POISONING. 501 



taking of it. And poison would seem to be administered in 

 powerful doses, for one often hears of wolves being found 

 dead either on the very spot, or immediately near to it, 

 where it was swallowed. 



M. , when speaking of the properties of the 



several poisons, says : " One winter I opened the breast of 

 a sparrow, and introduced one-eighth of an ounce of white 

 arsenic (arsenious acid) into the crop, after which the aperture 

 was drawn together, and the bird laid out to be frozen. The 

 following night it was devoured by a fox ; and on pursuing 

 his track the next day, it was found he had not gone more 

 than two hundred paces from the spot where he had eaten it 

 before he began to retch. He seemed to have suffered 

 greatly; for he had sometimes lain down and vomited, 

 and at others crawled on a few paces. At length the 

 sickness had ceased, and so far as I was able to follow 

 the track, his steps seemed to become steadier and 

 steadier. Some nights subsequently I laid out another 

 small bird similarly prepared, though with a very much 

 stronger dose say three-eighths of an ounce of the same 

 description of arsenic, which was likewise eaten up, and, 

 as I believe, by the very same fox. This time he had 

 been seized with immediate and severe vomiting, and also 

 with violent evacuations ; for the feet and other remains of 

 a hare which he had a little before devoured, had passed his 

 stomach undigested, and were now found to be altogether 

 powdered with arsenic. I conceived, in consequence, that 

 Michel* had made his last meal; but, to my great astonish- 

 ment, he had neither lain down so often, nor retched so long 

 * The nickname of the fox, as Nalle for the bear. 



