92 EFFECTS OF 



was apparently dead in 20 minutes from the 

 time of the application of the poison ; but on 

 opening the chest, the heart was found still 

 acting, and nearly three minutes elapsed before 

 its action had entirely ceased. 



EXPERIMENT VI. 



An ounce and a half of saturated solution of 

 muriate of barytes was injected into the stomach 

 of a full grown cat, by means of an elastic gum 

 tube. In a few minutes it operated as an emetic. 

 The animal became giddy, afterwards insensible, 

 and lay with dilated pupils, in general motion- 

 less, but with occasional convulsions. At the 

 end of 65 minutes from the beginning of the 

 experiment, he was apparently dead ; but the 

 heart was still felt through the ribs, acting 

 100 times in a minute. A tube was introduced 

 into the trachea, and the lungs were inflated 

 about 36 times in a minute ; but the pulse 

 sunk notwithstanding, and at the end of seven 

 minutes the circulation had entirely ceased. 



From these experiments, I was led to con- 

 clude, that the principal action of the muriate of 

 barytes is on the brain ; but, in the first the 

 pulse was feeble and intermitting ; in the second, 

 although the artificial respiration was made with 

 the greatest care, the circulation could not be 

 maintained longer than a few minutes. These 

 circumstances led me to suspect, that although 

 this poison operates principally on the brain, it 



