[44]. Nearly all the chloroform used in Great Britain and her colonies is made in Edinburgh, where the spirit duty is lower than in England. The London druggists have almost ceased to make it, as they find it cheaper to get it from the trade in Edinburgh.
[45]. The Edinburgh druggists suffered a great loss in 1850 from purifying their chloroform in this way on the recommendation of Dr. Gregory, who was not aware of the consequences, although they had been stated by Dumas (Ann. de Chim. et de Physique, t. lvi, p. 117).
[46]. I have seen some specimens of chloroform that left a white, limy-looking stain on the hand, which I believe was a minute quantity of crystalline chloride of carbon. These specimens were unobjectionable for all practical purposes, and had the merit of keeping remarkably well.
[47]. See Med. Gaz., vol. xl, p. 1092.
[48]. Dr. Letheby in Med. Gaz., vol. xlvi, p. 1037.
[49]. Lancet, Feb. 12, 1848.
[50]. Since the above was written, I have met with an instance in which the pulse was only 40 in the minute, as the effects of the chloroform were subsiding. There was neither sickness nor loss of blood. The case was that of a gentleman in good general health, who inhaled chloroform whilst Mr. Brodhurst endeavoured to make forcible flexion of the femur on the pelvis. He woke without any unpleasant symptoms, and the pulse resumed its natural frequency.
[51]. Gazette des Hôpitaux, 20 Mars, 1847.
[52]. Medical Gazette, vol. xli-ii.
[53]. According to Professor Miller, chloroform was given, at one time, in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, in a somewhat slovenly, and not very cleanly manner; he describes the means of applying it as, “anything that will admit of chloroform in vapour being brought fully in contact with the mouth and nostrils; a handkerchief, a towel, a piece of lint, a worsted glove, a nightcap, a sponge.” He says, “In the winter season, the glove of a clerk, dresser, or onlooker, has been not unfrequently pressed into the service.... The object is to produce insensibility as completely and as soon as we can; and there is no saying, à priori, whether this is to be accomplished by fifty drops or five hundred. We begin with generally two or three drachms spilt on the handkerchief or lint; and we refresh that, or not, from time to time, as circumstances require.” Surgical Experience of Chloroform, Edin., 1848, pp. 16 and 17. The italics are not in the original.