248 VEGETABLE POISONS. 



to persuade her of the liquor's being inoffensive, that she drank two 

 spoonfuls more, but was hardly well seated in her chair when she 

 died without the least groan or convulsion. Frances Eaton, who, 

 as before observed, had drank somewhat above a spoonful, found 

 no disorder in her stomach or elsewhere ; but to prevent any ill 

 consequence she took a vomit immediately, and has been well ever 

 since." 



Dr. Madden mentions another case of a gentleman at Kilkenny, 

 who u mistook a bottle of this laurel water for a bottle of ptisan ; 

 what quantity he drank is uncertain, but he died in a few minutes, 

 complaining of a violent disorder in his stomach." 



In addition to this, we may refer to the unfortunate case of Sir 

 Theodosius Boughton, whose death, in 1780, an English jury de. 

 dared to be occasioned by this poison. In this case the active 

 principle of the lauro cerasus was concentrated by repeated distil- 

 lations, and given to the quantity of an ounce ; the suddenly fatal 

 effects of which must be still in the recollection of the public. 



To brute animals this poison is almost instantaneously mortal, as 

 amply appears by the experiments of Madden, Mortimer, Nicholls, 

 Langrish, Vater, Fontana, and others. 



The experiments, conducted by these gentlemen, shew, that the 

 laurel-water is destructive to animal life, not only when taken into 

 the stomach, but also on being injected into the intestines, or applied 

 externally to different organs of the body. It is remarked by Abbe 

 Fontana, that this poison, even " when applied in a very small quan- 

 tity to the eyes, or to the inner part of the mouth, without touching 

 the cesophagus, or being carried into the stomach, is capable of 

 killing an animal in a few instants ; whilst applied in a much greater 

 quantity to wounds, it has so little activity, that the weakest animals, 

 such as pigeons, resist its action." 



The most volatile is the most active part of the lauro-cerasus ; 

 and if we judge from its sensible qualities, an analogous principle 

 seems to pervade many other vegetable substances, especially the 

 kernels of drupaceous fruits ; and in various species of the amyg- 

 dalus, this sapid principle extends to the flowers and leaves. 



It is of importance to notice, that this is much less powerful in 

 its action upon human subjects than upon dogs, rabbits, pigeons, 

 and reptiles. To poison man the essential oil of the lauro-cerasus 

 must be separated by distillation, as in the spirituous or common 



