82 
STRYCHNIA. 
the mucous coat of which was now even more congested than 
in the morning. The inversion increased the pain ; seeing 
which, I administered a second dose of opium, and had a 
solution of alum applied to the congested mucous membrane, 
by injecting it very gently into the anus. This was done 
with the view of contracting the vessels, &c., of the part, and 
lessening the local irritation, and for some hours after it was 
used the straining was nearly discontinued. About two o’clock 
the next morning the straining again returned, and the horse 
wasotherwise very uneasy, and the same tendency for the intes- 
tine to protrude existed as at first. This state of things con- 
tinued, with little alteration, till about 9 a.m., when I injected 
into the rectum a weak solution of sulphate of copper, in the 
same way, and with the same view as I had used the alum on 
the previous evening. This had an immediate beneficial 
effect, for the irritation was relieved at once, and continued 
to be less all day. The use of the pad was continued, and in 
the evening the injection was repeated. I allowed the com- 
press to remain on till the next morning, by which time, the 
straining had quite ceased. Some slight irritation of the 
part remained for a few days, but from this he gradually 
recovered, and returned to duty on the 5th of December. 
ON STRYCHNIA. 
By J. Field, Student of Medicine, London. 
At the present time, when strychnia has acquired so un- 
enviable a notoriety, it may interest some of your readers to 
peruse a few remarks on the subject. 
It is an alkaline substance, and was discovered in the year 
1818, by Pelletier and Caventou, in the fruit of the strych- 
nos nux vomica, a moderate-sized tree, indigenous to the 
islands of the Indian Archipelago, the coast of Coromandel, 
Cochin China, and several other parts of the East Indies, 
where it is known by the name of Caniram. Its fruit is 
ovoid in form, of an orange colour, pulpy, about the size of a 
small apple, and contains many seeds : it is from these seeds 
that strychnia is procured, in the proportion of thirty-four 
grains to the pound. 
The mode of preparing strychnia is given in the ‘ London 
Pharmacopoeia.’ 
Strychnia, as met with in commerce, is usually in the 
form of a greyish-white granular powder; it is odourless, but 
