264 



POINSETTIA 



POISON 



goods being poinded, they are appraised or valned, 

 and the messenger reports his execution in the 

 sheriff, or other judge ordinary, who grant! warrant 

 to sell the goods hy public nmp after advertise- 

 ment. The net amount of the sale is paid over to 

 the creditor, or, if no purchaser Mil for them, they 

 are delivered to the creditor at the appraised value. 

 There is also another kind of poinding, called a 

 ]M>inding of stray cattle, which takes place when- 

 ever the cattle of a stranger trespass on lands, in 

 which case the owner or occupier of the lands 

 CUM seize them at his own hand, without judicial 

 warrant, and keep them as a security until the 

 damage done by the cattle is paid to the owner of 

 the land. The |>oinder must, however, take care 

 to keep the cattle in a proper place, and feed them. 

 In England the won! pmnding is not used, the 

 corresponding term In-ing Distress (q.v.). 



I'oi IIM-I I in. a name given to the Mexican shrub 

 Eti/i/ior/jHt finlcherrima, introduced into the horti- 

 culture of other lands by Joel Koberts Poinsett 

 (1779-1851), U.S. minister to Mexico. It is re- 

 markable for the large and conspicuous vermilion 

 bracts below its yellowish flowers. 



Point-a-Pitre, the principal town and port, 

 though not the capital, of Guadeloupe (q.v.), on 

 the south-west side of Grande-Terre. It is fortified, 

 and has some sugar-boiling. Pop. 17,000. 



Point de Galle. See GAME. 



Pointed Architecture. See GOTHIC. 



Pointer, a breed introduced from Spain about 

 the middle of the 18th century. The Spanish pointer 

 was a larger and much slower dog than the modern 

 English pointer, rather wanting in stamina, and 

 inclined to ' knock up ' with a liurd day's work ; but, 

 if not hurried, wu-s i>ossessed of wonderful nose and 

 powers of scent. As shooting became more common, 

 and guns approached nearer to perfection, the 

 Spanish pointer was found to lie too slow and soft. 

 With the object of removing these defects, crosses 

 with the greyhound to improve the speed, and with 

 the bulldog to get courage, were tried, but with little 

 success, until about the beginning of the 19th cen- 

 t in v the well-known Colonel Thornton tried a cross 

 with the lighter variety of foxhound. He soon suc- 

 ceeded in breeding a light and active dog, capable 

 of ranging at a fast pace for a considerable time, 





Pointer Standing at Game. 



and though possibly not with the nose of the old 

 Spanish pointer, yet with sufficient for the pur- 

 pose. Other brooders followed suit, and a distinct 

 train known as the English Pointer was soon 

 established. By careful selection the hound tend- 

 ency to limit a toot-scent was eradicated, or nearly 

 BO, while some of the speed and staying powers of 

 the hound were retained. The act of 'pointing' 

 when the game is first scented was at first care- 

 fully taught, but gradually liecame instinctive, 



until now well-bred puppies of a few months old; 

 may be seen pointing at any object which excites 

 them. In general ap|>euraiice the pointer some 

 what resembles the foxhound, though he is a 

 lighter and more active dog, with a liner coat. The 

 head of the pointer should lie fairly largo, with an 

 intelligent expression ; a small eye or too much lip 

 greatly detracts from the appearance. The shoulders 

 should lie sloping and |>owerful, as the dog has 

 often to stop suddenly on a 'pnint ' when at full 

 speed. The body should lie built on graceful and 

 racing lines, chest not too wide, but very deep, 

 feet round anil compact. Liver and white, and 

 lemon and white, are the popular colours, as they 

 are easily seen in heather or turnips, but whole 

 black or liver has many admirers. Owing to the 

 changed conditions of agriculture, the iiointcr is 

 not now used so extensively for partridge shoot- 

 ing, but is still used for grouse. In hot weather, 

 where water is scarce, the pointer has a great 

 advantage over the setter, but succumbs sooner 

 to cold and wet than the heavy coated setter. 

 As the iminter is seldom kept as a companion, 

 his intelligence is not of a high order, but he is 

 easily kept in command, and is generally good- 

 tempered. 



Poison is commonly defined to lie a substance 

 which, when administered in small quantity, is- 

 capable of acting deleterious]}- on the body ; but 

 this definition is obviously too restricted, for it 

 would exclude Humorous substances which are only 

 poisonous when administered in large doses, as the 

 salts of lead, antimony, &c. ; hence the quantity 

 required to kill must not enter into the definition. 

 A good practical definition of a poison is 'any suli 

 stance or matter which, when introduced into the 

 body in any way, can destroy life by its own 

 inherent qualities without acting mechanically.' 

 This definition includes poisonous solids, liquids, 

 and gases of definite chemical composition- tin- 

 products of decomposition or of bacterial organisms. 

 and the virus of contagious diseases. The last 

 mentioned produce the symptoms of the various 

 infectious and contagious diseases, and are imt 

 included in treatises on poisons. The others are 

 classified sometimes according to their source, as 

 mineral, vegetable, and animal ; or more con- 

 veniently according to their action, as Irritants, 

 Narcotics, and Narcotico-irritants. 



The Irritants, when taken in ordinary do.-os, 

 speedily occasion intense vomiting and purging 

 and severe abdominal pain. They act chiefly on 

 the stomach and intestines, which they irritate, 

 inflame, and frequently corrode, and may thu- 

 occasion ulceration, perforation, or gangrene. 

 Amongst those which possoss corrosive properties 

 are the strong mineral acids, caustic alkalies, cor- 

 rosive sublimate, S;o. ; whilst among the pure irrit- 

 ants which exert no destructive chemical action 

 on the tissues with which they come in contact 

 may lie mentioned cantharidos. The Narcotics act 

 sjM-ciallv on the brain and spinal cord. Amongst 

 their most common symptoms are giddiness, head- 

 ache, obscurity of sight or double vision, stupor, 

 loss of power of the voluntary muscles, convul- 

 sions, and, finally, complete coma. These poisons 

 have no acrid, burning taste, nor do they usually 

 jiivo rise to vomiting or diarrhoea, and, except- 

 ing a slight fullness of the cerebral vessels, they 

 leave no well marked post mortem appearance. 

 They are few in numlier, and none of them belong 

 to the mineral kingdom. The Narcotico-irrilnnlx 

 have, a* their name implies, a mixed action. At 

 varying periods aftor they have lieen swallowed they 

 give rise to vomiting and purging, like irritants, 

 and sooner or later produce stupor, coma, paralysis, 

 and convulsions, owing to their effect on the brain 

 and spinal marrow. As familiar examples we may 



