178 NAT. ORDER. SOLANACE^E. 
immediately upon the nervous system, and destroys life by the viru- 
lence of its narcotic influence. 
The quantity of seed necessary to produce this effect upon a strong 
dog, as appears by experiments, is not required to be over a scruple — 
rabbits have been killed with five, and a cat with four grains. Of 
the persons to whom allusion has been made, one was a girl ten years 
of age, to whom fifteen grains were exhibited at two times only, for 
the cure of an ague, and resulted in her death. The recent valuable 
discoveries of the French chemists, render a particular account of the 
analysis of its seeds eminently interesting and important. It appears 
that the Nux vomica contains two very active alkaline substances, to 
which the names of Strychnine and Brucine have been given ; and to 
these substances Nux vomica owes its deleterious and medicinal pro- 
perties. 
Strychnine. This substance is prepared as follows : " Add a so- 
lution of liquid sub acetate of lead to a solution of water of alcoholic 
extract of Nux vomica, until no more precipitate is thrown down ; — 
separate the lead by sulphuretted hydrogen ; filtrate it, and boil with 
magnesia, which will unite with the acetic acid, and precipitate the 
strychnine. Wash the precipitate in cold water, re-dissolve it in alco- 
hol, to separate the excess of magnesia, and by evaporating the alcohol, 
the strychnine is obtained in a state of purity : if not perfectly white, 
it must be re-dissolved in acetic acid or hydro-chloric acid, and repre- 
cipitated by means of magnesia. 
When slowly crystallized, it appears under the form of micro- 
scopical crystals, forming four-sided prisms, terminated by pyramids, 
with four flattened or depressed faces. Crystallized rapidly, it is white 
and granular ; it is insupportably bitter to the taste, has no smell, is not 
changed by exposure to the air, is neither fusible nor volatile, and is 
decomposed by a degree of heat inferior to that which destroys most 
vegetable substances. Exposed to the naked fire, it swells, becomes 
black, and gives out an empyreumatic oil, a little water, acetic acid, 
carbonic acid gas, and carbonated hydrogen ; it is scarcely soluble in 
