101 
of Edinburgh, Session 1869-70. 
dated 10th Dec. 1869, — “ I reopen your note to say that I have just 
dissected a flower, and conclude to name the Kombi plant Strophan- 
thus hispidus , DC.” This plant belongs to the natural order Apo- 
cynacece. 
When the seeds contained in these follicles are bruised and 
treated in a percolator with rectified spirit, a greenish yellow tinc- 
ture is obtained. By distilling off the greater part of the spirit, and 
drying the residue on a water bath, and in the exhausted receiver of 
an air-pump, an extract is procured which weighs about 25 per cent, 
of the seeds employed, has an intensely bitter taste, and contains 
about one half of its weight of an inert fixed oil. From this extract 
the author has succeeded in separating a very powerful active 
principle. 
As, however, the greater number of the experiments have been 
made with the extract, the results of these experiments only will be 
described in the following brief account of the physiological action 
of the Kombi arrow-poison, it being understood that the action of the 
active principle is of the same character. 
When a small dose (^-th °f a grain) of this extract is mixed with 
a few minims of water, and injected under the skin of a frog, no 
distinct symptom is seen until about half an hour, when the 
animal’s movements become somewhat sluggish. Soon afterwards 
the respirations cease, some stiffness occurs in the thoracic extremi- 
ties, reflex sensibility diminishes, some stiffness appears in the 
pelvic extremities, and in about two hours after the administration, 
voluntary movements entirely cease, and strong galvanic irritation 
produces no effect, even when applied to exposed muscles and 
nerves. An examination of the heart shows that it is completely 
paralysed, the ventricles being pale and contracted, while the 
auricles are dark and distended. 
It was obviously suggested by these phenomena that this sub- 
stance acts as a cardiac poison; and, accordingly, some experiments 
were made in which the heart was exposed before the administration, 
of which the following is an example : — 
One-tenth of a grain of extract was injected under the skin of a 
frog. Five minutes thereafter, it was observed that the ventricular 
systole was somewhat prolonged; in six minutes, the ventricular 
diastole was imperfect, so that only portions of the ventricle dilated 
VOL. vii. o 
