In a case occurring in 1863, in which six horses ate oats which had been kept in a granary with tobacco, the symptoms were mainly those of narcosis, and the animals died.[354]
[354] Annales Vétérinaires, Bruxelles, 1868.
§ 332. Effects on Man.—Poisoning by the pure alkaloid nicotine is so rare that, up to the present, only three cases are on record. The first of these is ever memorable in the history of toxicology, being the first instance in which a pure alkaloid had been criminally used. The detection of the poison exercised the attention of the celebrated chemist Stas. I allude, of course, to the poisoning of M. Fougnies by Count Bocarmé and his wife. For the unabridged narrative of this interesting case the reader may consult Tardieu’s Étude Médico-Légale sur L’Empoisonnement.
Bocarmé actually studied chemistry in order to prepare the alkaloid himself, and, after having succeeded in enticing his victim to the chateau of Bitremont, administered the poison forcibly. It acted immediately, and death took place in five minutes. Bocarmé now attempted to hide all traces of the nicotine by pouring strong acetic acid into the mouth and over the body of the deceased. The wickedness and cruelty of the crime were only equalled by the clumsy and unskilful manner of its perpetration. The quantity of nicotine actually used in this case must have been enormous, for Stas separated no less than ·4 grm. from the stomach of the victim.
The second known case of nicotine-poisoning was that of a man who took it for the purpose of suicide. The case is related by Taylor. It occurred in June 1863. The gentleman drank an unknown quantity from a bottle; he stared wildly, fell to the floor, heaving a deep sigh, and died quietly without convulsion. The third case happened at Cherbourg,[355] where an officer committed suicide by taking nicotine, but how much had been swallowed, and what were the symptoms, are equally unknown, for no one saw him during life.