The end of the fifth decade of the century is marked by a discovery of supreme importance.

Humphry Davy had noted the effects of nitrous oxide.

The exhilarating influence of sulphuric ether had been casually studied, and Long of Georgia had made patients inhale the vapor until anaesthetic and had performed operations upon them when in this state; but it was not until October 16, 1846, in the Massachusetts General Hospital, that Morton, in a public operating room, rendered a patient insensible with ether and demonstrated the utility of surgical anaesthesia.

The rival claims of priority no longer interest us, but the occasion is one of the most memorable in the history of the race.

It is well that our colleagues celebrate Ether Day in Boston--no more precious boon has ever been granted to suffering humanity.( *) (*) Cf.