394 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1497. 
jected two drops of a ftrong decoc- 
tion of tobacco; into the fecond, 
J injected half a grain of the folu- 
tion of ammoniac; into the third, 
I injected the tenth part ofa grain 
of opium in folution; the fourth I 
cauled to be ftung by an enraged 
wafp; the three firft expired in the 
courfe of four minutes; the laft in 
lefs than feven minutes. On open- 
ing them, I found the blood in the 
ventricles of the heart lefs florid 
than ufual; and the mufcular fub- 
ftance, on the application of zinc 
and filver, in a great meafure to 
have loft its irritability. Barthollet 
has fhewn, in a Memoir of the 
Academy at Paris, that 1000 parts 
of ammoniac, by decompofition, 
contains 807 parts of azote, and 
- 193 of hydrogine. The falt of 
tartar thrown into the circulating 
fyftem of a cat, in the {mall quan- 
tity of a quarter of a grain, kills 
like the ftroke of lightning. Mr. 
Haffenfratz has fhewn by experi- 
ments, that azote enters largely into 
the compofition of that fubftance. 
EXPERIMENT III. 
IT took four young puppies: into 
the jugular vein of a injected 
four drops of the decoétion of white 
hellebore; into the fecond, I in- 
jected four drops of the digitalis ; 
anto the third, I injeéted one grain 
of the falt of urine diffolved in 
water; the fourth I caufed to be 
ftung by two wafps: the firft died 
almoft inftantaneoufly ; the fecond 
and third in lefs than five minutes ; 
the fourth recovered with great dif- 
ficulty, and feemed to throw off the 
‘difeafe by foaming at the mouth. 
EXPERIMENT Iv. 
I caufed a number of earth- 
worms to be flung by bees, ants,and 
other infe&s, which always killed 
them immediately ; and feemed to 
aét on them in the fame manner as 
the decoction of the poifonous 
plants, the laurel, tobacco, opium, 
&c. This etfect is aftonifhing in 
thefe animals, which, when cut into 
pieces with the knife, ftill retain 
their irritability for many hours, or 
even days. 
All poifonous plants with which 
we are acquainted, feem toact in the 
fame manner when injected into the 
circulating fyftem of animals; yet, 
from the nature and conftruction of 
the ftomach of fome animals, they 
are eaten with impunity; goats will 
del fat upon euphorbium, and 
wine upon henbane, &c. The 
Abbe Fontana has fhewn by his ex 
periments, that the poifon of the 
ticunas, fuppofed to be a vegetable 
fubftance, may be taken into the 
ftomach, to the quantity of fome 
grains, without hurt; yet the fmall- 
eft quantity taken into the circulate 
ing fyftem is inftantaneous death. 
With this poifon the inhabitants 
of the banks of the river Amazon 
are faid to poifon their arrows. Not 
only the infpiflated juice of poifon- 
ous plants is ufed by favage nationg 
to poifon their arrows and darts, 
but it is known that putrid flefh is 
ufed for the {ame purpofe, and from 
the fame principle, even to this day. 
The Athenians ufed the water-hems 
lock to poifon their ftate criminals 
the executioner defired Socrates 
not to talk fo much to his friends 
as it would prevent the poifon from 
operating as it fhoulddo. (See Pe- 
tit’s  Mifcellaneous Obfervations.) 
Phocion, finding that the execu 
tioner had not enough of poifon, 
gave him money to buy more, ob- 
ferving facetioufly, that the Athe- 
nians were obliged even to pay for 
their 
