222 



Animal Poisons — their Cure. — Phosphates. Vol. XII. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Animal Poisons— their Cure. 



Mr. Editor, — The lamented death of Dr. 

 Wainwright, from the bite of a rattlesnake, 

 induces me to send you a communication I 

 wrote some months since, on the subject 

 mentioned in the title of this article. 



About two years ago, you published an 

 article in which it is stated that a professor 

 of a Southern college — if I recollect right — 

 discovered that aqua ammonia or spirits of 

 hartshorn, was an excellent remedy for the 

 bites of mu?quitoes, and that he had used it 

 very successfully for the stings of other in- 

 sects. A few more hints and recommenda- 

 tions upon that subject, would, perhaps, be 

 acceptable. 



It would seem that all animal poisons are 

 of an acid nature, for I find by numerous 

 experiments, that the application of alkaline 

 substances to them, has the effect of destroy- 

 ing their power. This I suppose they do by 

 neutralizing them. I find that our common 

 washing soda, pulverized very fine, and laid 

 on the spot where the sting of the insect has 

 inserted the poison, and a drop of water added 

 so as to dissolve it, will, in a few moments 

 entirely allay the pain, however severe it 

 may have been before the application. And 

 another desirable result follows — there is but 

 little or no swelling afterwards. The soda 

 seems to penetrate into the wonnd, and en- 

 tering into chemical combination with the 

 poison, renders it harmless. The reason 

 why ammonia does this, is because it is an 

 alkali — and all the alkalies have a like 

 effect. Soda, fresh burnt lime, potash, and 

 ammonia, are the alkalies most easily ob- 

 tained. 



Salts, such as com.mon table salt, epsom 

 salts, glanber salts, sal seratus, &c., have a 

 very good effect when applied in the same 

 manner, but not so good as the alkalies, as 

 it is the alkaline principle of the salt that 

 operates, and the power of the alkaline prin- 

 ciple to do good is lessened by the other con- 

 stituents of the salt. 



lam told that a mixture of brandy and 

 common salt is much used on the prairies, 

 and in the woods in the West, by the hunt- 

 ers and trappers, as an antidote to the bite 

 of rattlesnakes, rabid wolves, and rabid In- 

 dian dogs, and I have no doubt that the soda 

 of the salt is mainly instrumental in pro- 

 ducing the good effect. I have but little 

 doubt that if weak ley of potash, or soda, 

 were administered by injection, and given 

 to the stomach in a powdered form, to those 

 afflicted with hydrophobia, they would soon 

 get rid of their awful feelings. And I am 

 strongly disposed to think, that the same 



treatment would be highly beneficial to those 

 who are suffering from the effects of a bite 

 of a rattlesnake. 



I make it a practice in the summer to 

 carry with me whenever I go into the woods, 

 or where I am liable to meet with rattle- 

 snakes or poisonous insects, to take a small 

 bottle filled with water, in which is dissolved 

 as much of the common washing soda as the 

 water will dissolve, and I frequently have 

 occasion to use it for the bites and stings of 

 insects, and with uniform good success. If 

 I were bitten by a rattlesnake, I should im- 

 mediately apply it to the wound, as it cannot 

 do harm, and I am disposed to think, would 

 be of the most essential service. 



I recommend to others, most heartily, the 

 course I thus pursue. Chemico. 



Lewisburg, Pa , Feb. 3rd, 1848. 



.X — '^1 



Importance of Phosphates. 



My Dear Sir, — My recent researches 

 into the constituent ingredients of our culti- 

 vated fields, have led me to the conclusion 

 that, of all the elements furnished to plants 

 by the soil, and ministering to their nourish- 

 ment, the phosphate of lime, or, rather the 

 phosphates generally, must be regarded as 

 the most important. 



In order to furnish you with a clear idea 

 of the importance of the phosphates, it may 

 be sufficient to remind you of the fact, that 

 the blood of man and animals, besides com- 

 mon salt, always contains alkaline and earthy 

 phosphates. If we burn blood, and examine 

 the ashes which remain, we find certain parts 

 of them soluble in water, and others insolu- 

 ble. The soluble parts are, common salt and 

 alkaline phosphates; the insoluble consist of 

 phosphate of lime, phosphate of magnesia, 

 and oxide of iron. 



These mineral ingredients of the blood — 

 without the presence of which in the food, 

 the formation of blood is impossible — both 

 man and animals derive, either immediately 

 or mediately, through other animals, from 

 vegetable substances used as food; they had 

 been constituents of vegetables, they had 

 been parts of the soil upon which the vege- 

 table substances were developed. 



If we compare the amount of phosphates 

 in different vegetable substances with each 

 other, we discover a great variety, while 

 there is scarcely any ashes of plants altoge- 

 ther devoid of them, and those parts of plants 

 which experience has taught us are the most 

 nutritious, contain the largest proportion. 

 To these belong all seeds and grain, especi- 

 ally the varieties of bread-corn, peas, beans, 

 and lentils. 



It is a most curious fact that, if we incin- 

 erate grain, or its flour, peas, beans, and 



