TECHNICAL BULLETIN 131, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTUllE 
Table 1. — Effect of squill preparations upon animals {reported in literature) 
Referenco 
I^win (*/) 
Kopaczowski {IS). 
Clareinont (J). 
Dujardin-Beaumetz 
(7). 
Howarth {16, pp. 16- 
67). 
Orfila {22, v. 2, pp. 
99-102). 
Lewin {SI) 
nertwig {10, p. 196).. 
Kopaczewski {IS) 
Claremont (4) 
Animals 
Rats. 
.do. 
.....do- 
Dogs.. 
Guinea pigs 
Dogs and rabbits 
Dogs, cats, and hogs. 
Product 
/Dried bulb... 
lExtract 
/Dried bulb 
iScillitin. 
{Red-squill powder 
White-squill 
powder. 
Urginea burkei 
powder. 
Squill 
/Scillitin 
ISquilL 
Fresh bulb. 
Scillitoxin.. 
do 
Fresh bulb. 
do do. 
Uorse and cow do. 
2 horses I do... 
Guinea pigs Scillitin. 
...do... 
...do... 
...do... 
(Dogs. 
sCats. 
Rabbits. 
1 gram 
6 grams 
830 mg./kg 
1 mg./kg ^. 
260 to l,800fmg./kg. 
9,000 mg./kg... 
2,000 mg./kg. 
10 mg. 
0.02 to 0.05 mg. 
32 mg... 
2\<i ounces 
0.5 mg 
100 to 500 mg... 
0.25 to 2 grams. 
45 grams.., 
30 grams... 
60 grams... 
1 mg./kg... 
do 
2 mg./kg... 
21^2 mg./kg. 
Result 
Death. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Survived. 
Death. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Vomiting, diar- 
rhea, diuresis. 
Death. 
Diarrhea. 
Death. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
Do. 
USE OF SQUILL AS RAT POISON 
The Danish antirat law of 1907 forbade the use of strychnine, 
arsenic, and sulphurous preparations in rat control but permitted 
various squill preparations. Aumann {1) lists nine commercial 
squill preparations offered for sale in Germany in 1912; he also states 
that practice had confirmed the laboratory finding that squill prepa- 
rations are tmce as efficient as raticides as are the bacterial poisons. 
Smith {26) found that only one of five chemical extracts on the 
English market in 1921 lolled rats. Aqueous, alcoholic, and acetic- 
acid extracts of dried white squill failed to kill rats, although each of 
three alcoholic extracts of dried red squiU proved fatal. 
Claremont (4, 5) reported an intensive study of squill as a rat 
poison. The lethal doses of various red-squill powders ranged from 
260 to more than 1,800 milligrams per kilo of body weight to rats 
and did not seem to bear any relation to the chemical characteristics 
of the preparations. The reducing sugars ranged from 3.32 to 10.45 
per cent," and the total sugar after inversion from 6.94 to 73.73 per 
cent. Hydrochloric acid intensified the red color of the extract. 
Some powders and pastes on the British market were found to be 
toxic to rats. White-squill powders failed to kill in doses of 9,000 
milligrams per kilo of body weight. South African squill, Urginea 
hurlcei, gave more mucilage than the ordinary varieties, and only 
one of three powders killed, the lethal dose of it being 2,000 milli- 
grams per kilo of body weight. A drying temperature of 60° C. 
appeared to produce a satisfactory powder, although the lethal prin- 
ciple was not destroyed in preparing squill biscuits at temperatures 
around 100°. The powder preserved its toxicity when stored in 
air-tight containers. Cold and hot water extracts were toxic, but 
alcohol failed to extract the toxic principle. Wild rats were rather 
more susceptible than tame rats. Microscopic examination showed 
no specific characteristic except the large number of raphides. Clare- 
mont concluded that the toxicity of squill preparations can not be 
inferred from analytical results but must be determined by feeding 
experiments on rats. 
