508  American  Pharmaceutical  Association.  {Alo'cJtober,Pi9oairm' 
considers  their  perusal  worth  very  little,  owing  to  the  lack  of  details 
as  to  the  purity  of  the  narcotine  used.  The  historical  details  which 
follow  have  been  taken  from  his  work  ("  Archiv  f.  exp.  Path.,"  Vol. 
17,  1883,  p.  100). 
The  first  to  study  the  action  of  narcotine  on  animals  was  Orfila 
("  Lehr.  d.  Toxikol.,"  1853).  He  claimed  that  the  character  of  the 
action  depended  largely  upon  the  solvent ;  thus,  dissolved  in  olive 
oil  0-4-0-6  gramme  narcotine,  first  accelerated  the  respiration  (dog) 
then  produced  a  condition  of  stupor,  which  was  followed  by  death. 
Slight  convulsive  movements  of  the  limbs  preceded  death.  A  dose 
of  1-3  grammes  dissolved  in  dilute  acetic  acid  accelerated  the  respi- 
ration and  caused  severe  convulsions,  followed  by  stupor  and  death, 
while  2  grammes  dissolved  in  hydrochloric  or  nitric  acid  produced 
no  toxic  symptoms. 
Magendie  believed  it  to  be  the  excitant  principle  of  opium,  as 
after  the  administration  of  0*03  gramme  he  experienced  some 
excitation  and  headache,  and  dogs  under  its  influence  had  convul- 
sive movements. 
Small  doses,  according  to  Bailly  ("  Rev.  med.,"  1825)  are  inactive 
in  man,  while  large  ones,  3-3-5  grammes,  induce  merely  headache 
and  slight  nausea.  After  a  dose  ot  7  grammes,  one  of  his  cases 
merely  experienced  slight  giddiness. 
Charvet  ("  Die  Wirkung  des  Opiums,"  1827)  found  that  narcotine 
caused  only  slight  acceleration  of  his  pulse.  He  claimed  the  admin- 
istration of  1  gramme  to  rabbits  was  followed  by  slight  trembling 
and  increase  in  reflex  excitability,  later  by  death. 
Cogswell  (Lancet,  1852)  saw  no  action  in  frogs  from  I  gramme, 
while  Albers  ("  Archiv  f.  Path.  Anat.,"  Vol.  26,  p.  225)  claimed 
that  the  injection  of  0*05-0- 1  gramme  as  powder  into  frogs,  caused 
numbing  of  sensation,  and  narcosis,  and  recommended  its  clinical 
use  in  cases  of  abnormal  sensibility. 
Bernard  ("  Compt.  rend.,"  Vol.  59,  p.  406)  denied  any  narcotic 
action. 
Schroff  ("  Pharmakologie,"  1856,  p.  476)  noted  in  man  that  the 
administration  of  O-i  gramme  caused  slight  rise  in  pulse  rate,  fol- 
lowed by  a  fall,  accompanied  by  dilatation  of  the  pupil,  deepening 
of  the  respiration  and  sleepiness;  the  action  was  transitory. 
Baxt("Arch.  f.  Anat.  u.  Physiol.,"  1869,  p.  112)  claimed  that 
O-i  gramme  used  subcutaneously  in  rabbits  and  guinea-pigs  was 
