422 Experiment with Phosphorus. 



without advancing much in the knowledge of nature. In one 

 sense, indeed, we apprehend it comes as near to nature as may 

 be profitable to some young persons, with whom botany is a 

 popular study. Every young lady can count how many stamens 

 there are on a plant, and refer it to its class ; but does she learn 

 by this, what qualities the plant may possess, — what other plants 

 it is closely allied to, having similar qualities, — or what the struc- 

 ture of the future fruit may be? No! she learns nothing of these ; 

 she admires, and she talks Greek. When she takes in her hand 

 the beautiful \iti\e. forget-me-not, (myosotis palustris, L.) she says, 

 " This dear little flower belongs to pentandria monogynia. 

 What a romantic idea ! Five husbands and one wife." 



(To be contiimed.j 



EXPERIMENT WITH PHOSPHORUS ON A CAT. 



A paper read by Dr. Harlan, before the American Philosophical Society, 

 February 17, 1832. 



No small degree of interest has recently been excited by the 

 appearance among us of M. Chaubert, of Paris, who professes 

 to have discovered antidotes for some of the most lethal poisons, 

 and his powers of resisting their effects have been successfully 

 demonstrated for several years past, throughout the greater part 

 of Europe. Since his arrival in this country, Mr. C. has repeated 

 most of his experiments, both in this city and in New York, — 

 particularly those with prussic acid and phosphorus, the former 

 of which he exhibits to animals ; the effects of the latter he 

 generally tests upon his own system, swallowing with perfect 

 indifference from twenty to forty grains. Mr. C. has favoured me 

 with the following remarks relative to the operation of this poison 

 on himself It produces, in the first place, exhilarating effects, 

 succeeded, sooner or later, by a transitory sense of depression or 

 faintness. In the course of a few hours, however, the most 

 powerful and painful aphrodisiacal effects arc the consequence : 

 if the dose has been very large, frequently repeated, and espe- 

 cially if he has permitted three or four hours to elapse previous 

 to taking the antidote, his bones become affected with pain and 

 soreness throughout the skeleton, so as to render the usual pres- 

 sure almost insupportable : his complexion also changes to a 



