POINCARE 



4721 



POISON 



memorials to these and other poets make the 

 spot beautiful. A single American has been 

 honored by having his bust placed in the Poets' 

 Corner Longfellow. 



POINCARE, pwaNkara', RAYMOND (1860- 

 ), a President of France, leader in the 

 affairs of the Republic during the War of the 

 Nations. Immediately after assuming his du- 

 ties as President, in 1913, he appointed M. Del- 

 casse ambassador to Russia. These two men 

 are chiefly responsible for the formation of the 

 Triple Entente, the friendly alliance of France, 

 -ia and England. Before his election to the 

 Presidency Poincare had held the offices of 

 Minister of Pub- 

 1 i c Instruction, 

 Minister of Fi- 

 nance and Pre- 

 mier of France. 



M. Poincare is 

 a man of superior 

 ability and ener- 

 gy, an author of 

 prominence a s 

 well as one of the 

 foremost lawyers 

 of France, and 

 since 1909 has 

 been a member 

 of the French academy. See WAR OF THE NA- 

 ; FRANCE, subtitle History oj France. 



Consult Dawbarn's Makers of New France; 

 Fullerton's Four French Statesmen. 



POINSETTIA, poinset'ia, a tropical plant 

 of the spurge family, named after Dr. Poinsett 

 of Charleston, S. C., who introduced it to 

 American horticulture about 1835. It is the 

 gorgeous red foliage of the poinsettia that 

 makes it so popular for decorations during the 

 Christmas season. In the Southern United 

 States the plant blooms in gardens from July 

 to September, and grows to a height of two or 

 feet; the full, woody stem bears lance- 

 shaped leaves, the lower ones green, and those 

 the top bright red. The real flower is the 

 yell' : of the brilliant scarlet foliage 



In the Northern states these plants 

 are often cultivated in hothouses. See SPURGE 



POINT'ER, a dog of the hound family, 

 nod to stop at sight of game and point to- 

 wards it with the nose. In a general way it 

 resembles other members of the hound group. 

 Its coat is smooth and short, the coloring be- 

 illy black and white, though some of 

 l>est pointers are entirely black. The point- 



m 



er's trick of indicating the position of game 

 birds is the result of a long course of training. 

 It has a remarkably keen sense of smell, and 



PRESIDENT RAYMOND 

 POINCARE 



THE POINTER 



can track out its prey rapidly and without mis- 

 take. 



POISON, poi'z'n, a substance that, when 

 taken into the body, causes illness or death. 

 So general a definition, however, needs some 

 modification. There are some substances that 

 are not usually harmful in small doses but 

 which it would be fatal to take in large quanti- 

 ties. This is true of many medicines. The age, 

 condition of health and habits of individuals 

 are all important factors in determining the 

 effects of a poison, and so the term is a relative 

 one. Poisons are sometimes classed as irritant* 

 and nerve poisons. Among the former, which 

 burn or produce inflammation, bringing about 

 local chemical changes, are strong mineral 

 acids, caustic alkalies, various compounds of 

 phosphorus and mercury; nerve poisons, which 

 act on the nervous system and cause such 

 symptoms as convulsions, delirium and stupor, 

 include alcohol, belladonna, chloroform and 

 strychnine. Still another class is the group of 

 poisonous gases, which render the victim un- 

 conscious through lack of oxygen (see ASPHYXI- 

 ATION). Modern science also classes disease 

 germs as poisons, or as poison producers (sec 

 DISEASE, subhead Germ Theory of Disease). 

 For a form of poisoning resulting from eating 

 spoiled foods see PTOMAINES. 



Directions for overcoming the effects of poi- 

 son taken by way of the mouth are given in full 

 in these volumes under the heading ANTIDOTE. 

 In case of dog bite (see HYDROPHOBIA, subhead 

 :!nn-nt) the wound should be cleansed ami 

 cauterized and the patient be taken to th 

 nearest Pasteur Institute for treatment. The 

 same directions apply to snake bite. The poi- 

 son from such wounds may be sucked out, but 

 thr person performing this sen-ice must be 



