starting and shivering all over. Two days after 12 centigrammes daily; extreme langour and emaciation. On the upper part of each fore leg, close to the chest, two boils are visible, and can be felt as round doughy bodies, clearly defined; the right hind foot drawn in spasmodically, the left dragging behind. Traces of albumen in the urine, which is scanty. On the twenty-fifth day 18 centigrammes in 1 gramme of water injected. Walking very wearisome; left fore foot drawn inwards and disabled; total loss of appetite; shivering all over; here and there more severe, like an ague fit; head always moving from before backwards; respiration very quick; fæces no longer compact and globular, but soft and long; albuminous urine, On the twenty-sixth day 24 centigrammes. The animal lay with chest and belly on the ground; the head sinks, but is raised again now and then and falls back to the ground; respiration very rapid, mechanical convulsive gasping; constant jerking and shivering of the whole body; eyes closed; no urine. On the twenty-seventh day I found it lying dead in the same position, only rather turned to the right, in a semifluid green pus which it had probably thrown up, whilst the hind feet and belly were wet with liquid fæces.

Post-mortem.-Under the skin where the punctures were made there were dark green hard cicatrices adhering to the muscle; the two boils on the fore legs exhibited a green mucous mass, an exudation of the inflammation caused in the skin and cellular tissue by the injection; muscles anæmic and thin; lungs hyperæmic in a slight degree; heart full of clotted blood, with the septum of the left ventricle four times as thick as the right; liver very large, full of blood, and very firm; gall bladder full, and dark green. The scalpel, in dividing the liver, crepitated, so that one was clearly aware of meeting with some resistance, with a crackling sensation, as if the scalpel was passing over a number of slender threads which had to be cut through; the surface of the section was uneven, as was still more manifest from treatment with nitric acid; stomach and intestines normal; the former small, and moderately full of food; duodenum stained green with bile; cæcum

full of thin fæces; rectum quite empty; bladder moderately full; spleen very hyperæmic, small, and shaped like a leech. Kidneys externally pretty large, not particularly full of blood when cut; showed under a microscope that the urinary canals were filled with an immense quantity of little granules, which were fatty degenerations of epithelium detached from the canals; the membranes of the spinal cord were somewhat hyperamic, those of the brain normal.

b. A rabbit was subcutaneously injected with 8 milligrammes of Acetate of Copper. No symptoms. Next day 10 milligrammes; on three following days 11⁄2 centigramme; on the last of these days there was a jerking of the fore foot during and little after the injection. From the sixth day to the ninth 3 centigrammes; the animal is surprisingly quiet, keeps sitting in the same place, and eats very little. From tenth to sixteenth 6 centigrammes. Emaciation, little appetite, much thirst; great weariness, slow walking. traces of copper in the urine. The two next days 12 centigrammes in 1 gramme of water; the anterior joint of the left fore foot convulsively drawn in, so that the animal walks on this side as if it were broken; the attempt to straighten it is difficult, and it immediately resumes its contracted form. On the left upper arm, close to the chest, a boil is to be felt; the anterior joint of the left hind foot is drawn back, and this foot drags in walking; fæces not so compact as before, but more doughy; urination suppressed; the urine was rendered turbid by nitric acid. Nineteenth day 18 centigrammes. Extreme emaciation ; the animal keeps sitting in the same place, and turns away from food; inspiration frequent; often stretches its neck upwards as if catching at the air. Twentieth day 24 centigrammes given. Want of breath is clearly indicated; the thorax rises and falls so quick that it looks like a shivering of the whole body; the head is raised aloft and falls again to the ground; the right fore foot is stretched forwards, the animal falls with its chest on the ground, rocks from side to side, and dies on the left amidst frequent jerkings.

Post-mortem.-Skin and muscle in the same plight as in

the first case; lungs on the two lower lobes normal; the other lobes externally dark red, almost brown; when cut through a little blood issued, but more froth and serous fluid; heart, in both ventricles and both auricles, contained congealed black blood; the septum of the left ventricle was notably thicker than that of the right. The vessels of the retina much injected. The stomach, containing some remains of food, exhibited nothing abnormal, nor did the intestines, which were full of liquid fæces; liver, not particularly large and hyperæmic, showed as in the first case; the scalpel met with resistance in cutting it, accompanied by crepitation, and the external appearance led, as in the above instance, to the conclusion that the liver was certainly "granulated;" spleen somewhat larger than in the first case; bladder not overfull. The membranes of the spinal cord were here also hyperæmic, and the cord itself on section showed insignificant specks of blood; kidneys somewhat larger as to external form, and when cut open not so pale as in the first case; still there was the same evidence in the urinary canals of cells subjected to fatty degeneration.

