VEGETABLE POISONS. 245 



state ; but from this he gradually recovered. In less than two 

 hours he appeared perfectly well, and he continued well on the fol- 

 lowing day. 



The inflating the lungs has been frequently recommended in cases 

 of suffocation, where the cause of death is the cessation of the func- 

 tions of the lungs: as far as I know, it has not been before proposed 

 in those cases, in which the cause of death is the cesssatioh of the 

 functions of the brain. It is probable, that this method of treat- 

 ment might be employed with advantage for the recovery of persons 

 labouring under the effects of opium, and many other poisons. 



1TI. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS. 



The experiments which have been detailed lead to the following 

 conclusions. 



1. Alcohol, the essential oil of almonds, the juice of aconite, the 

 empyreumatic oil of tobacco, and the woorara, act as poisons by 

 simply destroying the functions of the brain ; universal death taking 

 place, because respiration is under the influence of the brain, and 

 ceases when its functions are destroyed. 



2. The infusion of tobacco when injected into the intestine, and 

 the upas antiar when applied to a wound, have the power of render- 

 ing the heart insensible to the stimulus of the blood, thus stopping 

 the circulation ; in other words, they occasion syncope. 



3. There is reason to believe that the poisons, which in these 

 experiments were applied internally, produce their effects through 

 the medium of the nerves without being absorbed into the circu- 

 lation. 



4. When the woorara is applied to a wound, it produces its effects 

 on the brain, by entering the circulation through the divided blood, 

 vessels; and, from analogy, we may conclude that other poisons, 

 when applied to wounds, operate in a similar manner. 



5. When an animal is apparently dead from the influence of a 

 poison, which acts by simply destroying the functions of the brain, 

 it may, in some instances at least, be made to recover, if respiration 

 is artificially produced, and continued for a certain length of time." 



We shall now proceed, from the long and formidable catalogue 

 we collected above, to give some description of the growth and 

 natural properties of the more curious poisonous plants. 



[Pantologia. Phil. Trans.1811. 

 R 3 



