442         ACTION  OF  VERATRUM  VIRIDE  AND  V.  ALBUM. 
Similarly,  Brown  and  Fraser  have  discovered  that  the  toxic 
properties  of  brucia,  thebaia,  and  codeia  are  immensely  dimin- 
ished by  the  addition  of  methyl ;  and  that  the  bodies  produced, 
instead  of  being,  as  all  three  of  these  alkaloids  are,  strongly 
convulsent,  possess,  on  the  contrary,  the  physiological  action  of 
curare.  Morphia,  as  is  well  known,  possesses  both  soporific  and 
convulsent  properties  ;  its  toxic  action  is  much  diminished  by  the 
addition  of  iodide  of  methyl ;  its  convulsent  action  is  destroyed, 
but  its  soporific  action  remains.  The  above  are  amongst  the 
chief  results  which  have  been  obtained  by  the  authors,  and  ap- 
peared to  possess  such  interest  as  to  warrant  my  drawing  the 
attention  of  your  readers  to  them. — -Chem.  News,  March,  1868, 
from  the  British  Medical  Journal. 
ACTION  OF  VERATRUM  VIRIDE  AND  V.  ALBUM. 
Dr.  Oulmont  (JVeues  Repertorium  fur  Pharmacie,  1868,  Bd. 
xvii,  Heft.  3,  p.  177)  publishes  some  interesting  observations 
and  experiments  made  on  man,  dogs,  rabbits,  and  frogs,  with 
veratrum  viride.  When  small,  non-fatal  doses  were  given  to  the 
lower  animals,  the  symptoms  were  localized  chiefly  in  the  diges- 
tive, respiratory,  and  circulatory  symptoms,  and  on  the  general 
force.  In  the  digestive  system,  they  consisted  of  nausea,  of 
vomiting,  which  sometimes  lasted  for  twenty  hours,  and  of 
diarrhoea.  If  doses  sufficient  to  cause  death  were  administered, 
these  symptoms  occurred  in  an  excessive  degree,  but  no  signs  of 
inflammation  could  be  discovered.  The  respirations  were  power- 
fully aifected  at  an  early  stage  ;  they  were  sometimes  unequal 
and  irregular  ;  they  were  sometimes  diminished  in  number  to 
two  or  even  one  in  the  minute  ;  and  in  frogs  they  were  some- 
times altogether  stopped.  The  rapidity  of  the  circulation  was 
soon  diminished,  the  pulse  being  often  reduced  within  fifteen 
minutes  by  from  twenty  to  forty  beats  in  the  minute.  The 
effect  on  the  temperature  was  somewhat  less  marked.  It  falls 
two,  three,  or  five  degrees  in  from  an  hour  and  a  half  to  two 
hours,  and  it  may  remain  at  this  reduced  point  as  long  as 
twenty-four  hours.  The  hyposthenic  action  is  nearly  imme- 
diately produced,  and  the  weakness  and  sinking  of  the  gene- 
