Treatment of Poisoning. 481 



the pulse is slow and weak ; sores are slow in healing ; and there may 

 be a discharge from the nose. 



Half rotten turnips and cabbages, and potatoes which have the blight 

 or rot, should not be fed to stock. Their nutritive power is lost, and not 

 unfrequently they bring on colic and diarrhea. 



EupatOrium. — The white snakeroot has been alleged to be the 

 cause of milk sickness or trembles. But, as we have said in discussing 

 that disease (page 304), the evidence to this effect is insufficient. 



Hellebore. — "WTiite Hellebore, or Indian Poke {Veratrum album)y 

 grows over large sections of the United States. It is an active, narcotic, 

 irritant poison, especially the root, and instances of poisoning from i*- 

 have been reported. The treatment is by full doses of whiskey, by 

 which means the symptoms will be promptly disjDersed. 



LdUrel. — The sheep's laurel {Kalmia angustifoUa) is believed to 

 be poisonous to sheep when they eat its leaves, berries or branches. 

 The plant grows abundantly in the Middle States. The poisonous prin- 

 ciple which it contains is allied to prussic acid. The proper treatment 

 of poisoning by this means is to administer stimulants, as whisky or 

 gin, freely, and promote the action of the bowels, by purges and 

 injections. 



Mushrooms. — The poisonous species of mushrooms seem to 

 be avoided by the lower animals. Yet some instances of fatal results 

 from their consumption have been known. The antidotes used are 

 oil, stimulants and solution of ammonia. 



Opi Um. — The extensive use of this vegetable product in medicine 

 has led to frequent cases of poisoning from it. It requires, indeed, 

 considerable quantities. From one to two ounces prove poisonous to 

 the horse, but cattle can sustain several times this amount. The symp- 

 toms from opium poisoning are, in the first stage — restless twitching of 

 the ears and tail, hot extremities, quick and full pulse, rapid breathing ; 

 in the second stage, which comes on after one or two hours, there are 

 — giddiness and sleepiness, an unsteady gait, red eyes, partial palsy, 

 cold sweats, and gradual sinking into stupor or convulsions. For the 

 treatment of such cases, very strong coffee should be given, for a drench, 

 a pint at a time, with a gill of whisky, and repeated at short intervals. 

 The animal should be kept in active motion, and if these measures 

 promise to fail, atropia, the natural antidote of opium, should be injected 

 beneath the skin. Cold water, poured on the head from a height of 

 ten or twelve feet, for ten or fifteen minutes at a time, is an effectual 

 means of dispelling the sleepiness which comes from opiunju 



