VEGETABLE POISONS. 233 



frequency, and there was no evident diminution in six or seven 

 minutes, during which 'Jie artificial respiration was continued. 



On dissection, nothing remarkable was found in the appearance 

 of the tongue or brain. 



The symptoms and mode of death, in this experiment, did not 

 essentially differ from those produced by the essential oil of almonds* 

 I was surprised to find the effects of the empyreumatic oil so en- 

 tirely different from those of the infusion of tobacco. Supposing 

 that this difference might arise from the poison being more con- 

 centrated in the oil than in the infusion, I made the following 

 experiments. 



Exp. 14. A drop of the oil of tobacco was suspended in an 

 ounce and a half of water by means of mucilage of gum arabic, 

 and the whole was injected into the rectum of a dog. In two 

 minutes afterwards he became faint, retched, but did not vomit. 

 He appeared to be recovering from this state, and in twenty. five 

 minutes after the first injection it was repeated in the same quan- 

 tity. He was then seized with symptoms similar to those in the 

 last experiment, and in two minutes and a half he was apparently 

 dead. 



Two minutes after apparent death, on the thorax being opened 

 into, the heart was found acting regularly one hundred times in a 

 minute, and it continued acting for several minutes. 



Exp. 15. A drop of the empyreumatic oil of tobacco with an 

 ounce of water was injected into the rectum of a cat. The symp- 

 toms produced were in essential circumstances similar to those 

 which occurred in the last experiment. The animal was apparently 

 dead five minutes after the injectiou, and the heart continued to 

 contract for several minutes afterwards. 



We may conclude from these experiments, that the empyreuma- 

 tic oil of tobacco, whether applied to the tongue or injected into 

 the intestine, does not stop the action of the heart and induce syn- 

 cope, like the infusion of tobacco ; but that it occasions death by 

 destroying the functions of the brain, without directly acting 

 on the circulation. In other words, its effects are similar to 

 those of alcohol, the juice of aconite, and the essential oil of 

 almonds. 



