OEGANIC POISONS AND DEUGS 135 



Alcoholic intoxication is stated to occai* amongst stock fed 

 on brewery and distillery residues, but the statement must 

 be taken with reserve, for in such residues the dilution is 

 very great, and this appears to be a most important factor. 

 A dose of alcohol which, when highly diluted and slowly 

 consumed causes no harm, would, if concentrated and 

 given in one dose, cause grave intoxication, or even death. 

 Cases of , death in man after taking a few ounces of un- 

 diluted spirit in one draught are common, and the 

 poisoning is often fatal in a very short time. 



Toxic Doses. — According to Hertwig, 8 ounces of con- 

 centrated alcohol caused the death of an old but sound 

 horse in about ten minutes. Four to five ounces of whisky 

 (of about 45 per cent, alcoholic strength), if retained, kill a 

 20-pound dog in a few minutes (Pinlay Dun). Eight 

 grammes (about 120 grains) per kilogramme (about 2 pounds), 

 body weight has been stated as the toxic dose of alcohol. 

 The higher alcohols, propyl, butyl, and amyl, are more toxic 

 and more irritant than ethyl alcohol, or common alcohol. 

 Crude spirit, however, undoubtedly owes a part of its 

 noxious qualities to the presence of aldehydes, which are 

 the first oxidation products of the alcohols, and which are 

 only slowly eliminated from raw spirit in the process of 

 maturation. 



Symptoms. — Alcohol in large doses paralyses the nerve- 

 centres in the order of their development, the higher 

 cerebral functions being first affected, the cardiac and 

 respiratory last. In animals the motor paralysis thus 

 declares itself as a prominent feature, as compared with 

 the mental derangement of man. 



In acute poisoning of animals there is a period of great 

 excitement, during which the patient exhibits brightness of 

 the eye, contraction of the pupils, and irregular move- 

 ments. The horse prances and strikes out with its feet. 

 Very soon there is collapse, with a small, weak pulse, cold- 

 ness, coma, and death (Gamgee, Finlay Dun). 



Post-Mortem Appearances. — The digestive organs show 

 irritation after concentrated doses. The blood is dark. 



