22,6 Mamresa: Hypersensitiveness of Philippine Dogs 569 



McGuigan,(lO) testing for the presence of strychnine nitrate, at 

 weekly intervals in no less than forty-eight frogs obtained a 

 negative result in every instance. 



The fatal dose of strychnine is given by Dun (2) and by Lan- 

 der(9) as 0.0054 to 0.0216 gram 2 (y 12 to % grain). Wins- 

 low (14) found this dose to be "much too large." He injected 

 3.24 milligrams (% grain) of strychnine nitrate subcutaneously 

 into a dog weighing 25 pounds (0.29 milligram per kilogram) » 

 and observed tetanic convulsions within ten minutes. He also 

 reports cases where toy terriers were killed by 1.08 milligrams 

 (i/ 60 grain) of the alkaloid. Kaufmann(6) and Roberta) give 

 0.75 milligram per kilogram as the fatal dose, but Hale (4) found 

 this dose "entirely too large." Hoare(5) observed several cases 

 of intoxication after administering so-called therapeutic doses of 

 strychnine and writes that the doses advised in his work are 

 "too large and that greater care is necessary in prescribing them 

 in full doses." More specific figures are given by Sollmann,(l2) 

 who determined the minimal lethal dose per kilogram of body 

 weight by the different channels of administration to be as 

 follows: By the stomach, 1.2 to 3.9 milligrams; subcutaneously, 

 0.35 to 0.75 milligram; intravenously, 0.4 milligram; by the rec- 

 tum, 2 milligrams; and through the bladder, 5.5 milligrams. 



PROCEDURE 



The experiments described in the following pages were con- 

 ducted in the College of Veterinary Science, University of the 

 Philippines, Los Banos, from March 6 to July 31, 1922. Twelve 

 dogs were utilized in the work, of which ten were obtained from 

 the Manila City Pound and two in the vicinity of Los Banos^ 

 The salt of strychnine used was the sulphate (Park Davis and 

 Company, Detroit, Mich., U. S. A.) in the form of friable tablets 

 containing 0.5 grain each. Enough of these tablets were p aced 

 in a volumetric flask with sufficient water to ^ake 1,000 cubic 

 centimeters of a 1 to 1,000 per cent solution The f^uen^ 

 of the administration of the solution throughout the ;^ 

 was at intervals of seven days. The live body weigh ; of each 

 dog was ascertained by weighing previous to each ad— tr^ 

 tion of the drug, and the dosage was apportioned in accorda ^ e 

 with this determination. Following ^^^Tf^TcWv^ 

 mals were placed under conditions which simulated a , cloael* a, 

 possible those to which they had been accustomed. During the 

 ■ Computation is mine.— M. M. 



