in Frederick-Town and County. 43 



ture would tend to retard the process of putrefaction. 

 With sentiments of esteem, 



Your's, &c. 



John Baltzell. 

 Frederick-Toivn {Mary land J, 

 February 4th, 1805. 



VI. On the Poisonous quality of a species of West- 

 Indian Fish. Communicated to the Editor, by 

 Dr. Frederick Detlef Meyer. 



THE poisonous property of some species of 

 fish is a circumstance well known in the West-Indies. 

 The following case of this kind is, perhaps, worthy 

 of attention. 



I was called in consultation in the case of Mrs. 



M k, in the island of St. Thomas. She had 



been, when I first saw her, an hour in convulsions. 

 Anti-hysterical medicines, of different kinds, had 

 been administered, but the paroxysms had increased 

 in violence. 



Upon inquiring more attentively into the case, I 

 was informed of the following particulars. She was 

 forty years of age, had never before had fits, nor any 

 kind of hysterical affection. She had been in perfect 

 good health in the morning, and in her usual good 

 spirits. She had breakfasted on roasted fish*, in 



" The author of the paper is incapable of giving me the scien- 

 tific name of the fish. He describes it as a pretty large species. 



