64(3 I'HILOSOI'HICAL IKAN S ACTIONS. [aNNO J 780. 



disordered the skin, but did not prove latal. The American poison, on the 

 contrary, never produces any local disease, as I observed in making the experi- 

 ments related above, but leaves the wounded parts a> it found them. This con- 

 stitutes an essential difference between these 2 poisons. 



I clipped off the hair, with a pair of scissars, from a part of the thigh of a 

 Guinea-pig, and scratched the skin lightly with a file. There was no visible 

 discharge of blood; but certain small red spots and a moistness appeared on the 

 skin. I bathed the part with a little drop of the poison dissolved in water. In 

 JO minutes the animal gave signs of convulsions; a little after it fell down 

 motionless, except convulsions, which it had now and then more or less strong, 

 and it died in 20 minutes. The part of the skin where the poison had been 

 applied was not at all altered. This experiment was attended with the same 

 success on 2 other Guinea-pigs, and on a small rabbit; all the 3 dying in less 

 than 27 minutes with very evident signs of convulsions. I wished to try if the 

 larger animals could resist this poison, when only applied to the scratched skin; 

 and therefore, with the point of a lancet, I wounded, very slightly, in many 

 places, the skin of a large rabbit, iiaving first cleared the part of the hair, and 

 then I bathed the wounded places with several drops of the poison. After 15 

 minutes the rabbit became less brisk than before, and shook its head now and 

 then, as if it could not hold it up without difficulty; but in 20 minutes more it 

 became as lively as at first. I repeated the experiment on another somewhat 

 smaller rabbit: in 10 minutes it gave the same kind of shakes with its head, and 

 could hardly go or support itself on its feet; but after 20 minutes it was as lively 

 as ever. 



I shaved oft' about an inch of the skin of a pretty large rabbit; a little blood 

 appeared though the flesh did not seem to be cut , I put about 3 drops of the 

 poison on the place: in 6 minutes the rabbit seemed very faint; after another 

 minute it fell down as if dead; it scarcely breathed, and was at times convulsed; 

 but in less than 46 minutes it recovered the use of its feet, and a little after 

 began to eat, and remained without any more signs of being disordered. I 

 scratched the skin on the thigh of a hen, and applied the poison to it; but it 

 continued well, though I repeated the experiments twice on other parts of the 

 skin. I slightly scarified the skin of a pigeon's thigh, and applied to it the 

 poison dissolved in water. After 25 minutes it was so weak that it could not 

 stand, and was convulsed at intervals. It fell down a little after, as if it were 

 dead, and remained in that state of apparent death above 3 hours. By degrees 

 however it began to recover, and in -i an hour more it was quite well. 



This experiment on pigeons was repeated 5 times. Three of them died in 

 less than 20 minutes; and the other 2 were seized with convulsions, but after- 

 wards they recovered. From other experiments made afterwards, both on birds 



- ( 



