ADeceXerPi908m" }     Chemical  Examination  of  Nutmeg.  567 
for  the  most  part,  but  exhibits  some  indication  of  stimulation  in 
the  form  of  restlessness,  slight  convulsive  movements,  and  tremor. 
Animals,  therefore,  correspond  very  closely  to  man  in  their  reac- 
tions to  nutmeg  poison." 
"  Many  volatile  oils  induce  fatty  degeneration  of  the  liver  and 
other  organs,  but  nutmeg  poison  has  little  or  no  action  in  this 
direction." 
"  Wallace's  results  do  not  indicate  any  useful  purpose  which 
nutmeg  might  serve  in  therapeutics,  but  are  of  interest  in  drawing 
attention  to  the  possibility  of  serious  poisoning  from  one  of  our 
common  domestic  flavoring  agents." 
The  above  record  of  experiments  would  appear  to  have  estab- 
lished the  fact  that  the  narcotic  properties  of  nutmeg  are  to  be 
attributed  to  myristicin,  and  that  much  smaller  amounts  of  the 
latter  substance  are  required  to  produce  the  characteristic  symptoms 
of  nutmeg  poisoning  when  administered  by  the  mouth  to  a  cat  than 
when  injected  subcutaneously  into  the  guinea  pig  or  rabbit,  as 
indicated  by  Jiirss  (he.  eit.).  It  may  be  noted,  however,  that  the 
statement  by  Cushny,  that  nutmeg  poison  has  little  or  no  action  in 
inducing  fatty  degeneration  of  the  liver,  is  quite  at  variance  with 
the  observations  of  Jiirss,  and  is  not  confirmed  by  the  results  of  the 
experiments  conducted  by  Dale,  as  recorded  in  the  latter  part  of 
this  paper. 
EXPERIMENTAL. 
In  the  beginning  of  this  investigation  it  was  thought  possible 
that  the  narcotic  action  of  nutmeg  might  be  due  to  the  presence  of 
either  small  amounts  of  an  alkaloid  or  of  a  soluble  toxic  protein. 
Special  tests  were  therefore  made  for  both  of  these  classes  of  sub- 
stances, but  with  negative  results.  For  the  further  systematic 
investigation  of  the  subject  it  was  decided  to  make  a  complete  study 
of  (I)  the  essential  oil,  (II)  the  expressed  oil  or  fat,  and  (III)  the 
"  press-cake  "  remaining  after  the  removal  of  the  latter,  as  all  the 
constituents  of  the  nutmeg  would  be  included  in  these  products. 
I.    The  Essential  Oil  of  Nutmeg. 
A  complete  account  of  our  investigation  of  this  product,  which 
was  specially  distilled  for  us  from  Ceylon  nutmegs  by  Messrs. 
Stafford  Allen  &  Sons,  of  London,  has  already  been  published 
(Journ.  Chem.  Soc,  1907,  91,  2037),  and  therefore  need  not  be 
