178 NAT. ORDER. SOLANACE^E. 



immediately upon the nei-vous system, and destroys life by the viru- 

 lence of its narcotic influence. 



The quantity of seed necessary to produce this effect upon a strong 

 dog, as appears by experiments, is not required to be over a scniple — 

 rabbits have been killed with five, and a cat with four gi-ains. Of 

 the persons to whom allusion has been made, one was a girl ten years 

 of age, to whom fifteen grains were exhibited at two times only, for 

 the cure of an ague, and resulted in her death. The recent valuable 

 discoveries of the French chemists, render a particular account of the 

 analysis of its seeds eminendy interesting and important. It appears 

 that the Nux vomica contains two very active alkaline substances, to 

 which the names of Strychnine and Brucine have been given ; and to 

 these substances Nux vomica owes its deleterious and medicinal pro- 

 perties. 



Strychnine. This substance is prepared as follows : " Add a so- 

 lution of liquid subacetate of lead to a solution of water of alcoholic 

 extract of Nux vomica, until no more precipitate is thrown down ; — 

 separate the lead by sulphuretted hydrogen ; filtrate it, and boil with 

 magnesia, which will unite with the acetic acid, and precipitate the 

 strychnine. Wash the precipitate in cold water, re-dissolve it in alco- 

 hol, to separate the excess of magnesia, and by evapoi'ating the alcohol, 

 tlie strychnine is obtained in a state of purity : if not perfectly white, 

 it must be re-dissolved in acetic acid or hydro-chloric acid, and repre- 

 cipitated by means of magnesia. 



When slowly crystallized, it appears under the form of micro- 

 scopical crystals, forming four-sided prisms, terminated by pyramids, 

 with four flattened or depressed faces. Crystallized rapidly, it is white 

 and granular ; it is insupportably bitter to the taste, has no smell, is not 

 changed by exposure to the air, is neither fusible nor volatile, and is 

 decomposed by a degree of heat inferior to that which destroys most 

 vegetable substances. Exposed to the naked fire, it swells, becomes 

 black, and gives out an empyreumatic oil, a little water, acetic acid, 

 carbonic acid gas, and carbonated hydrogen ; it is scai'cely soluble in 



