258 THE LAWS OF ORGANIC 



Dissection. The stomach moderately distended with 

 air. The vegetable smell was slightly evident. The con- 

 tents of the cardiac and pyloric orifices were of the same 

 colour and consistence, and were minutely divided. The 

 large intestines were as full as those of the preceding rab- 

 bit ; but the digestive process had evidently produced great 

 alterations on the matter which they contained. The lungs 

 were a little more florid than usual. 



These rabbits were fed at five o^clock, p. M. the day preced- 

 ing the experiment, and were again fed an hour before the 

 injection of the opium. They received no food afterwards. 



CCLXXIX. It is unnecessary to multiply these 

 experiments to prove that digestion is impeded 

 when the temperature is lowered and the distri- 

 bution of the blood deranged. (( SFALLANZANI 

 observed that the snake digested food faster in 

 June, when the heat was at 821 and 83, than in 

 April when it was only 60; from whence he con- 

 cludes that heat assists digestion."* Similar ob- 

 servations are found in the works of many na- 

 turalists who have paid particular attention to 

 the influence of heat and cold on the powers of 

 digestion. In making these experiments, I lost 

 many rabbits from the operation of opium. It 

 sometimes produces violent spasms, and when 

 these occur soon after its exhibition the animals 

 very frequently die. It is difficult to proportion 

 the dose of the narcotic so as to produce the desired 



* Observations on certain Parts of the Animal Economy, by 

 JOHN HUNTER, p. 395. 



