88  Action  of  Athcrosperma  Moschata.  {^iS^SS^ 
death  the  muscles  are  quite  excitable  to  electricity.  Administration  of 
small  doses  by  the  mouth  or  by  subcutaneous  injection  gave  exactly 
similar  results.  Two  minims  of  the  oil  given  subcutaneously  is  an 
overwhelming  dose  for  a  frog,  and  kills  it  almost  at  once  by  para- 
lyzing the  heart. 
In  rabbits  small  doses  have  no  apparent  action,  but  one  drachm 
given  by  the  mouth  causes  a  good  deal  of  stupor,  lasting  for  an 
hour  or  two.  The  heart  was  not  affected,  but  the  respiration  was 
slowed  to  about  one-half  of  its  original  rate.  Three  drachms  by 
the  mouth  caused  death  in  twelve  hours  in  complete  coma,  both 
heart  and  respiration  being  gradually  and  markedly  depressed, 
especially  the  latter.  In  mammals,  therefore,  as  in  frogs,  the  cen- 
tral nervous  system  (spinal  cord  and  brain)  is  chiefly  affected. 
Excretion  of  the  oil,  but  considerably  altered  just  as  other 
essential  oils  are,  takes  place  in  the  urine. 
I  have  taken  repeatedly  doses  up  to  10  minims,  but  was  unable 
to  observe  that  either  its  local  or  general  action  differed  in  any  way 
from  similar  volatile  oils,  such  as  oil  of  sassafras  or  of  eucalyptus. 
It  is  antiseptic,  and  in  watery  solution  preserves  albuminous 
solutions  for  an  indefinite  time. 
As  it  was  just  possible  that  other  constituents  of  the  bark  might 
be  poisonous  and  impart  their  activity  to  some  specimens  of  the 
oil,  I  made  an  alcoholic  extract  from  15  grammes  of  the  bark  and 
gave  the  whole  to  a  rabbit  without  any  apparent  effect.  Further,  I 
thoroughly  extracted  100  grammes  of  the  powdered  bark  with 
amylic  alcohol  to  which  a  few  drops  of  ammonia  had  been  added. 
The  amylic  alcohol  was  then  shaken  up  with  hydrochloric  acid 
water,  the  acid  solution  drawn  off  and  excess  of  ammonia  added  to 
it,  when  a  dense  white  flocculent  precipitate  formed.  This  I  took 
to  be  Zeyer's  atherospermine.  One-half  of  it  was  given  to  a 
rabbit,  but  it  had  not  any  visible  action. 
It  seems  therefore  certain,  that  neither  the  volatile  oil  nor  any 
other  constituent  of  the  bark  of  Atherosperma  moschata  is  par- 
ticularly active  or  poisonous,  and  further  that  the  volatile  oil  has  a 
close  resemblance  in  physiological  action  to  other  volatile  oils. 
Regarding  its  uses  as  a  diaphoretic,  expectorant  and  alterative, 
there  is  little  doubt  that  it  is  simply  similar  to  the  many  other 
essential  oils  or  plants  containing  them  which  are  used  in  medicine 
for  similar  purposes. 
