and its Alkaloid Conia. 409 



nutes and a half the breathing ceased. Slight muscular twitches continued for two 

 minutes and a half more. 



The body was opened in twelve minutes. In thirteen minutes the spinal accessary 

 nerve was pinched and galvanized with the effect of exciting brisk contraction of the 

 trapezius muscle. In fifteen minutes the fore-leg contracted strongly by similar sti- 

 mulation of the axillary plexus. In twenty minutes the diaphragm contracted 

 strongly when galvanism was transmitted from the phrenic nerve to its muscular 

 structure, but not when both poles of the pile were applied to the nerve. In twenty- 

 five minutes the trapezius could not be made to contract by pricking or galvanizing 

 its nerve. In twenty minutes the heart ceased to contract. The blood in it was 

 fluid, dark in the left side, and coagulable in the usual way. A small portion of 

 intestine near the aperture through the parietes was very vascular, and with a yel- 

 lowish-red blush. In thirty-two minutes the vermicular motion was going on feebly 

 in the intestines. 



This experiment illustrates well the leading points of the de- 

 scription in the text, — the gradual progress of paralysis, the in- 

 tegrity of the senses, the integrity after death of muscular con- 

 tractility, the freedom of the heart from depressed action, and the 

 natural state of the blood. The gradual progress of the paralysis 

 and integrity of the senses are still better shown in the following 

 experiment, where the successive phenomena succeeded one an- 

 other more slowly. 



Exp. III. Three drops of conia were introduced through a small wound between 

 the skin and aponeurosis in the nape of a puppy of the same litter as the two former 

 animals. In three minutes there was slight stiffness of all the legs. In four mi- 

 nutes and a half the animal seemed very weak, weary, and uneasy, but perfectly sensi- 

 ble. In ten minutes it suddenly staggered forward and fell on trying to run, and 

 had extreme feebleness of all the limbs. In twelve minutes the breathing was 

 hurried and short, with perfect flaccidity of the chest, extreme general debility and 

 apparent stupor ; but the animal was quite sensible in reality, changing its position 

 when touched, and shuffling forward on its belly when called to. In fifteen minutes 

 the breathing was entirely diaphragmatic, and the four limbs stretched out at right 

 angles to the trunk completely paralyzed ; but when called to it wagged its tail 

 feebly, turned the eyes in the direction of the voice, and made a feeble effort to raise the 

 head, but could not ; when a rabbit was placed near, it made evident attempts to 

 reach it ; and when the tail was pinched it tried to bark, but could produce only a 

 few indistinct croaking sounds. In twenty-six minutes it could still make a kw 

 indistinct efforts to change posture by moving the hips and upper joints of the hind- 

 legs, and exhibited the same proofs of sensibility. The breathing continued gra- 



