ACTIVE  CONSTITUENTS  OF  ERGOT  OF  RYE. 
199 
weakness,  with  trembling  of  the  extremities  and  pain  through 
the  chest. 
Half  a  grain  of  chloride  of  ecbolina  was  given  to  a  strong 
muscular  man,  weighing  180  pounds,  and  in  perfect  health. 
He  complained  of  shooting  pains  in  the  head,  nausea,  frequent 
calls  at  micturation,  pain  and  tightness  across  the  chest,  fol- 
lowed by  a  reduction  of  the  pulse,  depression  of  the  mind,  a 
dull  pain  with  a  sense  of  pressure  above  the  orbits,  and  general 
debility. 
Experiments  instituted  with  Ergotina  in  a  physiological  point 
of  view  were  less  complete,  owing  to  the  loss  previously  men- 
tioned. From  the  effect  produced  upon  myself,  I  believe  it  to 
be  less  active  than  its  congener,  and  although  capable  of  causing 
some  cerebral  excitement,  and  a  reduction  of  the  pulse,  I  did 
not  observe  the  same  specific  action  upon  the  spinal  column  and 
muscular  system. 
I  placed  into  the  hands  of  a  physician  some  months  ago 
a  solution  of  chloride  of  ecbolina,  to  test  its  medicinal  qualities 
in  uterine  hemorrhages  and  parturitions,  but  have  not  heard 
from  him  since.* 
It  must  be  observed  that  the  yield  of  alkaloid  does  not  cor- 
respond with  the  amount  contained  in  the  drug.  The  alkaloids 
are  very  prone  to  change  and  decomposition.  On  decomposing 
the  double  salt  of  mercury  and  the  alkaloids  with  sulphide  of 
hydrogen,  quite  a  loss  is  then  sustained  by  the  formation  of 
sulphuret  of  allyle  at  the  expense  of  the  alkaloids. 
Chloride  of  propylamin  has  been  obtained  direct  from  the 
fractional  precipitates  Nos.  4,  5  and  6,  by  passing  the  solutions 
through  prepared  aurinal  charcoal,  until  the  removal  of  the 
ergotina  is  effected,  the  solutions  evaporated  to  dryness  and 
exhausted  with  hot  absolute  alcohol,  will,  on  evaporation,  deposit 
chloride  of  propylamin,  which  is  readily  recognized  by  the 
hexagonal  form  of  its  prisms,  and  when  evaporated  with  bi- 
chloride of  platinum,  the  octohedral  yelk-colored  double  chloride 
*  Since  this  article  was  put  into  type  the  following  has  been  received 
from  the  author  : — 
"I  have  seen  the  physician  into  whose  hands  I  placed  the  chloride  of  ecbo- 
lina. He  tells  me  that  he  used  it  ia  several  cases  of  uterine  haemorrhage,  with 
satisfactory  results,  but  says  that,  from  the  symptoms  produced  in  the  doses  I 
had  directed  him  to  give,  he  was  compelled  to  lay  it  aside,  from  the  energetic 
and  poisonous  action  it  evinced,  causing  great  nausea  with  distressing 
vomiting  and  intense  headache.  He  thinks  the  ecbolina  to  be  a  powerful 
agent."— Ed.  Am.  Journ.  Pharm. 
