i62 THE JOURNAIv OF PHARMACOI^OGY. 



U. S. S. " Yankton," Nip Bay, Cuba, 



April 7, 1900. 

 Professor H. H. Rusby, 



New York City. 

 Dear Professor Rusby : 



Our ship, the " Yankton," has been on a surveying trip in Cuban waters 

 during the past five months. While in Banes Bay we had several cases of 

 skin poisoning, somewhat like the Ivy poisoning in the States, only more 

 severe. The men came in contact with this poison while building signals 

 through the dense jungle around the bay. After repeated enquiries from 

 the natives, we at last discovered the source of our trouble, and obtained 

 specimens of the plant. 



These specimens were shown to the officers and men aboard, and they 

 were cautioned against coming in contact with the plant. 



This plant, which the natives hold in awe, is called by them " Guau," 

 and is a shrub averaging about 6 feet in height and densely covered with 

 leaves. The upper surfaces of the leaflets are glossy when fresh, when old 

 they lose this gloss, as you will observe from the enclosed specimen. 

 The plant grows abundantly in the eastern end of the island. 



The first stages of the poisoning have all the appearances of the Ivy 

 poisoning, and yield to treatment if taken in hand immediately. Those 

 cases which were treated immediately almost ceased itching after an appli- 

 cation of Fl. extr. Grindelia, and in the course of a couple days the swell- 

 ing disappeared completely. 



Those cases which were not attended to immediately would not yield to 

 the treatment of Grindelia, nor to any of the other treatments usually em- 

 ployed in the case of Ivy poisoning. 



In the case of our worst patient, both arms were very much inflamed and 

 swollen, and the itching intense, remaining thus until the third day when 

 millions of small vesical eruptions, as large as pin heads, appeared over 

 the entire inflamed surface. These gradually united with one another, so 

 that in a few more days vesicles of the size of a large bean were formed. 

 How much these vesicles would have increased in size, or what the final 

 result would have been I cannot say, as at this stage we deemed it advis- 

 able to open up all the vesicles cautiously, preventing the watery discharge 

 from running over other parts, as it was previously observed that wherever 

 this watery discharge touched, new vesicles appeared. A couple of days 

 after the opening of the vesicles, the swelling gradually diminished, and 

 the sores commenced healing by the liberal use of a Carbolated Ichthyol 

 Ointment, the skin peeling off in the meanwhile. A few days after, the 

 arms were again in their normal condition. It was, however, exactly four- 

 teen days from the time the patient appeared for treatment until he was 

 well enough to be discharged to duty. 



