134 ADDITIONAL NOTES. 



reason to believe, in consequence of a communi- 

 cation from trie late Mr. John Pearson, who, as it 

 appears, had made some experiments, showing 

 the rapidly fatal effects of the poison extracted 

 from bitter almonds, in the year 1806. 



" In following Mr. Brodie through his inves- 

 tigations we have been struck with the eifect of 

 the essential oil of almonds. The improbability 

 (d priori) of finding such a deleterious substance 

 in that fruit, its instantaneous and vivid effects 

 on the vital principle, not leaving time for ab- 

 sorption, but travelling like the electric fluid 

 along the nerves to the brain, are circumstances 

 not less important than they are astonishing. A 

 gentleman who had the hardihood to apply a 

 particle of the oil to his tongue describes its 

 effect to be like that of a blow on the brain. To 

 the shock succeeded instantaneous mental con- 

 fusion, and the rapid approach of insensibility. 

 The accuracy of Mr. Brodie both in observation 

 and in detail is remarkably borne out by the 

 coincidence of his experiments with those of 

 Mr. John Pearson, of Golden Square, in 1806." 



In addition to what I have stated elsewhere, it 

 is worthy of notice that the effluvium of the 

 essential oil of bitter almonds partakes of the 

 deleterious quality of the oil itself, as was proved 

 by giddiness and other uncomfortable sensations 

 experienced by myself and some of my pupils, 

 who assisted me in my researches, after we had 

 been for some time exposed to its influence. 



I may take this opportunity of observing that 



