Chap. IX. ALKALOID POISONS. 199 



CHAPTER IX. 



The Effects of certain Alkaloid Poisons, other Substances and 

 Vapours. 



Strychnine, salts of — Quinine, sulphate of, does not soon arrest the 

 movement of the protoplasm — Other salts of quinine — Digitaline 



— Nicotine — Atropine — Veratrine — Colchicine — Theine — Curare 



— Morphia — Hyoscyamus — Poison of the cobra, apparently acce- 

 lerates the movements of the protoplasm — Camphor, a powerful 

 stimulant, its vapour narcotic — Certain essential oils excite move- 

 ment — Glycerine — Water and certain solutions retard or prevent 

 the subsequent action of phosphate of ammonia — Alcohol inno- 

 cuous, its vapour narcotic and poisonous — Chloroform, sulphuric 

 and nitric ether, their stimulant, poisonous, and narcotic power — 

 Carbonic acid narcotic, not quickly poisonous — Concluding remarks. 



As in the last chapter, I will first give my experiments, 

 and then a brief summary of the results with some 

 concluding remarks. 



Acetate of Strychnine. — Half-minims of a solution of one part to 

 437 of water were placed on the discs of six leaves ; so that 

 each received -^q of a grain, or .0675 mg. In 2 hrs. 30 m. the 

 outer tentacles on some of them were inflected, but in an irregu- 

 lar manner, sometimes only on one side of the leaf. The next 

 morning, after 22 hrs. 30 m., the inflection had not increased. 

 The glands on the central disc were blackened, and had ceased 

 secreting. After an additional 24 hrs. all the central glands 

 seemed dead, but the inflected tentacles had re-expanded and 

 appeared quite healthy. Hence the poisonous action of strych- 

 nine seems confined to the glands which have absorbed it ; 

 nevertheless, these glands transmit a motor impulse to the 

 exterior tentacles. Minute drops (about -^-^ of a minim) of 

 the same solution applied to the glands of the outer tentacles 

 occasionally caused them to bend. The poison does not seem 

 to act quickly, for having applied to several glands similar 

 drops of a rather stronger solution, of one part to 292 of water, 

 this did not prevent the tentacles bending, when their glands 



