354 



thesis be all metallic ; some of them being as yet knowa only in 

 combination, as those of sulphur, of phosphorus, and some others. 



But a phlogistic hypothesis might also be framed, so as to account 

 for all the phenomena with equal facility ; the principal argument in 

 favour of it being derived from the easy reduction of metals in pre- 

 sence of hydrogen. The ultimate predominance of one or the other 

 hypothesis must, in the author's estimation, depend upon the nature 

 of ammonia, of which the supposed elements do not present pheno- 

 mena analogous to those of other simple bodies. Sulphur, for in- 

 stance, whether combined with hydrogen or with oxygen, has acid 

 properties ; but nitrogen combined with one of those bodies is an al- 

 kali, and with the other an acid ; so that in nitrate of ammonia, ni- 

 trogen is neutralized by nitrogen. 



Mr. Davy finally adduces some new facts which accord with Mr. 

 Dalton's hypothesis respecting the apparent union of ultimate atoms 

 in a given relation by weight; and he also mentions some new instances 

 in conformity to the observation of M. Gay-Lussac, that the different 

 compounds of gaseous bodies are related in simple arithmetical pro- 

 portions by measure. 



The Case of a Man, who died in consequence of the Bite of a Rattle- 

 snake ; with an Account of the Effects produced by the Poison. By 

 Everard Home, Esq. F.R.S. Read December 21, 1809. [Phil. 

 Trans. 1810, p. 75.] 



Thomas Soper, 26 years of age, was bitten by a rattlesnake on 

 the 17th of October. The snake had refused to bite a ruler with which 

 it had been teased, but as soon as the man introduced his hand into 

 the cage for the purpose of taking out the ruler which had dropped in 

 by accident, the snake seized his hand, and made two bites in suc- 

 cession, one on the thumb, and another on the fore-finger. The first 

 person who saw him immediately after the bite supposed him to be 

 intoxicated, and treated him accordingly ; but though it is known 

 that he had been drinking, Mr. Home is inclined to ascribe the inco- 

 herence of his language and behaviour to the effect of the poison. 



In the course of half an hour a swelling had taken place on his 

 hand, and half way up the fore-arm, with a great deal of pain. In an 

 hour and half it reached the elbow ; in two hours it extended half 

 way up toward the shoulder, with much pain in the axilla. The 

 man's answers were incoherent, his skin cold, his pulse 100 in a mi- 

 nute, and he complained of sickness at the stomach. 



In the course of eight or nine hours the pain became extremely 

 violent, the swelling very tense, so that the arteries could not be per- 

 ceived with accuracy, and no pulse could be felt in any part of it. 

 He was seized with fits of faintness every quarter of an hour. 



The following morning his pulse was extremely feeble, and 132 in 

 a minute. The swelling had not extended beyond the shoulder to 

 the neck, but there was a fullness of that side down to the loins, with 

 a mottled appearance from extravasation of blood. The arm conti- 



