26 VEGETABLE POISONS* 



on which of the vital organs the poison employed exercises its pri- 

 mary influence, and through what medium that organ becomes 

 affected. I have also endeavoured to ascertain by what means the 

 fatal consequences of some poisons may be prevented. Witli some 

 of the conclusions which I have ventured to draw, so far as I know, 

 we were not before acquainted ; and others of them, though not 

 entirely new, had not been previously established by satisfactory 

 experiments. 



I shall relate first those experiments in which poisons were em- 

 ployed internally, that is, to the mucous membranes of the tongue 

 or alimentary canal, and afterwards those in which poisons were 

 applied to wounded surfaces. 



1. Experiments with Poisons applied to the Tongue or Alimen- 

 tary Canal, 



Alcohol. 



When spirits are taken into the stomach in a certain quantity* 

 they produce that kind of delirium which constitutes intoxication : 

 when taken in a larger quantity, it is well known that they destroy life 

 altogether, and that in the course of a very short space of time. 

 Intoxication is a derangement of the functions of the mind, and, as 

 these are in some way connected with those of the brain, it seems 

 probable, that it is by acting on this organ that spirits when taken 

 into the stomach occasion death. In order to ascertain how far 

 this conclusion is just, I made the following experiments. 



Exp. 1. I poured two drachms of proof spirits down the 

 cesophagus of a cat. Instantly he struggled violently ; then lay on 

 one side, perfectly motionless and insensible ; the breathing was 

 laboured and stertorous, and the pulsations of the heart were very 

 frequent. He continued in this state for seven or eight minutes; 

 then began to recover ; the respirations became easier, and presently 

 he stood np, and was able to walk. 



Exp. 2. I injected an ounce and a half of proof spirits into the 

 stomach of a large full-grown rabbit, by means of an elastic gum 

 tube passed down the cesophagus. The same symptoms took place 

 as in the last experiment; but the animal did not begiu to recover 



