Snap. IX. ALKALOID POISONS. 199 
CHAPTER IX. 
Tur EFrects OF CERTAIN ALKALOID PoIsoNns, OTHER SUBSTANCES AND 
VAPpours. 
Strychnine, salts of — Quinine, sulphate of, does not soon arrest the 
movement of the protoplasm — Other salts of quinine — Digitaline 
— Nicotine — Atropine— Veratrine—Colchicine—Theine— Curare 
— Morphia — Hyoscyamus — Poison of the cobra, apparently acce- 
lerates the movements of the protoplasm—Camphor, a powerful 
stimulant, its vapour narcotic — Certain essential oils excite move- 
ment — Glycerine — Water and certain solutions retard or prevent 
the subsequent action of phosphate of ammonia — Alcohol inno- 
cuous, its vapour narcotic and poisonous — Chloroform, sulphuric 
and nitric ether, their stimulant, poisonous, and narcotic power — 
Carbonic acid narcotic, not quickly poisonous — Concluding remarks, 
As in the last chapter, I will first give my experiments, 
and then a brief summary of the results with some 
concluding remarks. 
Acetate of Strychnine.—Half-minims of a solution of one part to 
437 of water were placed on the discs of six leaves; so that 
each received 54, of a grain, or.0675mg. In 2 hrs. 30m. the 
outer tentacles on some of them were inflected, but in an irregu- 
lar manner, sometimes only on one side of the leaf. The next 
morning, after 22 hrs. 30 m., the inflection had not increased. 
The glands on the central disc were blackened, and had ceased 
secreting. After an additional 24 hrs. all the central glands 
seemed dead, but the inflected tentacles had re-expanded and 
appeared quite healthy. Hence the poisonous action of strych- 
nine seems confined to the glands which have absorbed it; 
nevertheless, these glands transmit a motor impulse to the 
exterior tentacles. Minute drops (about 2, of a minim) of 
the same solution applied to the glands of the outer tentacles 
occasionally caused them to bend. The poison does not seem 
to act quickly, for having applied to several glands similar 
drops of a rather stronger solution, of one part to 292 of water, 
this did not prevent the tentacles bending, when their glands 
14 
