30t> ACTION GF VEGETABLE POISONS. 



found the heart acting with regularity and strength, circu- 

 lating dark-coloured blood. I introduced a tube into the 

 trachea, and produced artificial respiration; the contrac- 

 tions of the heart became auj^mented in force and frequency, 

 and there was no evident ditniuution in six or seven minutes, 

 during which the artificial respiration was continued. 



On dissection, nothing remarkable was found in the ap- 

 pearance of the tongue or brain. 

 Acted like the '^^^ symptoms and mode bi death, in this experiment, 

 essential oil of did not essentially differ from those produced by the essen- 

 almonda, ^j^] ^-j ^f ^imoHfjg, I vvas surprised to find the effects of 



the empyreumatic oil so entirely different from those of the 

 infusion of tobacco. Supposing that this difference might 

 arise from the poison being more concentrated in the oil 

 than in the infusion, 1 thade the following experiments, 

 .. . ., Exp. 14. A drop of the oil of tobacco was suspended in 



an ounce and a half of water by means of mucilage of gum 

 arabic, and the whole was injected into the rectum of a dog. 

 In two minutes afterward he became faint, retched, but did 

 not vomit. He appeared to be recovering from this state, 

 and in twenty-five minutes after the first injection, it was re- 

 peated in the same quantity. He was then seized with 

 symptoms similar to those in the last experiment, and in 

 two minutes and u half he was apparently dead. 



Two minutes after apparent death, on the thorax being 

 opened into, the heart was found acting regularly one hun- 

 dred times in a minute, and it continued acting for several 

 minutes. 

 „ ^ £.1/). 15. A drop of the empyreumatic oil of tobacco with 



an ounce of water was injected into the rectum of a cat. 

 The symptoms produced were in essential circumstances si- 

 milar to those, which occurred in tlie last experiment. The 

 animal was apparently dead in five minutes after the injec- 

 tion, an'd the heart continued to contract for several minutes 

 afterward. 



We may conclude from these experiments, that the era-' 

 pyreuniatic oil of tobacco, whether applied to the tongue, or 

 injected into the intestine, does not stop the action of the, 

 heart and induce syncope, like the infusion of tobacco; but 

 that it occasions death by destroying the functions of the 



brain 



I 



