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Phenyl-methyl-acetone or aceto-phenone are the chemical names of a new drug, upon the hypnotic properties of which M. Dujardin-Beaumetz has recently made a report to the Académie de Médecine, and which he has thoroughly studied with Dr. Bardet, at the Hôpital Cochin. On account of its very marked hypnotic properties the experimenters propose for it the name hypnone, which is more convenient than the other names, and is at the same time descriptive of its properties and nature. It was discovered by Friedel in 1857, its formula is C8H8O, it is a liquid at 20° C., and boils between 198° and 199° C. Its specific gravity is from 1,032 to 1,015, it is not soluble in water, and its strong odor resembles that of cherry-laurel water or cut oats. Its physiological properties have been studied by Popoff and Nencki, who showed that it is transformed in