486 POISONS : THEIR EFFECTS AND DETECTION. [§§ 628—630. 
contained some greenish matter, in which savin tops were detected, a 
few drops of a strong savin-like smelling oil were separated by distilla¬ 
tion. The time which would elapse between the swallowing of the 
poison and the commencement of the pain was an important factor in 
this case, for the man was accused of having supplied her with the 
infusion. From the redness of the pharynx, and, generally, the rapid 
irritation caused by ethereal oils, a few minutes only must have passed 
between the taking of the liquid and the sensation of considerable 
burning pain ; although it is laid down in some works, as, for example, 
h alck s Toxicologie, that commonly the symptoms do not commence for 
several hours. Symptoms which have been noticed in many cases are— 
some considerable irritation of the urinary organs, such as strangury, 
bloody urine, etc. ; in a few cases vomiting of blood, in others, ansesthesia 
convulsions, and coma. Death may occur within twelve hours, or mav 
be postponed for two or three days. 
§ 628. Post-mortem Appearances. —More or less inflammation of 
the bowels, stomach, and intestinal tract, with considerable congestion 
of the kidneys, are the signs usually found. 
§ 629. Separation of the Poison and Identification. — Hitherto 
reliance has been placed entirely on the finding of the savin tops, or 
on the odour of the oil. There is no reliable chemical test. 
XII.—Croton Oil. 
§ 630. Croton oil is an oil expressed from the seeds of Croton tiglium, 
a plant belonging to the natural order Euphorbiacece, growing in the 
West Indies. The seeds are oval in shape, not unlike castor-oil seeds, 
and about three-eighths of an inch in length. Both the seeds and the 
oil are very poisonous. The chemical composition of croton oil can 
scarcely be considered adequately settled. The most recent view, how¬ 
ever, seems to be that it contains a fixed oil (C 9 H 14 0 2 ) with certain 
glyceiides. 1 On saponifying and decomposing the soap a series of 
volatile fatty acids can be distilled over, the principal of which are methyl 
crotonic acid, with small quantities of formic, acetic, iso-butyric, 
valeric, and perhaps propionic, and other acids. 2 The peculiar pro¬ 
perties of croton are due rather to the fixed oil than to the volatile 
principles. The only official preparation of the British Pharmacopoeia 
1 G. Schmidt, Arch. Pharm. [3], xiii. 213-229. Schlippe, Liebig’s Annalen, 
T' - 1 ’ ^f uther and Fr6lich > Zeitschrift f. Chem., 1870, pp. 26 and 549; Journ. Chem. 
Society, March 1879, p. 221. 
2 Benedikt has found 0-55 per cent, of unsaponifiable matter in croton oil 
, 0 e “ h , S ives the iodine 101-7 to 104-7, and solidifying point as 18-6°- 
19-0 (Cheml. Analysis of the Oils, Fats, and Waxes, by R. Benedikt, translated 
and enlarged by J. Lewkowitsch, London, 1895). 
