52 
CONTRIBUTIONS  TO  TOXICOLOGY. 
heat,  fuller  and  quicker  pulse,  red  tongue,  thirst  and  nausea, 
eye-lids  and  genitals  swelled,  the  swelling  of  the  face  resembles 
erysipelas,  often  with  blisters  or  pimples,  secerning  a  serum, 
which  soon  become  turbid,  dries  to  a  brown  scurf  or  scales,  and 
causes  an  insufferable  burning  and  itching.  Now  gastric 
symptoms  appear,  brown  covered  tongue,  sometimes  dry  and 
cracked,  violent  thirst,  quick  pulse,  which  sinks,  accompanying  a 
soporous  sleep,  the  highest  state  of  this  poisoning,  which  has 
never  proved  fatal.  Very  often  an  itch-like  eruption  remains  on 
the  inner  side  of  the  extremities,  on  the  scrotum  and  perinseum, 
sometimes  lasting  for  four  or  six  weeks,  until  by  blood-purifying 
medicines  and  chiefly  baths  all  the  poison  has  been  eliminated. 
With  children  and  decrepit  subjects  often  furuncles  arise  on  the 
lower  extremities  and  neck,  and  little  ulcers  containing  much 
matter;  they  must  be  opened,  heal  up  and  are  then  replaced  hj 
others.  Treatment  :  In  the  beginning  an  emetic,  soap-baths, 
washing  with  chloride  of  lime  and  aq.  ammonia,  cooling  purga- 
tives, then  Dover's  powder.  Thus  the  poisoning  symptoms  are 
effectually  cut  off,  but  not  always  the  following  troublesome 
diseases — (Buchners  N.  Mejpert.,  iii.  7.) 
Reaction  of  Nux  Vomica,  hy  Dr.  ScJilienJcamp. 
Nux  vomica,  extracted  with  diluted  alcohol,  lime-water  or  dis- 
tilled water  with  a  little  sulphuric  acid,  and  evaporated  between 
85  and  40°  C.  (95  to  104°  F.)  leave  a  crimson  red  residue,  the 
former  two  after  an  addition  of  a  little  sulphuric  acid.  Half  a 
grain  powdered  nux  vomica  with  three  or  four  grs.  conchse  ppt.  a 
few  drops  of  water  and  sulphuric  acid  produce  at  the  above 
temperature  the  same  red,  but  lightened  by  the  grayish  white  of 
the  conchae.  The  red  color  in  all  cases  disappears  on  cooling 
after  ten  or  fifteen  minutes.  This  reaction  may  be  observed 
several  times  by  heating  and  cooling,  until  the  carbon  produced 
by  the  repeated  heating  dims  the  color  to  indistinctness.  The 
same  reaction  will  be  had  with  the  faba  St.  Ignatii. 
Brucia  and  strychnia  do  not  show  these  reactions.  Salicin 
is  colored  red  by  concentrated  sulphuric  acid,  but  the  color  does 
not  disappear  in  ordinary  temperature  -(Archiv.  d.  JPharm., 
1855,  Feb.) 
