruet-frames, candlesticks, etc.; then
rinse the article in water; now dip a piece of flannel in the solution and
pass it lightly over the polished surfaces so as not to scratch them. The
cyanide will at once remove the tarnish, when the article must be well
rinsed: now dry it and apply a little powdered rotten-stone in the usual
way, finishing with rouge. Gilt or gold goods may be cleaned by dipping
them for an instant into the strong solution, and then well washing them
with hot soap and water, applied with a soft brush."
In regard to the preparation of chloride of gold it is stated (Ibid.) that
"according to M. Fordos (Repertoire de Chimie pure et Appliquee,
liv. xii. p. 373, 1860) it is impossible to obtain a neutral chloride by
dissolving gold in aqua regia, and evaporating the liquor to drive off the
excess of acid. By this means, says the author, a hydrochlorate of
hydrated chloride of gold, AuClsHCl + Aq, is produced, which is the compound ordinarily met with in commerce. When this is heated, even in a
water bath, to drive off the last equivalent of hydrochloric acid, protochloride of gold is produced, and the salt obtained is not completely soluble
in water."