231 
of Edinburgh, Session 1867 - 68 . 
found that iodide and sulphate of methyl-brucium and methyl-the- 
baium have the same action as the analogous strychnia compounds. 
The fatal dose of iodide of methyl-brucium was found to be very 
much the same as that of the corresponding compound of strychnia ; 
a larger dose was, however, necessary to produce death with sulphate 
of methyl-brucium, than with sulphate of methyl-strychnium. 
Iodide of methyl-thebaium, being more soluble in warm water, has 
a smaller fatal dose than the iodides of methyl-strychnium and 
methyl-brucium. Six grains produced no effect when injected under 
the skin of a rabbit ; eight grains caused symptoms, which were re- 
covered from ; and death occurred eleven minutes after the injec- 
tion of ten grains. Eight grains of iodide of methyl-thebaium 
contained about five grains and a half of thebaia, and, for a rabbit, 
the fatal dose of this alkaloid is one-fifth of a grain. 
Among the opium alkaloids, codeia ranks next to thebaia in ac- 
tivity. It was found by the authors, that six grains of iodide of 
methyl-codeium dissolved in warm warer, and injected under the 
skin of a rabbit, caused no effect. Ten grains, however, was an 
almost fatal dose, and this contains about twelve times as much 
codeia as would kill a rabbit. It was also found that the fatal dose 
of sulphate of methyl-codeium is not very different from that of the 
iodide. Neither of these compounds possess the usual convulsant 
action of codeia; and as this alkaloid has but a feeble soporific ac- 
tion, it was difficult to determine how far this was modified by the 
direct chemical addition of methyl compounds. The author also 
found that iodide and sulphate of methyl-codeium paralyse the motor 
nerve end-organs, an effect that is not produced by codeia itself. 
Iodide of methyl-morphium is a very insoluble substance. The 
largest dose that could, therefore, be administered subcutaneously 
to a rabbit was twenty grains, and this large quantity produced no 
effect. Eight grains of morphia were, some days afterwards, ex- 
hibited in the same way to this rabbit ; the result was a decided so- 
porific effect, followed by epileptiform convulsions and death. 
No effect was produced when iodide of methyl-morphium was 
administered to rabbits by the stomach, even in so large a dose as 
thirty grains. 
Recognising the possible fallacies connected with experiments 
with such a substance on rabbits, the authors determined to observe 
