120 SOME POISONOUS PLANTS IN N.O. SOLANACE^, iv., 



walked as if blind, and if let alone fell asleep"— properties quite 

 different from those he had observed in pituri. He then tried 

 the effect of dropping the extract into the eye of animals and 

 also into the human eye, and again after a few minutes wide 

 dilation was observed. Bancroft then sent some of his aqueous 

 extracts to ophthalmic practitioners in Brisbane, Ipswich, and 

 Sydney hospitals. By them, his observations were confirmed, 

 and themidriatic properties were carefully studied on the human 

 eye. The reports of their work are contained in Bancroft's paper 

 on "Pituri and Duboisia"(3). Bancroft used the Duboisia regu- 

 larly instead of atropia in his ophthalmic practice, and also used 

 it in cases of asthma. The main effects observed were midriasis, 

 confusion of intellect, thirst, and loss of taste. 



V. It was in 1877 that Staiger, then Queensland Government 

 Analyst, first prepared the active principle of D. inyoporoides, 

 from Bancroft's material (6). He found it to be "a yellow oily- 

 looking substance, which refused to crystallise either alone or 

 with acids, and not volatile at 212°F." 



vi. At the end of 1878, Bancroft visited England, and took 

 with him specimens of the plant and a few pounds of the extiuct, 

 which he distributed among various experts for further investi- 

 gation. 



Ringer and Tweedie(20) made a detailed study of the proper- 

 ties of the extract, and of the effects on the eye. Tweedie first 

 brought the drug before the medical w orld in England. Holmes 

 (21) gave a general account of all the previous work before the 

 Pharmaceutical Society, and at the discussion of the paper, 

 Gerrai-d stated that "the extracts used were bad pharmaceutical 

 preparations, having the appearance of resinous watery extracts, 

 very acid, therefore likely to be irritating." Gerrard(22) after- 

 wards prepared the active principle from the extracts supplied 

 to him through Holmes. His method w as solution in alcohol, 

 evaporation, and removal of the alkaloid with chloroform, solu- 

 tion in acid water, and precipitation by ammonia. The precipi- 

 tated alkaloid quickly formed heavy oily drops which were left as 

 a yellow viscid mass. Its chemical reactions were then com- 

 pared with those of atropine, and found to be different. 



