Curare.—One part of this famous poison was added to 218 of water, and three leaves were immersed in ninety minims of the filtered solution. In 3 hrs. 30 m. some of the tentacles were a little inflected; as was the blade of one; after 4 hrs. After 7 hrs. the glands were wonderfully blackened, showing that matter of some kind had been absorbed. In 9 hrs. two of the leaves had most of their tentacles sub-inflected, but the inflection did not increase in the course of 24 hrs. One of these leaves, after being immersed for 9 hrs. in the solution, was placed in water, and by next morning had largely re-expanded; [page 205] the other two, after their immersion for 24 hrs., were likewise placed in water, and in 24 hrs. were considerably re-expanded, though their glands were as black as ever. Half-minims were placed on the discs of six leaves, and no inflection ensued; but after three days the glands on the discs appeared rather dry, yet to my surprise were not blackened. On another occasion drops were placed on the discs of six leaves, and a considerable amount of inflection was soon caused; but as I had not filtered the solution, floating particles may have acted on the glands. After 24 hrs. bits of meat were placed on the discs of three of these leaves, and next day they became strongly inflected. As I at first thought that the poison might not have been dissolved in pure water, one grain was added to 437 grains of a mixture of one part of alcohol to seven of water, and half-minims were placed on the discs of six leaves. These were not at all affected, and when after a day bits of meat were given them, they were slightly inflected in 5 hrs., and closely after 24 hrs. It follows from these several facts that a solution of curare induces a very moderate degree of inflection, and this may perhaps be due to the presence of a minute quantity of albumen. It certainly is not poisonous. The protoplasm in one of the leaves, which had been immersed for 24 hrs., and which had become slightly inflected, had undergone a very slight amount of aggregation—not more than often ensues from an immersion of this length of time in water.