EDIBILITY OF THE FLESH OF POISONED ANIMALS 
271 
The water remaining after the distillation contains strych¬ 
nine united with sulphuric acid, together with extractives 
and sulphates of the bases kreatin, kreatinin, etc. By agita¬ 
ting the acid solution with petroleum ether, a small portion 
of the extractives are removed ; lastly, the acid liquid is 
rendered neutral by adding ammonia, and the liberated bases 
taken up by chloroform, but is always contaminated with a 
large quantity of the aforementioned basic bodies, which are 
by no process separable. (It would doubtless be interesting 
to apply the stas-otto method of extracting, with alcohol and 
tartaric acid, with the view of securing the alkaloid in a 
pure state.) 
Sheep I.—750 grms. of muscle was exhausted according 
to the above method. The chloroform solution showed a 
plain though not very strong reaction of strychnine (blue 
color with potassium dichromate and sulphuric acid). The 
evaporation of the chloroform was followed by the precipi¬ 
tation of so much extract matter that no reliable result re¬ 
specting the weight of the drug could be reached. 
The substance of the liver, weighing 400 grms., was 
treated in the same manner ; the chloroform solution showed 
strong reaction of strychnine ; also abundant extractions 
which were inseparable. 
Sheep II.—500 grms. of muscle was similarly subjected, 
and the chloroform showed a strong strychnine reaction. 
The liver, weighing 300 grms., also tested with Dragendorf’s 
method, gave a materially weaker reaction. 
PHYSIOLOGICAL EXPERIMENT (WITH WHITE MICE.) 
I. The liver extract from sheep No. 1. One-half of this 
subcutaneously injected, and in ten seconds death occurred 
under symptoms of tonic and clonic spasms. A second 
mouse, which received but one-tenth of the extract, manifest¬ 
ed light muscular contractions and increased reflex excita¬ 
bility after the lapse of five minutes; in seven minutes 
spontaneous contractions were observed, and in eight 
minutes after the injection the animal died in clonic-tonic 
contractions. 
