4 
certainly referable to my Duboisia Hopwoodii (Frag. Fhytograpk , 
vol. x. p. 20 ), formerly when fruit was unknown referred to Antho- 
cercis. It comes not quite unexpectedly that the pituri is traced to 
Duboisia, because I am aware of the poisonous properties of several 
species of Anthocercis, and this added to 1117 reasons, to restore both 
Duboisia and Anthocercis to Solanacese, from which Benthara had 
wrongly removed them, to Scrophularinse. !Now an interesting field 
opens to Dr. Bancroft for further research. Let the Doctor try the 
foliage of Duboisia myoporoides, as he could easily, for a little 
payment, get a blackfellow to administer small doses of that plant to. 
There could be no danger in the experiment if the quantity is given 
cautiously. I fancy that the properties of the Duboisias will prove 
similar to those of stramonium. 
Begardfully, 
Feed, vojv Mueller. 
Accordingly I lost no time in preparing extract of Duboisia 
myoporoides, a small tree common in the neighbourhood, growing 
plentifully on the borders of vine scrubs, and springing up after 
the forest of timber has been burnt oft. The effects of Duboisia 
extract on my domestic pets (thanks to the beneficent rule of 
this colony, where no law prevents professional men from 
experimenting) are strange enough. Dogs and cats walk about 
in a helpless blind manner, falling over the least irregularity of 
surface, and struggle, in the case of the dog, to get through and 
over all sorts of impassable obstacles. If let alone they go to 
sleep. They seem blind, or nearly so, with a widely- dilated 
pupil. Surely this could not be pituri. The widely-expanded 
pupil looked so strange ; could it be that local application on 
the eye would produce results like atropia ? The experiment 
on a cat was easy of execution, and a little fluid extract was 
dropped in the eye ; in a few minutes the pupil dilated widely, 
and so remained. Numerous experiments were then made, 
always with the same results. 
I now tried it on some of my ophthalmic cases, and found 
an action of great rapidity. A very slight irritation is men- 
tioned by patients after a drop is placed in the eye, but this 
passes away in a few seconds. In from five to fifteen minutes 
an ophthalmoscopic examination can be made. 
I gave extract to Dr. Thomson of the Brisbane Hospital, 
and Dr. McIntosh of the Ipswich Ilopital, who both confirmed 
my observations. I use the Duboisia now regularly in place 
of atropia, and in several extraction cases found it to act 
satisfactorily. 
Dr. Fortescue, an eminent ophthalmic practitioner of 
Sydney, favoured me with the following exact particulars of 
its action: — 
