POISONS, POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS, ETC. 395 



The treatment is as follows : Give half a pint of proof 

 whisky in some warm water, with a tea-spoonful of harts- 

 horn in it. Wash the swelling with hot salt and water. If 

 the horse has been bitten by one of these spiders, a running 

 sore may be the result, in which case the corrosive liniment 

 should be applied every day for two or three days, and will 

 heal without fail. ^ 



The Centipede. — This is a poisonous worm found in Texas, 

 where the people have corrupted the name to " Santa Fe." 

 It principally infests old, rotten logs and dark, hidden places. 

 Instead of possessing one hundred legs, as its name implies, 

 it has twenty-four, each of them pointed with a hollow thorn, 

 out of which exudes the poison from a little bag at its root. 

 The construction of these legs, in fact, is very much the same 

 as that of the fangs in the serpent. These venomous crea- 

 tures are not common, but very deadly. It is generally be- 

 lieved that their sting is necessarily fatal, death ensuing in a 

 few minutes. Horses and cattle are often killed by them. 



We are of opinion, however, that life might probably be 

 saved by the immediate use of proof spirits, both very freely 

 as a drench and externally as a wash, mixed with equal parts 

 of hartshorn. 



Stinging Scorpions. — These arfe strange creatures, inhabiting 

 the same regions as the centipede. They are every-where, 

 and infest every place — houses, stables, piles of plank and of 

 wood, and almost every hole and crevice. They dart from 

 their retreat with almost the swiftness of lightning, and, 

 dropping upon some person or animal, seek to hide under 

 the clothing or the thickest hair, and, if molested in any 

 manner, are sure to sting whatever they may be upon. Their 

 sting is not often fatal ; it is somewhat more severe than that 

 of a wasp or hornet, and, although hurting but little at first, 

 the pain becomes very acute in about half an hour afterward. 



The symptoms are very peculiar. The first sensation of 

 pain is felt under the tongue, which organ remains nearly 



