116 STOCK-POISONING PLANTS OF MONTANA. 



resting on the ground. It would move only when strongly virged to 

 do so. 



At 3.12 an additional amount, about 14 grams, of the extract was 

 administered. At 3,16 the rabbit was in a very bad condition. Its 

 heart was in a constant flutter and it sneezed hard, almost continuously, 

 for several minutes. At 4 and 5.30 it was torpid and sleepy, but was 

 able to move actively when sufficiently urged. At 6.40 it ate a few 

 mouthf uls of grass. At 9 o'clock the next morning its appetite was 

 still poor and its pulse and respiration both higher than normal. It 

 could walk a little, but would not do so of its own accord, the stomach 

 in particular appearing heavy, and being so much paralyzed and dis- 

 tended that it impeded progress. A small amount of exercise, such as 

 that involved in walking 5 or 6 feet, caused very rapid breathing. At 

 9.20 it had eaten very little. Another violent coughing and sneezing 

 spell then came on, causing much uneasiness. On June 8, the rabbit's 

 respiration and pulse had greatly improved, but it was still unusually 

 stupid. On June 9 it was still somewhat sickly in appearance. No 

 further observations were made. 



Experiment 2. — The residue from which the water extract used in 

 experiment 1 was prepared was first dried and then tallowed to stand 

 in contact with 50 per cent alcohol for a day or more, after which it 

 was filtered under pressure. Twelve cubic centimeters of extract, the 

 equivalent of approximately 12 grams of the seed, was filtered off. On 

 June 10, li c. c. of this was injected hypodermically into a 32-ounce 

 rabbit at 12.50 p. m. The animal was almost immediately attacked 

 with a violent spasm, accompanied with rapid breathing and a partial 

 paral3'sis of the rear quarters. At 1.45 the paralysis still continued. 

 The animal had no desire to move and when compelled to do so its 

 hind legs dragged heavil3^ 



Mr. Irviu Cockrell, who had assisted in the experimental work, con- 

 tinued the observations on this rabbit. At 5.5 p. m, on the same daj^ 

 the pulse and respiration were much weaker, but regular. The animal 

 was unconscious and its body was becoming rigid. At 5.30 it was still 

 weaker; the pulse was slow and irregular and the respiration about 

 nine times a minute. The body became more and more rigid, and 

 even before death, which occurred at 5.40, it was as stiff as animals 

 become after death. The pupils were contracted throughout the 

 experiment. 



An inspection of these two experiments shows that the toxic sub- 

 stance is at least partially soluble in both water and alcohol, that the 

 water solution froths upon brisk agitation, and that the physiological 

 effect is both immediate and remote, as is the case with the poisonous 

 sapotoxin-likc bodies found in many poisonous plants such as the seed 

 of corn cockle {Agrostemma githago) and the root of bouncing bet 

 {Sajponaria officinalis). 



