Mr. Brodie on the different Modes , &c. 
to ascertain by what means the fatal consequences of some 
poisons may be prevented. With some of the conclusions, 
which I have ventured to draw, so far as I know, we were 
not before acquainted; and others of them, though not en- 
tirely new, had not been previously established by satisfactory 
experiments. 
I shall relate first those experiments, in which poisons were 
applied internally, that is to the mucous membranes of the 
tongue or alimentary canal, and afterwards those, in which 
poisons were applied to wounded surfaces. 
II. Experiments with Poisons applied to the Tongue or alimentary 
Canal . 
Experiments with Alcohol. 
When spirits are taken into the stomach, in a certain quan- 
tity, they produce that kind of delirium,. which, constitutes in- 
toxication : when taken in a larger quantity, it is well known 
that, they destroy life altogether, and that in the course of a 
very short space of time. Intoxication is a derangement of 
the functions of the mind, and, as these are in some way con- 
nected with those of the brain, it seems probable, that it is by 
acting on this organ, that spirits when taken into the stomach 
occasion death. In order to ascertain how far this conclusion 
is just, I made the following experiments.* 
Experiment i. I poured two drams of proof spirits down 
* Tam indebted to Dr. E. N. Bancroft for bis assistance in many of the expe- 
riments which I am about to detail. Mr. W. Brande lent me his assistance in the 
greater part of those which were made. I have been further assisted by Mr. Broug h- 
ton, Mr. R. Rawlins, and Mr. R. Gatcombe, and by several other gentlemen. 
