102 EFFECTS OF MINERAL POISONS. 



canal : but they do not all affect these organs in 

 the same relative degree. 



3. Arsenic operates on the alimentary canal 

 in a greater degree than either the emetic tartar, 

 or the muriate of barytes. The heart is affected 

 more by arsenic than by the emetic tartar, and 

 more by this last than by the muriate of barytes. 



4. The corrosive sublimate, when taken in- 

 ternally in large quantity, occasions death by 

 acting chemically on the mucous membrane of 

 the stomach, so as to destroy its texture ; the 

 organs more immediately necessary to life being 

 affected in consequence of their sympathy with 

 the stomach. 



In making the comparison between them, we 

 may observe that the effects of mineral are less 

 simple than those of the generality of vegetable 

 poisons ; and it appears that when once an animal 

 is affected by the former, there is much less 

 chance of his recovery than when he is affected 

 by the latter. 



