10 BULLETIlSr 405^ U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



if left alone, is quite excitable when disturbed. The reflexes are 

 heightened. The movements are brusque and exaggerated. The 

 depression gradually deepens; the animal partly loses control of its 

 hind legs, so that these tend to drag. Often the animal lies on its 

 belly, the head on the floor and legs spread out. It is still able to 

 walk. It soon loses this ability and sits or lies still. When disturbed, 

 it reacts with shivering, and becomes more and more convulsive. 

 Stimulation now produces more or less violent spasms, the first spasm 

 being strongly tetanic. The animal may assume the strychnin posi- 

 tion, with legs stretched out, and back arched in; or it may rise on 

 its feet, the back arched upward. The spasm soon becomes clonic 

 and incoordinated, the animal pawing the air in an aimless manner. 

 This is foUowed by relaxation, and the animal remains quiet unless 

 disturbed, which disturbance would cause another spasm. After a 

 time the convulsions occur spontaneously. In milder cases there 

 may be no general convulsions, but twitching of isolated muscles — 

 of the face, ears, neck, back, and extremities. The head may swing 

 in a rhythmical pendulum movement. The respiration during this 

 convulsive paralytic condition is slow, shallow, and irregular. The 

 pupils are variable, but need not be dilated (which speaks against 

 the view that they are asphyxial; the mucous membranes are also a 

 bright pink). Many animals urinate copiously. The animals may 

 remain on the abdomen or recover a sitting posture for some time 

 after the onset of the convulsions, but after a time they fall on the 

 side. The respiration becomes gasping. Asphyxial convulsions set 

 n, and the respiration stops from haK a minute to 1 minute before 

 the heart. 



The depressant and convulsive symptoms agree with those de- 

 scribed by Lowenthal (1888), Gemma (1882), and Raimondi (1891) 

 for European lupine alkaloids. 



It is not possible to make any general statement as to the time 

 required for the development of the different symptoms, since this 

 is extremely variable. It is remarkable, however, that a consider- 

 able time may elapse before any pronounced symptoms appear, 

 and this even when the solutions are administered under the skin. 

 It is to be noted that doses which are little below fatal produce only 

 very shght symptoms. 



Recovery may occur from any stage and is usually so complete 

 that the animal gains on its original weight. The intoxication leaves 

 no post-mortem lesions, gross or microscopical. 



OPERATIVE EXPERIMENTS WITH LUPINE ALKALOIDS. 



The effects on blood pressure, respiration, etc., were studied on 

 five dogs, angesthetized with morphin and ether, and arranged for 

 tracings. The alkaloidal extract of Specimen V (seeds of Lwpinus 



