130 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1751. 



July the 30th, he pricked a great number of rats and mice in the feet, with a 

 lancet, after poisoning its point. They all died in less than a minute, after 

 being tormented with a frightful shivering, which was immediately followed by 

 an almost general palsy. The same thing happened to moles, which he made 

 use of for this experiment. 



August the 6th, he made a small wound in the left hinder leg of a pig, of 3 

 months old ; and then he put into it 2 drops of the poison of ticunas : this 

 creature died in 6 minutes. He repeated this experiment on 2 young wolves, 

 which died in the same space of time. 



August the 7 th, he cut off the tip of the ear of 6 puppies, and rubbed the part 

 with the poison of ticunas : not one of these animals died of this operation. Two 

 days after, he shaved the hair off of their backs very close, and rubbed the part 

 with the same poison : they all died in less than 3 minutes. 



The 10th, 1 1 th, and 12th of the same month, into small wounds made in diffe- 

 rent parts of the body of several dogs, cats, polecats, Guinea-pigs, &c. he instil- 

 led 7 or 8 drops of blood, which he drew from the vena cava of a dog, which he 

 had killed with the poison of ticunas mixed with that of lamas. These animals 

 did not die indeed, but were plainly indisposed ; insomuch that they lost their 

 vivacity, and became very sullen. Eight days after this experiment, he repeated 

 it on these same animals ; and then they became still weaker and fainter. In 

 fine, the next day he made it a third time on them, when they languished 4 or 

 5 days, and then died. 



August the 15th, after having put some of the same poison into a wound made 

 in the right hinder leg of 6 horses, one of which was a very vigorous stone- 

 horse, he quickly bled them all in the neck ad aniini deliquium : 2 of them es- 

 caped with life ; but those that were the weakest, and most worn out could not 

 stand against this operation. Two days afterwards, he again pricked those 

 horses, that did not die of the last experiment ; and then they died in about 8 

 minutes. 



He made the following observations on these animals, from the insertion of 

 the poison to their death. The muscle, wounded by the incision made for in- 

 sinuating the poison, was contracted and relaxed alternatively, just as it happens 

 in animals fresh killed : this lasted about 2 minutes ; after which these animals 

 seemed restless and impatient, endeavouring to scrape the ground with their 

 fore foot, which he had suspended in the air with a cord, to prevent their running 

 away. Sometimes also they made a sudden effort, as if to get away, which 

 lasted the space of 2 minutes ; after which they grew quiet, and amused them- 

 selves with nipping the grass, but not in a natural manner. Then their respi- 

 ration became very difficult ; and, though the weather was very hot, there vi- 

 sibly came out of their nostrils a vapour, like that which issues in winter in the 



