72 
EXPERIMENTS ON NITRE. 
bladder, as appeared from the relief afforded almost immediately 
after voiding urine ( vide Nov. 28th). 
The effect on the pulse of the ass was trifling, though his 
death was sudden and singular. From the appearance of the left 
ventricle, I should infer that there was a total cessation of the 
action of the heart ; and this inference is strengthened by the 
state of the horse’s pulse four hours after giving the pound : it 
was then so feeble as scarcely to be felt or even heard, attended 
with very great prostration of strength. 
The post-mortem appearances differed materially from those of 
the lambs described by M. Saussol, and of the horse by Mr. 
Hayes, of Rochdale : in the first two experiments neither the 
bladder nor intestines were seriously affected ; the principal in- 
jury was confined to the villous coat of the stomach, though in 
the caecum of the ass there were two or three inflammatory 
patches, similar (yet in a much slighter degree, and not ap- 
proaching ecchymosis) to those noticed by yourself in fatal 
cases of influenza, which you suspect may have been occasioned 
by the too free use of nitre. 
The manner of administering this medicine considerably modi- 
fies its action; for instance, so long as I continued giving the 
horse a pound per diem, in bran mashes and divided doses, the 
symptoms produced were comparatively slight ; but when a 
pound was given him in solution, after fasting several hours, its 
effects were more decisive, and its power over the system much 
greater. As a medicine of internal use, I can say but little in 
its favour; for in small doses it appears of trifling service, and 
in large ones it passes off, to a great extent, as the other neutral 
salts do, by increasing the secretion of the mucous coat of the intes- 
tines. Throughout these experiments, I observed no effect which 
might not be obtained by other drugs of less cost, whose action 
may be more depended upon, and of whose operation we might 
avail ourselves in a much shorter time; though as an external 
refrigerant I highly value it. 
The remarks on the effects of nitre upon the human subject, 
with Orfila’s conclusions, noticed in the beginning of this arti- 
cle, will enable the reader to draw his own inferences upon its 
comparative effects. 
I hope these experiments may meet the eye of those who are 
accustomed to prescribe one, two, or three drachms of nitre per 
day in a ball ; for if it may be given in continued small doses, 
and increased as described above, till not less than six pounds 
ten ounces have been taken*by one horse in thirteen days, and 
two pounds by another at a single dose, with so trifling effect in 
the first instance, and without producing death in the last, will it 
not be well to resort to some more effective agent ? 
