LARKSPUR POISOlSriNG OP LIVE STOCK. ^ 9 



obtained by the various authors who have investigated the physio- 

 logical action of delphinin have been somewhat contradictory, 

 although the principal symptoms obtained in poisoned animals seem 

 to be quite constant. The cause of some of the discrepancies is 

 probably due to the fact that all the preparations of delphinin used 

 in the various experiments have not been identical. A large variety 

 of animals have been used in the physiological experimentation, in- 

 cluding mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, although 

 most of the experiments were performed on frogs and dogs. 

 Orfila in 1817 gives the following summary of conclusions : 



First. That stavesacre is not absorbed, and that its deleterious properties de- 

 pend on the local irritation it produces and the sympathetic lesion of the 

 nervous system. 



Second. That the part soluble in water is most active ; so likewise the local 

 effects of its administration are more severe when it is moistened before being 

 applied to the cellular texture. 



In 1843 he obtained the following symptoms with delphinin in 

 dogs : For about two hours, nausea and attempts to vomit ; then great 

 agitation for some minutes, the dog soon becoming weak and finally 

 lying motionless on its side; slight convulsive movements of the 

 muscles of the legs and lower jaw, followed by death after two or 

 three hours. The organs of sight and hearing remained normal until 

 death. The autopsy showed the mucous membrane of the stomach 

 to be slightly inflamed; the left ventricle contained dark-colored 

 blood, and the lungs were more solid than normal. 



Falck and R5rig in 1851 obtained in cats and dogs vomiting, ex- 

 cessive salivation, diarrhea, uneasiness, staggering gait, convulsions, 

 difficult breathing, followed by death from asphyxiation and heart 

 paralysis. The autopsies showed congestion of the mucous mem- 

 branes which had come in contact with the poison, the heart and 

 great veins gorged with blood, and the lungs covered with eccEymotic 

 spots. Later authors do not vary much in regard to the general 

 symptoms. Van Praag and Turnbull note in addition a diuretic 

 effect. 



Cayrade, 1869, states his conclusions as follows : 



1. The delphinin acts upon the spinal cord, causing depression and making 

 it lose its excito-motor power. 



2. The effects are gradual and are felt from below upward, the reflex power 

 being lost progressively, first in the lower limbs, then in the upper limbs, and, 

 finally,, in the head. - . 



3. The voluntary movements continue after the loss of the reflex movements 

 and become incoordinate before their disappearance. 



. 4. The facts observed in the study of normal reflex movements and during 

 the poisoning of the cord by delphinin justify the belief that the nerve cells 

 of the, gray matter may lose their power of direct reaction and yet permit the 

 passage of the reflex current. 



