ig2 Mr. Brodie on the different Modes 
tobacco. Supposing that this difference might arise from the 
poison being more concentrated in the oil than in the infusion, 
I made the following experiments. 
Exp. 14. A drop of the oil of tobacco was suspended in an 
ounce and a half of water by means of mucilage of gum arabic, 
and the whole was injected into the rectum of a dog. In two 
minutes afterwards he became faint, retched, but did not vomit. 
He appeared to be recovering from this state, and in twenty- 
five minutes after the first injection, it was repeated in the 
same quantity. He was then seized with symptoms similar 
to those in the last experiment, and in two minutes and a half 
he was apparently dead. 
Two minutes after apparent death, on the thorax being 
opened into, the heart was found acting, regularly one hun- 
dred times in a minute, and it continued acting for several 
minutes. 
Exp. 15. A drop of the empyreumatic oil of tobacco with 
an ounce of water was injected into the rectum of a cat. The 
symptoms produced were in essential circumstances similar to 
those, which occurred in the last experiment. The animal was 
apparently dead in five minutes after the injection, and the 
heart continued to contract for several minutes afterwards. 
We may conclude from these experiments, that the empy- 
reumatic oil of tobacco, whether applied to the tongue, or 
injected into the intestine, does not stop the action of the heart 
and induce syncope, like the infusion of tobacco ; but that it 
occasions death by destroying the functions of the brain, with- 
out directly acting on the circulation. In other words, its 
effects are similar to those of alcohol, the juice of aconite, and 
the essential oil of almonds. 
