94 
ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 
quently vomited, by an application of the ointment to an 
ulcerated leg. Wishing to test the properties of an alcoholic 
extract, made by digesting one ounce of the bruised root in 
four ounces of absolute alcohol for four days, then filtering and 
evaporating, I took the fourth of a grain, which caused an 
acrid burning sensation in the mouth, and communicated to 
the throat and fauces a sense of dryness and heat, which 
finally reached the stomach. In the course of about an hour, 
this dryness and burning sensation in the throat and stomach 
became intense, and a disposition to hiccough was excited, 
which soon commenced, gradually increasing in frequency 
until it reached fifteen or twenty times per minute. This 
was attended with some sickness and retching, until vomiting 
took place. This was violent, and seemed to come on about 
every ten or fifteen minutes for the space of an hour. During 
this time dizziness and tremor were created, which passed off 
with the effects of the dose. With the hiccough there was 
a copious secretion of saliva, and discharge of mucus from 
the stomach and nose. During the action of this dose, the 
pulse was weakened so as to be scarcely perceptible, and was 
reduced from sixty-eight to fifty-two pulsations per minute. 
The extract used in this experiment was, as before stated, 
obtained by evaporating a tincture made by digesting the root in 
absolute alcohol. With the view of testing whether this had 
become deteriorated during three weeks, a similar dose was 
taken which resulted in effects similar to the first. A third 
dose was taken after several weeks more had elapsed with 
results the same. In none of these experiments was there any 
disposition to catharsis. 
CHEMICAL HISTORY. 
Experiment 1. — An infusion was made by adding an ounce 
of the bruised root to eight ounces of boiling water, and letting 
it stand fifteen minutes. After filtration it was of a light 
brown color, and reddened litmus paper, produced a copious 
white precipitate with subacetate of lead in solution, a slightly 
