POISONING BY STRYCHNIA. 
405 
“The tissues of the body are to be rubbed with distilled 
water in a mortar to a pulp, and then digested, after the ad* 
dition of a little hydrochloric acid, in an evaporating basin ; 
then strained, and evaporated to dryness over a water bath ; 
digest the residue in spirit, filter, and again evaporate to 
dryness; treat with distilled water, acidulated with a few 
drops of hydrochloric acid, and filter ; add excess of ammonia, 
and agitate in a tube with chloroform ; the strychnine in an 
impure condition is entirely separated with the chloroform. 
This chloroform solution is to be carefully separated by a 
pipette, and poured into a small dish, and evaporated to dry- 
ness ; the residue is moistened with concentrated sulphuric 
acid, and heated over a water bath for half an hour ; water is 
then added, and excess of ammonia — again agitated with 
chloroform, and the strychnine will be again separated by the 
chloroform, now in a state of sufficient purity for testing, 
which can be done by evaporating a few drops on a piece of 
white porcelain, adding a drop of strong sulphuric acid, a 
minute crystal of bichromate of potash being added in the 
usual way ; or the elegant mode proposed by Dr. Letheby 
can be adopted/ 5 
In bringing this article to a close, which has been extended 
far beyond the limits usually allowed, we may be permitted 
to add the following, as it seems to contain an important 
fact. It is a communication to the Lancet from F. G. 
Calvert, Esq., F.C.S., Professor of Chemistry to the Royal 
Institution, Manchester : 
“ Having noticed a great deal of discussion in various 
newspapers as to the length of time after death in which 
strychnine can be discovered in the stomach, 1 am induced 
to publish the following fact, which will prove that strychnine 
will resist decomposition in the stomach for the space of 
nearly one month after death. 
“ In 1849, several dogs of the Cheshire pack of hounds 
were wilfully poisoned, and one of them was brought to my 
laboratory for examination. From the description which 
was given to me of the peculiar symptoms which accom- 
panied the rapid death of these dogs, and also from the fact 
that I could observe no peculiar pathological appearance in 
the stomach and intestines, I was led to believe that they 
had died from the effects of strychnine. I therefore treated 
the contents of the stomach as follows : — It was put to digest 
for twenty-four hours, with pure alcohol of specific gravity 
0*840, slightly acidulated with pure hydrochloric acid. The 
whole was then thrown on a filter, and the filtrate concen- 
trated and neutralized. The precipitate which was thus pro- 
XXIX. 52 
