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THE ALUMNI JOURNAL. 



its relationship. Of the seeds of the one 

 here shown, the red Buckeye (Aesculus 

 Pavia L.)- Johnson says the active 

 principle has been shown to be a glucoside 

 possessed of poisonous properties. It is 

 narcotic and about yi as strong as opium. 

 In the Southern States the seeds are 

 crushed and thrown into the water to 

 stupefy fish, just as the bark and roots 

 of its relatives are used in the tropics. 

 Fatal cases of poisoning of children by 

 these seeds are reported from Texas. 



A very poisonous substance is the oil 

 obtained from the seeds of Chenopodium 

 anthelminticum, or American worm-seed. 

 All the recorded cases of poisoning by it 

 have occurred through the improper 

 medicinal use of the oil, and indeed the 

 nauseous odor and taste of the seeds 

 would seem to almost preclude the pos- 

 sibility of its being taken in any other 

 case. 



Dr. W. C. Paramore, Coroner, of Chi- 

 cago, reported November 8, 1875, the 

 case of three children of 6, 3 and 1 year 

 of age, who took respectively doses of 8, 

 6 and 4 drops, 3 doses each on Tuesday 

 Wednesday, one on Thursday morning. 

 After the first dose they became very 

 sleepy and thirsty and later developed 

 great pain followed by gradual coma and 

 death. They vomited at first green, 

 afterward black matter. 



Prof. Thos. R. Brown, M. D-, of the 

 College of Physicians and Surgeons of 

 Baltimore, reported the case of a man 

 poisoned by an amount not known. The 

 symptoms were vertigo, intolerance of 

 light, hypersensitiveness to sounds and 

 aphasia of both kinds. After many days 

 he died of apoplexy. One of the most 

 prominent symptoms is intense sensitive- 

 ness to sounds, but deafness as to distin- 

 guishing them. Dr. J. Stoddard reports 

 saving two of three boys by evacuating 

 the stomach by vomiting (and this is the 

 most important and promptly required 



element of treatment) castor oil, enemas, 

 brandy and external heat. 



Finally I consider poisoning by Datura 

 seeds, that by Henbane seeds being simi- 

 lar. It may be difficult for the well-to-do 

 to understand how any one can be led to 

 eat these seeds. But let us think of the 

 thousands of children who are not only 

 tempted by the sight of the numerous 

 fruits exhibited upon the stalls of the 

 city, of which they can rarely partake, 

 but who are even in want much of the 

 time of what is necessary to satisfy the 

 actual demands of hunger. It is not 

 strange that such should be led to experi- 

 ment with so attractive looking a fruit as 

 the thorn-apple. It is significant in this 

 connection that most of the cases of 

 poisoning have occurred in India, and 

 many of them in time of famine. The 

 symptoms and treatment are the well- 

 known ones of irritant narcotic poison- 

 ing. 



It should not be over- looked that both 

 black and white mustard, especially the 

 former, may produce poisonous effects in 

 large over-doses, the nature of the pois- 

 oning being irritant and similar to that 

 by horse-radish and water-cress as pre- 

 viously described, with however more 

 disturbance of the stomach. 



In conclusion I would present the ap- 

 pended table which is believed to include 

 in a classified form, all the articles to 

 which this contribution was limited in 

 the beginning. 



I should have been very glad to have 

 considered the subject of poisonous fungi, 

 but this will be taken up by my colleague, 

 Prof. Jelliffe, at an early date. 



Reference should also have been made 

 in passing to those poisonous products of 

 disease germs, minute vegetable organ- 

 isms which cause so many fatal epidem- 

 ics. 



A separate chapter should also be given 

 to those plants which occasion cutane- 

 ous eruptions, like poison ivy and the 

 nettles. But for all these time will not 

 suffice, and they must be deferred until 

 some other occasion. 



