864 THE EFFECT OF MEDICINES ON TEMPERATURE. 
Galboon, and which the natives call rriboondoo. They have 
gathered it themselves in a moist soil in the neighbourhood 
of the River Cano, at thirty leagues from the frontier. It is 
very difficult to procure, because the sorcerers of the country 
conceal the plant with great care from the profane, so that 
its properties are still in a great measure a mystery. The 
roots vary in thickness between three centimetres and one 
(a centimetre is four-tenths of an inch) ; their length varies 
between fifty and seventy. The rind, whether fresh or dry, 
is reddish outside and a vivid red within ; the root itself is 
mere hard wood. Both this and its bark are exceedingly 
bitter ; their infusions, even when considerably diluted, still 
retain this taste to a high degree. They yield abundant pre- 
cipitates, even when treated either by iodide of potassium or 
phospho-molybdic acid; whence it may be concluded that 
they contain at least one if not several alkaloids. The effects 
produced upon animals may be briefly stated as follows : — 
When a very weak dose is injected under the skin of the frog, 
the poison only produces constraint in the limbs, a sort of 
paralysis, which prevents the creature from leaping easily, 
and makes it crawl like a toad. But, notwithstanding, the 
substance does not act like woorara, since the power of mus- 
cular contraction is not impaired when the operator excites 
the nerves. With a dose of three milligrammes, the extract 
introduced under the skin, after causing the constraint alluded 
to, brings on tetanic convulsions, w hen the animal is touched, 
or the table on which it lies is struck with the hand or other- 
wise. Nevertheless, the creature does not become rigid, as 
when poisoned with strychnine ; and if it has received a w 7 eak 
dose, it will recover in the course of a few hours when put 
into w^ater. Hence it may be concluded that the poison is 
rapidly eliminated from the animal economy. — Galignani. 
THE EFFECT OF MEDICINES ON TEMPERATURE. 
We are glad to notice what we hope is the commencement 
of a study by veterinary surgeons of the phenomena of tem- 
perature in the diseases of animals, and the effects which 
medicines may have in influencing these phenomena. Mr. 
F. J. Mavor, M.R.C.Y.S., has forwarded us a paper in which 
he records some careful observations on the horse, which 
appear to prove that the subcutaneous injection of atropia 
considerably elevates temperature, and that this effect per- 
sists for a considerable time. This observation accords with 
the results obtained by Mr. Oglesby, of Leeds, in experiment- 
