248 ON ANIMAL AND 



The following experiments were afterwards 

 made with the liquid prussic acid. " First. A 

 rabbit, five days old, being forced to swallow a 

 grain by weight of this liquid, the little animal 

 uttered a cry, and died in a second. Second. A 

 coffee spoonful of the acid was given to a very 

 strong dog. The animal uttered a very strong 

 cry, and instantly expired." 



"These two experiments prove the deleterious 

 nature of the liquid acid ; but comparing the 

 promptness of the effect, the gaseous acid, even 

 when mixed with air, appears to act more power- 

 fully than the liquid acid." 



His next experiments were made with the 

 prussic acid dissolved in alcohol. " In experi- 

 ment the first, a young rabbit was forced to swal- 

 low a coffee spoonful of this alcohol, when it 

 exhibited symptoms resembling those of intoxi- 

 cation. It remained for some minutes without 

 motion; but soon recovered all its vigour, as if 

 nothing had happened. Concluding that the 

 preparation was imperfect, he repeated and 

 altered the process; and then caused a strong- 

 dog to swallow two drachms of the liquid, 

 which threw him in two seconds in strong con- 

 vulsions, and he died in five minutes." 



From these experiments Monsieur Robart 

 concludes, " that the prussic acid gas is the most 

 promptly poisonous of the three preparations; 

 next, the liquid acid; and lastly, the prussid acid 

 dissolved in alcohol." 



