39S PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 



in order to produce its most marked effect, that on the periphery 

 of the efferent or motor nerves, was proved by the following experi- 

 ment. 



Exp. 8G. Cut off both hind legs of a cat previously killed with 

 chloroform ; both sciatics respond equally well to galvanism. Into 

 the left femoral artery a one-grain solution of conia, while into the 

 right an equal quantity of water was injected. In thirty seconds 

 the application of the galvanic current to the left sciatic nerve 

 causes no response, while its application to the right sciatic causes 

 contraction in its tributary muscles. 



The following physiological test proves, conclusively, that conia 

 is eliminated by the urine. 



Exp. 8*1. Placed two small frogs in the urine of a coniinized 

 animal ; in forty seconds they were both taken out completely 

 paralyzed. 



Exp. 88. Placed two small frogs in the urine of another coni- 

 inized animal, and obtained results similar to those obtained in 

 the last experiment. 



As the conclusions at which I have arrived are scattered 

 throughout the essay, it has been thought proper at this point to 

 present a concise summary of the conclusions previously given. 



I. Conia, instead of being poisonous to plants, as has heretofore 

 been supposed, really acts as a preservative; the alcoholic extract 

 of hemlock, however (probably through some impurities which it 

 contains, but, above all, not through the action of conia, which it 

 rarely contains), acts poisonously on plants. 



II. When locally applied, conia produces a progressive loss of 

 functional power in eveiy highly organized tissue with which it 

 comes in contact. If such contact be not continued too long, the 

 tissue may recover, even after a total suppression of its function. 



III. In inducing complete repose of the muscular S3 r stem, conia 

 powerfully predisposes to sleep, but it is not a hypnotic in the 

 sense that opium is. 



IV. The convulsions produced by a poisonous dose of hemlock 

 are cerebral, and not spinal, as has heretofore been imagined. 



V. Conia produces a double effect on the motor-nervous system, 

 a paralyzing effect on the periphery of the efferent or motor 

 nerves, and a depression of the motor tracts of the spinal cord. 

 In almost all the experiments the former occurred first and pre- 



