256 AUSTRALIAN NATIVE PLANTS. 
moreover, not so poisonous. Eighty minims may be taken in two 
and ahalf hours. (Practitioner, xxv., 212.) 
Air impregnated with Eucalyptus oil vapour is recommended 
as a substitute for the carbolic spray. (British Medical Fournal, 
ii., 1882, 420.) 
As a surgical dressing, gauze dipped in a solution of the 
oil 3, alcohol 15, and water 150. This gauze may be left 
undisturbed four or five days. (Lancet, ii., 1880, 387. See 
Martindale and Westcott’s Hxtra Pharmacopaia.) 
Therapeutic Action. ‘In considering the medicinal effect of 
the oils of Eucalyptus, it must be remembered that we are dealing 
with bodies of simple composition, and, consequently, different 
from those complex compounds of the type of the well-known 
energetic poisons. 
The hydrocarbon character of the Eucalyptus oils, together 
with their low specific gravity, varying from 0.880 to 0.911, points 
to their rapid diffusibility when taken internally. Analogous com- 
pounds, such as camphor, alcohol, and conia, afford the key to 
their action. The immediate effect of each of the bodies just 
named is well known to be on the cerebro-spinal nervous system ; 
any one of these taken in large doses produces more or less 
complete flaccidity of the muscular system, and ultimately pro- 
duces a state of inebriation and unconsciousness ; a similar result 
follows extreme doses of Eucalyptus oil. Medical men report 
that a small dose promotes appetite; a large one destroys it. In 
stronger doses of 10 to 20 minims, it first accelerates the pulse, 
produces pleasant general excitement (shown by irresistible desire 
for moving about), anda feeling of buoyancy and strength. It is 
intoxicating in very large doses, but, unlike alcohol or opium, the 
effects are not followed by torpor, but produce a general calmness 
and soothing sleep. The antidote for an overdose is also alike in 
character, viz., a strong cup of coffee, without milk or sugar, 
which speedily removes any alarming symptoms. Now these 
results, as compared with the medicinal action of Conium 
maculatum, are very striking—an overdose of this drug leaves the 
intelligence and sensory system intact, while it paralyses the 
motor system; overdoses of Eucalyptus produce similar results. 
