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the General Land Office, in reply to one from himself, 

 communicating the resolutions passed at a recent meeting 

 of the Boston Society of Natural History, in favor of a 

 geological survey of Oregon and Nebraska ; to the effect 

 that Congress had determined to abandon, for the present, 

 the project of such a survey before the communication 

 recommending it was received. 



The Secretary read a paper in behalf of Dr. W. I. 

 Burnett, on the Sedative Action of the Poison of the Rat- 

 tle-Snake, as follows : — 



At the second February meeting, a paper of mine was pre- 

 sented to this Society, in which, beside some anatomical details 

 of the poison-apparatus of the rattle-snake {Crotahis), I gave 

 an account of the peculiar action of the poison of this animal 

 on the blood, and of the efficacy of its very certain antidote, 

 alcohol. 



Since then I have received some very interesting statements, 

 confirming the views there expressed on the probable sedative 

 action of this poison. For these facts, which are authentic and 

 reliable, I am indebted to Judge Bethune, of Jacksonville, Fla. 

 The account furnished is from his personal acquaintance with 

 Dr. Oates, of St. Johns River, Fla., who made the experiments. 

 It is succinctly, as follows : — 



Dr. O., having frequently witnessed the effect of the use of 

 alcoholic spirits after the bite of venomous animals, and particu- 

 larly that of the rattle-snake, and perceiving that not only was 

 the action of the poison arrested, but that, under such circum- 

 stances, the system seemed scarcely capable of being intoxicated 

 with alcohol in any form, was desirous of reversing this expe- 

 riment, by watching the effect of this poison, when introduced 

 into the system of a person thoroughly intoxicated. This he per- 

 formed through the stomach, instead of through the circulation 

 direct. For this purpose he carefully extracted a small quantity 

 of the poison from a healthy, active snake, and incorporated it 

 into several bread-pills. He then intoxicated himself considera- 

 bly with brandy, after which he took one of these pills ; its 

 effect was, to soon diminish the pulse, and to completely neutral- 

 ize the intoxication. He afterwards repeated the experiment, 



