235 



EDITORIAL GLEANINGS. 



In Merck's Annual Report for 1900, a publication recording that year's 

 advances made in clinical and pharmaceutical knowledge, is an interesting 

 contribution on strychnine nitrate, which has for a long time been employed 

 for the destruction of animals or birds of prey, and when applied internally 

 has generally acted as a rather rapid and certain poison. Complaints have, 

 however, been made for a number of years to the effect that at times 

 strychnine has shown itself ineffective, especially with large animals, which 

 has induced the writer to enquire into the causes of this phenomenon. 

 Strychnine and its salts — in particular its nitrate — which is commonly 

 used for poisoning purposes, are, chemically, very stable compounds, and 

 their toxic efl&cacy remains unchanged for years. Its occasional ineflBciency 

 can therefore have its cause exclusively in the mode of administration, the 

 state of the body, especially the extent to which the stomach is charged, 

 and the presence or absence of the tendency to vomit. From Feser's 

 experiments^i^ it appears that strychnine nitrate may be administered 

 internally to Dogs in the solid form without detriment to the degree and 

 promptness of its action. This mode of administration, which gamekeepers 

 and sportsmen are compelled to adopt, has, in six experiments of Feser, 

 invariably resulted in the animals' death, whereas they recovered if the 

 same dose was given in the form of a solution. Feser ascribes this result 

 to the rapid solubility of the strychnia salt in the stomach of Dogs, and the 

 more rapid absorption of the concentrated salt solution. 



It is of the utmost importance that the poison should be correctly dosed. 

 According to Kobertf the lethal dose of strychnia administered sub- 

 cutaneously amounts to 0*75 mgrm. (9^0 §^-) P^'' ^^^^ i^i '^•) ^^ the case of 

 Dogs. Feser fixes, however, 0'5 mgrm. (3-i^ gr.) per kilo (24 lb.) as the 

 subcutaneous dose of strychnia nitrate which kills a Dog with certainty, 

 whilst 1 mgrm. (J^ gr.) per kilo (2^ lb.) produces the same result with 

 certainty if given internally. According to Frohner,]; the minimum lethal 

 dose is for Cattle 0-3-0-4 grm. (5-6 gr.), Horses 0'2-0-3 grm. (3 to 5 gr.), 

 Pigs, 0-05 grm. (f gr.), Dogs 0-005-002 grm. (^-^ to i gr.), Cats 0002- 

 0-005 grm. (-^^ to 3-^ gr.). Unfortunately, data have hitherto been lacking 



"■'• ' Archly f. wissenschaftl. u. prakt. Thierheilk.' 1881, vol. vii. p. 77. 



I Lehrbuch der Intoxicationen,' p. 664. 



I ' Lehrbuch d. Toxikologie f. Thierarzte.' ed. ii. 1901, p. 178. 



