THE POISONS IN SPOILING FOOD. 251 



ness caused by sausage-poison ; of this number, one hundred and fifty 

 terminated fatally. Cases where cheese was the cause of poisoning 

 are also on record ; the symptoms in these instances were those of 

 typhus fever. The plague-like epidemic which occurred some time 

 ago in the Volga district, and spread terror throughout Europe, was 

 traced and ascribed to the diet of the population in those regions, 

 which consisted almost exclusively of fish. Illness resulting from the 

 eating of food that has spoiled is of so common occurrence that many 

 will be able to recall instances of it from among the circle of their 

 own friends and acquaintances. 



Animal food that has entered into decomposition may generally be 

 distinguished from fresh food by its presence proving unpleasant to 

 the eye and nose. In fact, the nose may be considered as a sort of 

 guardian of safety, for, generally speaking, whatever proves disagree- 

 able to the sense of smell is injurious to the system. However, an ill- 

 advised economy often causes these warnings to be not heeded; and 

 among the lower classes we sometimes meet with so great an indiffer- 

 ence, the result of habit, as to such indications, that frequently no dis- 

 tinction is made between food in a state of good preservation and 

 that having a bad odor. To this circumstance must be ascribed the 

 fact that diseases resulting from the poisons of putrefaction are of 

 relatively much more frequent occurrence among the poorer ranks. 



Cases of poisoning by food have, however, also been noted where 

 no warning was given by the sense of smell. The explanation of this 

 must be sought in the fact that the pure poisons of putrefaction are 

 odorless compounds, and may probably occur without necessitating 

 at least, in any perceptible degree the formation of products of de- 

 composition which possess a strong odor. 



The Danish scientist, Panum, had already ascertained that the poi- 

 son of putrefaction is not destroyed by boiling. G. O. Weber, Ham- 

 mer, and Schwenninger, further inferred from their investigations that 

 it is of a chemical nature. Brieger, however, was the first clearly to 

 establish this ; he has succeeded in preparing the poisons of putrefac- 

 tion in a pure state, and has given an explanation of their chemistry. 

 He mixed pure white of egg with the juice from the stomach of a 

 pig freshly killed, and allowed the mixture to stand twenty-four hours 

 at a temperature of blood-heat. By means of a rather complex chem- 

 ical process he succeeded in obtaining pure a small quantity of a sub- 

 stance, a few drops of an aqueous solution of which were sufficient to 

 kill frogs in fifteen minutes. Rabbits died in the same time after 

 inoculation with a larger quantity. From this it must be inferred that 

 a poisonous principle was formed from the white of egg when it was 

 subjected to artificial digestion. 



From putrid meat Brieger succeeded in preparing a substance, 

 neuridine, which acted as a poison as long as it was contaminated 

 with other products of putrefaction ; but when obtained in a state of 



