68 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



small pieces, in moderately warm water, and by means of pressure 

 and washing, separated the sporules and soluble constituents from 

 the cellular matter. Then, by allowing the water that had been 

 used in this operation to remain undisturbed for several hours, the 

 sporules were collected in the form of a dark brown-coloured, muddy 

 deposit. This was well washed once or twice with water, and 

 dried in an oven, as was also the cellular matter, and the watery 

 solution was evaporated to dryness. On testing these three sub- 

 stances, it was found that only two of them, namely the sporules 

 and the cellular tissue, were capable of producing aneesthesia ; the 

 aqueous extract evolved a thick irritating vapour, but this did not 

 occasion insensibility on inhalation. 



It was clear, therefore, that the narcotic principle should be looked 

 for in the two former. Accordingly, small portions of each of them 

 -were digested for several hours in boiling alcohol, aether, bisul- 

 phide of carbon, wood-spirit, chloroform, diluted sulphuric acid, and 

 fusel oil, but in every instance the residuary matter, when pressed 

 and dried, was found to retain its original narcotic quahty. Fresh 

 quantities were then soaked for a considerable period in hot alkaline 

 lye, and in a hot solution of moderately strong nitric acid, until 

 nothing further was dissolved out by either of the reagents ; the 

 insoluble portion was well washed with water, and again dried in an 

 oven. On this being tested as before, anaesthesia was found to be 

 no longer produced. 



In the next series of experiments I operated in a different way. I 

 introduced thefumesof the burningfungusintobottles containingsmall 

 quantities of liquor potassse, dilute hydrochloric acid, alcohol, fusel 

 oil, and diluted sulphuric acid. The bottles were then well shaken for 

 several minutes, and the properties of tlie purified fumes were tested 

 by introducing flies, bees, or w'asps, secured by cement to the ends 

 of long splinters of wood, into the bottles, and observing the effects. 

 In every case, however, insensibility was still produced, thus showing 

 that the narcotic quality of the fumes was not caused by any body 

 soluble in these solutions. There being no substance with which I 

 am acquainted, except carbonic oxide, nitrous oxide, and perhaps 

 some compounds of cyanogen which possess all these properties ; 

 and having, moreover, in the mean time read a paper, by M. Adrien 

 Chenol, " On Pure Oxide of Carbon, considered as a Poison*," it 

 immediately occurred to me that it was the former of these substances 

 that was the cause of the narcotism. I therefore specially examined 

 the fumes for carbonic oxide, by agitating them with an acid solu- 

 tion of chloride of copper, and also by absorbing the carbonic acid, 

 ammonia and oxygen, by means of lime-water, diluted muriatic acid, 

 and a solution of the protosulphate of iron saturated with nitric 

 oxide gas, when indications of the presence of carbonic oxide were 

 readily obtained ; the fumes, after agitation with the solution of 

 chloride of copper, no longer induced narcotism ; whilst those, on the 

 contrary, which had been treated with the other solvents, were more 



* Comptes Rotfhis, No. 16, April 17, 1B54. 



