320 Transactions. 



given hypodermically. But in ordinary cases of poisoning by the tutu 

 plant there may be irritation of the gastric mucosa as well. Christie's 

 assertion (11) that tutin is excreted by the stomach, and so causes vomiting 

 by local irritation, is unsupported. No tutin could be extracted from 

 the gastric and small-intestine contents of a rabbit which had been killed 

 bv intravenous injections of large doses of tutin during a blood-pressure 

 experiment. 



Stomach. — In cases of herbivora poisoned by tutu, accumulation of 

 gas in the stomach is a marked feature. This is probably diie to the 

 rapid fermentation of the leaves ingested, though possibly it may be due, 

 in part, to air swallowed during the convulsions. 



To test the fermentability of tutu-leaves, a mash of minced leaves with 

 a little water was placed in an incubator at 40° C, and examined after the 

 lapse of an hour. On stirring the mixture it was seen to be permeated 

 with bubbles of gas, but it was not determined how far this was due to the 

 expansion of imprisoned air. 



In the experiments with the pure substance, distension by gas was not 

 observed. Pure tutin and artificial gastric juice when incubated in a fer- 

 mentation-tube gave no appearance of gas-development. 



The action of hydrochloric acid in hydrolysing tutin has already been 

 referred to under " Fishes." It was found that the toxicity was slightly 

 increased. 



Intestines. — The action on peristaltic movement was not investigated 

 experimentally, but from observations made on animals killed by tutin, 

 where the abdomen was opened immediately, it was clear that there was 

 no diminution of peristaltic movement. That it was even increased was 

 inferred from the frequency with which defsecation occurred. The stools 

 were often loose, and were expelled with some violence. 



{b.) HcBmopoietic Si/stem. 



In one experiment, where a rabbit received a fatal dose of tutin and 

 died in one hour, blood-films were taken before the injection of tutin and 

 just before death (Exp. 139). The only point of difference seemed to be 

 that the leucocytes appeared fewer in number after tutin. They seemed 

 to be quite normal in regard to granules and staining-power. 



(c.) Circulatori/ and Respiratory Systetns. 



Previous observers have noticed that the tutu poison has no depressing 

 influence upon the circulation. Christie (11) found that the heart con- 

 tinued beating after the respiration had ceased. In one of his experi- 

 ments (on a cat) he opened the thorax immediately on the cessation of all 

 movement, and observed the heart to beat for twenty-two minutes after 

 the last respiratory gasp. In his own case, where he took 9 grains of an 

 extract made from the leaves, the pulse-rate rose to 102. and this observa- 

 tion led him to conclude that the action of the poison was to accelerate 

 the beat of the heart. In attempting to bleed poisoned animals by open- 

 ing veins and by slitting the ears he found that the blood did not run 

 readily, and concluded that the arterioles were contracted. He noticed, 

 also, what had been observed previously in cases of accidental poisoning — 

 that at first the respirations were increased in frequency and in force, and 

 that later they became feeble and irregular, and finally ceased before the 

 heart stopped beating. 



