POISONtMG BY HEMLOCK. 
ICO 
No convulsions were present; on the contrary, pricking 
with a pin on the posterior part of the body caused no pain, 
at least no contractions were present. It was evident they 
were suffering from the effects of some poison, so I adminis¬ 
tered a stimulant to the two sick animals, and proceeded to 
make a post-mortem examination of the two which had 
died. 
The contents of the abdomen generally appeared healthy; 
the intestines were much distended with gas. The stomach 
was distended by a large mass of vegetable matter com¬ 
posed principally of grasses; but a number of fragments of 
a hollow stem, tripinnate leaves, and portions of an umbelli¬ 
ferous flower, were recognisable. Its characters were difficult 
to read, from the fragmentary condition in which it was 
present; but on going into the field it was easily recog¬ 
nised, and a number of the stems, in a perfectly eaten-off 
condition, were found, and some of the plants had been recently 
rooted upon the bank. The mucous coat of the stomach was 
much congested, particularly so in the cardiac portion, while 
in the pyloric extremity there were large spots of extravasa¬ 
tion beneath the epithelium about the size of a crown-piece. 
The intestines presented, here and there, patches of conges¬ 
tion in the mucous coat, otherwise they were healthy. Por¬ 
tions of the grassy meal were seen in them nearly through¬ 
out their whole length. The liver seemed healthy, but on 
bejng cut into a quantity of dark fluid blood exuded; the 
spleen, too, was in a distended condition from the same cause. 
The kidneys and bladder were healthy, the mucous lining of 
the latter was congested from venous obstruction. 
Lungs engorged with blood, very dark, otherwise healthy. 
Heart healthy, but pale and soft; the veins on its surface 
were distended with blood and easily traced; the right cavi¬ 
ties of the organ and the large venous trunks were gorged 
with black, thick, but liquid blood ; the left side of the heart 
w 7 as almost empty. The blood throughout the body was dark, 
and did not coagulate readily on exposure. 
The appearances were very similar in both the pigs; but 
the digestive process was farther advanced in one than in the 
other, so that it would have been more difficult to make out 
the cause had there been in both an equal state of digestion; 
one of them did uot seem to have had such a hearty meal as 
the other. 
The brain I did not examine. The examination of the two 
pigs occupied about three quarters of an hour, during which I 
had an opportunity of observing the effects of the stimulant 
on the others. 
