138     THERAPEUTICAL  PROPERTIES  OF  SANGUTNARINA,  ETC. 
took  one-twentieth  of  a  grain  of  the  alkaloid  at  9  A.M.,  and  at  1, 
6,  and  10  p.m.,  daily,  for  seven  successive  days.  This  experi- 
ment was  instituted  to  ascertain  the  proper  dose,  as  also  the 
effects  when  continued  for  several  days. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  experiment  the  pulse  was  60,  and 
continued  about  that  rate  for  two  days.  Upon  each  of  the  five 
following  days  it  stood  at  60  in  the  morning,  and  at  52  or  53  in 
the  evening.  In  health  the  pulse  is  usually  rather  more  frequent 
in  the  afternoon,  from  exercise  or  labor.  Here,  however,  the 
order  was  reversed.  For  in  the  afternoon,  when  affected  by  the 
remedy,  the  pulse  fell  to  53,  but  the  influence  of  the  sanguinarina 
being  diminished  or  lost  at  night  in  the  long  interval  from  10 
P.M.  to  9  a.m.,  the  pulse  rose  to  its  ordinary  rate  in  the  morning. 
The  medicine  was  taken  in  the  pill  form.  It  occasioned  no 
distress  in  the  stomach,  no  action  on  the  bowels  (there  having 
been  but  the  usual  daily  evacuation),  and  no  change  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  evacuation.  The  kidneys  and  skin  were  not  influ- 
enced in  any  appreciable  degree.  There  was  no  flow  of  saliva  or 
uneasiness  in  the  mouth,  and  there  was  no  vomiting  or  even  nau- 
sea for  the  first  five  days,  but  on  the  sixth  and  seventh  days  I 
was  conscious  of  gastric  discomfort. 
II.  In  this  experiment  the  quantity  of  the  alkaloid  was  in- 
creased to  one-tenth  of  a  grain,  which  was  taken  four  times  a 
day  for  two  successive  days.  The  pulse  at  the  commencement 
was  60,  and  at  the  close  of  the  experiment  it  was  reduced  to  52. 
On  the  second  day  I  experienced  a  feeling  of  warmth-  and 
uneasiness  in  the  stomach  about  half  an  hour  after  each  dose.  I 
was  not  conscious  of  any  other  action  on  the  system,  excepting 
a  slight  sensation  of  fulness  in  the  temples. 
III.  I  administered  to  a  girl,  aged  twelve,  who  had  a  hard, 
dry,  racking  cough,  one-thirtieth  of  a  grain  every  four  hours 
for  four  days.  Her  usual  pulse  is  85.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
experiment  it  was  104,  and  at  the  close  of  the  fourth  day  it  had 
fallen  to  88»  The  cough  in  the  meanwhile  had  become  a  little 
more  loose,  but,  as  the  change  was  not  very  evident,  I  was 
obliged  to  discontinue  the  remedy  to  gratify  the  parents.  There- 
duction  of  the  pulse  was  the  only  apparent  action  of  the  medicine. 
IV.  One-fifth  of  a  grain  was  administered  to  two  patients 
every  four  hours  for  a  day.    Both  patients  complained  of  un- 
