Clark and Smith : Toxicological Studies 227 
gums had been eliminated. A final extract of the last thick syrup 
was made with absolute alcohol and, after this had been evaporated, 
the syrupy residue was mixed with powdered glass and dried in a 
vacuum desiccator until a yellowish, friable mass resulted. This 
powder was extracted with a small volume of absolute alcohol, 
the latter was removed from the extract by evaporation, and the 
small amount of yellowish waxy residue was taken up in 
physiological saline solution after which the traces of insoluble 
matter were removed by filtration. Unless otherwise noted 
this solution of the toxic material was used for injection or 
for experiments with the exposed hearts. In order to separate 
and purify any toxic alkaloidal material we took up the last resi- 
due from absolute alcohol with water, added a little dilute sul- 
phuric acid and finally a solution of potassio-mercuric iodid until 
no more of the yellow granular precipitate formed. The details 
of the chemical treatment of this substance, precipitated by the 
potassio-mercuric iodid, may be found in our earlier paper.® 
At the final stage of this treatment the small amount of poisonous 
water-soluble material was dissolved in physiological salt solution 
and then used for the toxicological experiments. This process 
of alcohol extraction and alkaloidal purification was originally 
planned to isolate muscarin from Amanita muscaria; we found it 
to be adequate for this purpose. We also found that this same 
process would separate and concentrate the toxic material in Ino- 
cybe infida and Clitocybe illudens. Chemically, then, the poison 
in the latter forms seemed to belong to the muscarin type but that 
question could finally be decided only by experiments on animals. 
Toxicological Experiments with Exposed Hearts 
The hearts of medium-sized pithed frogs were exposed and 
connected in the usual way for the preparation of graphic records 
on a kymograph drum. In several cases the exposed hearts of 
turtles were used but with no appreciable difference in the type 
of records obtained. Solutions of the toxic material in physio- 
logical salt solution were always used on the hearts and in no 
case was the effect of an extract tested until we first obtained a 
“ Loc. cit. 
