Am  Febr;Sarm-}     Action  of  Atherosperma  Moschata.  87 
early  settlers  and  Bushmen  in  the  form  of  a  diet  drink  in  rheuma- 
tism and  secondary  syphilis.1  He  adds  that  he  himself  and  other 
practitioners  have  used  it  with  most  excellent  results  in  acute 
bronchitis  as  a  decoction  (r  oz.  bark  to  1  pint  water,  boiled  10-15 
minutes,  dose  1-2  oz.  three  or  four  times  daily),  and  that  it  acts 
freely  on  the  kidneys  and  skin,  and  facilitates  expectoration,  while 
reducing  the  secretion  of  bronchial  mucus.  Further,  that  Bosisto 
has  obtained  an  essential  oil  from  the  bark,  and  that  this  has  been 
given  by  Dr.  Hudson  with  marked  success  in  heart  disease.  He 
adds  that  the  volatile  oil  must  be  used  with  great  caution,  as  a 
single  drop  is  a  full  dose,  and  quotes  as  his  authority  the  Australian 
Medical  Journal,  of  October,  1861.2  I  have  not  been  able  to  con- 
sult the  reference,  but  Bosisto  repeats  the  statement  (P/iar.  Journ., 
[3],  vol.  xvii,  p.  417). 
If  the  volatile  oil  is  so  active  in  such  small  dose,  it  must  differ 
remarkably  from  other  volatile  oils.  As  I  was  anxious  to  ascertain 
whether  this  is  so,  I  applied  to  Mr.  E.  M.  Holmes  and  Mr.  Bosisto, 
and  readily  obtained  from  these  gentlemen  a  sufficient  supply  of  the 
bark  and  its  volatile  oil  to  enable  me  to  carry  out  an  investigation 
into  their  physiological  action. 
The  oil  is  light  yellow  in  color,  with  a  pleasant  aromatic,  slightly 
pungent  smell  and  taste,  not  unlike  oil  of  sassafras.  On  exposure 
to  the  air  it  tends  to  become  thick  and  resinous,  and  its  solubilities 
in  various  menstrua  are  similar  to  those  of  other  volatile  oils. 
The  physiological  experiments  which  I  have  made  with  it  have 
convinced  me  that  it  also  does  not  differ  from  other  volatile  oils  in 
its  general  action,  and  that  there  is  no  reason  for  attributing  to  it 
any  specially  poisonous  effects. 
Thus,  when  a  frog  is  placed  under  a  glass  jar  on  the  sides 
of  which  a  few  drops  of  the  oil  have  been  smeared,  it  at  first  shows 
signs  of  restlessness,  but  in  a  few  minutes  there  ensue  symptoms  ot 
marked  depression  of  the  central  nervous  system.  It  first  becomes 
clumsy  in  its  movements,  jumps  with  great  difficulty,  and  then  lies 
quite  motionless  and  flaccid  as  if  dead.  Respiration  soon  ceases, 
the  motor  nerves  become  paralyzed  in  time,  but  the  heart  goes  on 
beating  for  two  or  three  hours,  finally  stopping  in  diastole.  After 
1  Lancet,  i,  134,  1862. 
3  This  statement  was  also  made  by  A.  Redford,  in  Proc.  Liverpool  Chemists 
Assoc.,  republished  in  Amer.  Jour.  Phar.t  1863,  p.  452. 