3. Dogs.

As I could not myself institute experiments and observations for want of subjects, I adduce some instances to complete my subject, which lead to conclusions respecting the characteristic phenomena of the action of Acetate of Copper.

a. Drouard gave a dog 15 grains of this salt; in half an hour he made vain attempts to vomit, and passed much by stool day and night; great weakness preceded his death, which followed in twenty-eight hours. Stomach exhibited ecchymosis here and there; duodenum hyperæmic; in the jejunum extensive extravasation.

b. He injected grain into the jugular of a strong dog; at the moment movements of chewing and swallowing; in a quarter of an hour he vomited. On the third day he kept quiet and languid, and his limbs appeared generally

paralysed.

Fourth day he died with violent râle and difficulty of breathing.

c. Hillefield gave a dog 1 scruple, Æs. viride in water; at once violent retching set in, with frequent urination. In an hour and a half he ate flesh, and soon after drank water; in two hours retching and convulsive breathing set in; the next three days passed with constant retching and spasmodic cough.

d. He gave 16 grains to a 'dog, vomiting of greenish mucus at once set in; in a quarter of an hour he breathed with difficulty and pain, and whined at times; in half an hour he lay stretched out, hardly breathing; began retching and soon after died.

Post-mortem.-Lung here and there sugillated, full of mucus and air; heart-blood black, stomach full of food, blackish-red inside and contracted in small plaits, intestines healthy.

e. Orfila made several experiments with Acetas cupri on various dogs, and found that frequent vomiting of a blue mass, followed by ineffectual retching, difficult breathing, irregular quick pulse, and often general paralysis followed; almost always the animals suffered from violent jerking movements a few moments before death; general stiffness took place, with tetanic kicks and mucus at the lips. Immediately after death the muscles were no longer irritable; mucous membrane of the stomach lined with a bluish hard' almost wrinkled coat; under this it was rose coloured; trachea and its branches full of white froth, lungs crepitant, spotted with rose colour.

From these experiments on animals of three species, of different age and sex, in most varied ways and doses and from the consideration of the symptoms of men, where through neglect of cooking-vessels or suicidal intention, the deleterious effects of verdigris were brought to light, the following properties may be inferred.

1. The neutral Acetate of Copper certainly attacks the abdominal ganglia of the sympatheticus and vagus; affects

the* stomach, liver, and spleen; causes violent thirst, nausea, loss of appetite, emaciation, retching, and, actual vomiting; pain in the bowels, colic, diarrhoea, suppressed secretion of bile, and biliary stasis proceeding to cirrhosis of the liver and jaundice (I, g and h).

2. Its action on heart and lungs is such that the muscles of the left side of the heart become hypertrophied after long action of the poison, though only in a moderate degree; the kidneys are also attacked, so as to exhibit in a comparatively short time albumen and deficiency of urine. In this respect Cuprum is allied to Arsenicum and Aurum; whilst Phosphorus produces albuminous urine by congestion of the right heart. From the post-mortem results in the lungs (which were but slightly hyperemic and often quite normal), no conclusion can be formed of any specific action. As to the symptoms of dyspnoea, tightness of the chest, hindrance of breathing even to suffocation, catching at the air, convulsive respiration, frequent and audible,— all these must be regarded as the effect of Cuprum on the innervation.

3. The main effect of the poison is, however, certainly the seizure of the motor nerves; convulsions of the limbs, with reactionary languor, weakness and paralysis of them. and of the whole body; also cramp in the abdomen and its muscles; on the brain it seems to have no influence, at least not in all cases; but it has certainly on the spinal cord and its investing membrane, which were found partly altered; in this last respect it is allied to Stramonium, Atropine, and Argent. nitricum, but quite opposed to Arsenicum, which attacks the nerves of sensation.

*The symptoms of parts in actual contact with the poison, as stomach, intestines, external skin, &c., cannot be reckoned here as characteristic symptoms, since they appeared in greater or less intensity, according to the power of resistance in the several animals, and in proportion presented degrees of local action varying from mere detachment of the epithelium to erosion and gangrenous inflammation.