POISON T, 7 



It is well knowu to all win. have handled freshly -caught 

 newts, and certain toads, especially Bomhinator, that their secre- 

 tion acts as a sternutatory, and causes irritation of the nose and 

 eyes, the effects produced on us by Bomhinator being comparable 

 to the early stages of a cold in the head. Many collectors of 

 Batracliians liave learned, to tlicir discomfiture, how tlio intro- 

 duction of examples of certain species into the bag containing the 

 sport of their excursion may cause the death of the other 

 prisoners; for although the poison has no effect on the skin of 

 individuals of the same species, diflerent species, howevei- closely 

 allied, may ])oison each other by mere contact. Hut wljcn 

 inoculated the yxiison acts even on the same individual. 



Miss Ormerod, to personally test the effect, pressed part of the 

 back and tail of a live Crested Newt between the teeth. " The 

 first effect was a bitter astringent feeling in the moutli, witli 

 irritation of the upper part of the throat, numbing of tlie teeth 

 more immediately holding the animal, and in about a minute 

 from the first touch of the newt a strong How of saliva. "J'his 

 was accompanied by much foam and violent spasmodic action, 

 approaching convulsions, but entirely confined to the mouth 

 itself. The experiment was immediately followed by headache 

 lasting for some hours, general discomfort of the system, and lialf 

 an hour after by slight shivering fits." 



Numerous experiments have shown that the poison of toads, 

 salamanders, and newts is capable, when injected, of killing 

 mammals, birds, reptiles, and even fishes, provided, of course, that 

 the dose be proportionate to the size of tlie animal. Small 

 birds and lizards succumb as a rule in a few minutes; guinea- 

 pigs, rabbits, and dogs in less than an liour. 



Tliis poison of Amphibia is not septic, but acts upon the 

 heart and the central nervous system. That of the^ common 

 toad has been compared, in its effects, to that of J)if/italis and 

 Ei'ijtliroplilaeuvi. Some autliorities hold that the poison is an 

 acid, others regard it as an alkaloid. 



Phisalix ' lias come to the conclusion that toads and sala- 

 manders are possessed of two kinds of glands, different botli 

 anatomically and ])hysiologically. These are, first the mucous 

 glands, spread over the greater part of the body, with an alkaloid 

 secretion, wliicli acts as a narcotic ; secondly, specific glands, as 



' C. /.'. Ac. Scl. ci-x. 1889, \>\). 40.5, 482. 



