BY T. L. BANCROFT, M.B. 15 
If Daphnandra be first given to a frog, strychnine will not 
tetanise it, and in frogs tetanised with strychnine Daphnandra 
quickly renders them flaccid. It has no action on the pupil. 
This substance appears not to injure muscle when administered 
through the circulation, as ascertained by its excitability to cutting 
or electric stimuli and its rigor mortis. 
The terminations of the cardiac vagi in frogs are soon paralysed, 
and the inhibitory mechanism of the heart is impaired ; for power- 
ful stimuli of induced current directly applied to the sinus venosus 
are required to inhibit its action, and in very profound stages of 
poisoning no inhibition take place at all. 
Motor nerve terminations are paralysed after long contact with 
poisoned blood, and this is never the case unless the dose has 
been small and thereby not seriously affected the heart. Loss of 
reflex function of the spinal chord is the primary cause of death. 
Warm-blooded animals get asphyxial convulsions, but these are 
not of a violent nature, probably on account of the motor nerve 
centres being impaired. No frogs recovered after they had been 
rendered flaccid with this substance, probably on account of the 
cardiac action. -Daphnandra applied to the skin of frogs or when 
placed in their mouths does not kill them. The viscera and 
muscles of frogs poisoned with this substance are congested. 
The ciliated epithelium of pharynx, like voluntary muscle, is not 
injured in frogs poisoned through the circulation. 
The peristaltic movement of intestines is soon abolished. The 
lymph hearts of frogs are unaffected when a solution of the poison 
is applied to the skin directly over them, but they soon cease 
pulsating when the frogs have been poisoned through the circu- 
lation. Frogs which have had less than a fatal dose become 
irritable some hours afterwards, but they do not get tetanic spasms. 
It kills insects when applied to the raw surface produced by 
shaving off a piece of the carapace. When injected into the 
pleuro-peritoneal cavity of marine fish, these soon lose the power 
of their pectoral fins and swim about in an irregular fashion ; 
breathing is difficult, often gasping. They lie as if dead, without 
shewing any respiratory movements, on the bottom for intervals of 
several minutes, when suddenly they swim about for a moment 
and again remain quiet. The pigment cells of skin expand. 
Mollusca are also susceptible to the action of this substance. 
The microscopic appearance of the blood of poisoned frogs is 
unaltered, but shrinking of the corpuscles is caused by direct 
