258 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



ically impossible, by virtue of the permanent contraction of the pectoral 

 muscles, and not, as was once supposed, by its action upon the heart. It is 

 also well known that the most powerful agent we possess for relaxing the 

 action of the muscles is nicotine, whether administered in the form of 

 tobacco smoke or the infusion of the leaves. From these Avell-known facts 

 he (Mr. Haughton) was led to believe that these powerful poisons might be 

 used as antidotes to each other's action; and with the view of testing this 

 conjecture, he made several experiments. Four of these went to show the 

 effects of the two poisons separately. The fifth and sixth are important, as 

 they appear conclusive to Mr. Haughton as to the action of nicotine in retard- 

 ing, and in certain cases, completely counteracting the effects of strychnine. 

 In the fifth experiment, a frog had lived for forty-seven minutes in a mix- 

 ture of two solutions, of which one would have destroyed life in four 

 minutes, and the other would have produced paralysis in one minute, and 

 destroyed life in twenty-three minutes ; and yet in the mixture the animal 

 had lived for forty-seven minutes, and afterwards for twenty-four hours. 

 In the sixth experiment, a frog immersed in a similar mixture of the poison 

 for ten minutes, had ultimately recovered, the effects of the strychnine 

 being completely obviated by the action of the nicotine. Mr. Haughton 

 expressed a hope that further inquiries would be instituted into the action of 

 strychnine and nicotine upon some of the warm-blooded animals, as he 

 believed that in nicotine, which was always easily procurable in the form of 

 tobacco-leaf infusion, would be found a valuable antidote in at least some 

 cases of strychnine poisoning, whether intentional or accidental. 



ON THE DETECTION OF THE ORGANIC ALKALOID POISONS. 



At a recent meeting of the Boston Society of Natural History, Mr. John 

 Green stated that he had detected unequivocal signs of strychnine in the liver 

 of a skunk which was said to have been killed by this poison. The process 

 by which it was found is that proposed by Flandin. 



As is well known, there is great difficulty in detecting minute quantities 

 of vegetable poisons in the animal body; and the theory has been advanced, 

 that they are destroyed before reaching the liver. 



Dr. A. A. Hayes remarked that the communication of Mr. Green had 

 interested him, and he deemed it highly important, on account of the positive 

 fact of the detection of strychnia, after a moderate dose had caused death. 

 From personal experience, he was led to add his testimony to the efficiency 

 and simplicity of the method of M. Ch. Flandin, for detecting the poisonous 

 alkaloids in the tissues of the organs, as well as in the contents of the 

 stomach. 



In some trials, in the way of testing this method, Dr. Hayes stated that, 

 using simple extract of opium, and pursuing morphia and meconic acid, he 

 had been led to the conclusion that the excess of lime might react on the 

 alkaloids, at the temperature of the water-bath, and thus reduce the amount 

 of any alkaloid it would be possible to detect. In some cases, too, the dry 

 mass containing the alkaloid with a large excess of lime, even in the state 

 of fine powder, was slowly acted on by alcohol: a great abundance of 

 lime combinations with fatty acids being present. He had found it advan- 

 tageous, especially when operating on partially digested food in stomach 

 contents, to add a small portion of chloride of calcium solution, which has 

 the power of dissolving lime in excess, when concentrated (Ca. Cl.,CaO.), and 



