COMMON ALMONI).

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mi

^ lerer (quoted by Wibmer, op. supra cit.) mentions that three childrenavin g eaten some of these seeds, were attacked in a few minutes withA{ USea ’ VOm iting, loss of consciousness and of speech, and convulsions.^ r - Kennedy ( Land. Med. and Phys. Journ. lvii. 150) has noticed thebi 6 °f a stout labourer, who died after the use of a great quantity ofi 6r almonds. These, and other observations referred to by WibmerP- supra cit.), Coullon (Recherches, &c. sur Vacide Hydrocyan. 1819),si* • 1 °^ ers > prove that the poisonous effects of the bitter almond areftular to those of hydrocyanic acid (see p. 241).ra • i Vo ^ a ^ e oil of bitter almonds is a most potent poison, acting asP','% as the ordinary hydrocyanic acid of the shops, and giving rise toHy s J m pfouis. A single drop has killed a cat in five minutes (Brodie,"ith ^ rans - 1811, p. 178). Sir B. Brodie happening to touch his tonguetail a P rolje which had been dipped in the oil, suffered, almost instan-of \ e -° Us ly> an indescribable sensation at the pit of the stomach, feeblenessUe and loss of power over the muscles. These effects, however,Xi re <l u ite transient. Several cases of poisoning with it are recorded.

“ es t detailed is that related by Mertzdoff (quoted by Dr. Christison):°f th ^''Pochondriacal gentleman, 48 years old, swallowed two drachmsse n t f es sential oil. A few minutes afterwards, his servant, whom heha i’ l' 0lm< l him lying in bed, with his features spasmodically con-in le( ‘, his eyes fixed, staring, and turned upwards, and his chest heav-c ° nv ulsively and hurriedly. A physician, who entered the roomS ibi v minutes after the draught had been taken, found him quite insen-feehl’ P u pils immoveable, the breathing stertorous and slow, the pulset}, e e ’ and only thirty in a minute, and the breathing exhaling stronglyAn ti ° Ur °f bitter almonds. Death ensued ten minutes afterwards.”tier 6r Case poisoning with this oil occurred a few years since in Al-

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tsgate-street:—A lady, intending to take beech-nut oil, for worms, swal-

s Up ed % mistake) oil of bitter almonds, sold to her by a druggist, whocase ° Sed slle in q uir cd for peacli-nut oil. Recovery has occurred, in oneQi -’ aft er about half an ounce (?) of the oil had been swallowed {Journ.T^Med. t. vi. Ip Ser. p. 92).

Pois ^' lssl iU<-d water of bitter almonds (aqua amygdala amarce) possesses1^0- properties, when either swallowed or applied externally (seei'alf Z S ex P e riments, in Wibmer, op. supra cit.) Sommering states that

?b^o n , 0unce of concentrated bitter almond-water killed a dog (Buchner,olog.)

seed 6 emu lsion of bitter almonds partakes of the properties of theanq S f Kouzaire (quoted by Wibmer) states that a child of between fourteeth U < ? y ears of age suffered colic, head affection, grinding of thethi s liqu'q UUS ’ i nsens ii J ili t > T 5 and death, from the use of a strong dose of

Pecnp Carocms and Ratafia cakes, as well as Noyau, which owe theirlarg e lar fl av «ur to bitter almonds, may act injuriously when taken inthe f. fl Uant ities (see Virey, Journ. de Pharm. ii. 204, for the ill effects of2 these).

v °Urii SES ’—principal consumption of the bitter almond is for fla-°d> a' 1 ^ an< ^ scen ting. For the former purpose the seeds, or their essentialoil'j.g 16 . 115 ’ 6 ^ by the cook and confectioner; but the employment of thequires the greatest caution, as it is, at least, four times as strong as