648 PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. [aNNO 1780. 



scratching or wounding the ears of many rabbits, ail which showed no signs of 

 injury: I at last succeeded in killing 2 in less than 30 minutes by the application 

 of a great quantity of the poison to the more fleshy parts of the ears which I had 

 wounded in many places with the point of the lancet. The experiments on the 

 ears have evinced to me, that where there are few blood vessels, either no 

 disorder is produced, or else it is not mortal. In this respect the American 

 poison has much analogy to that of the vi])er. As the poison of the viper is 

 quite innocent when applied to the tendons and ligaments, especially if they are 

 without blood vessels, so the American poison is equally innocent when applied 

 to the same parts. It would be superfluous to relate the sequel of these 

 experiments. 



I was desirous of knowing whether the American poison.were more surely fatal 

 when introduced into the muscles than when applied to the skin, though drawn 

 through the latter from side to side. A large Guinea-pig, which 2 days before had 

 twice undergone the operation of the skin cut, without suffering any disorder, 

 and a 3d time with but little signs of being affected, died in less than 12 minutes 

 after I had applied the poison to the wounded fibres of a muscle of its thigh. It 

 fell down motionless after the first 3 minutes. I repeated the experiment 10 

 times on Guinea-pigs, pigeons, and middle-sized rabbits, and all the animals 

 died; so that there can be no doubt but that poisoned wounds in the muscles are 

 more fatal than those in the skin, or in the combs of fowls. The more certain 

 method however of succeeding is, to soak well a piece of porous wood, cut very 

 sharp, in the poison, and so introduce it into the substance of the muscle laid 

 bare for that purpose. But even this method failed 3 times that I tried it on the 

 combs of fowls: nor did I ever observe any appearance of disorder, though 

 the wood was well soaked, and though I left it for several hours in the combs. 



On this occasion I made use of the arrows; many of which I employed 

 in perforating the skin of animals, and many others in piercing the muscles. 

 All the animals, especially the larger rabbits, which were wounded in the skin, 

 did not die, though the greater part of them did; but none of those recovered 

 which were pierced in the muscles. In general, I found that the arrows are 

 more dangerous, and oftener fatal, than the poison dissolved in water, and then 

 simply applied to the wounded parts. I found the poison on the arrows more 

 active after steeeping them in warm water, as they then operated both more 

 speedily and more surely; and their activity is still more increased by soaking 

 them in the poison, boiled in water to the consistence of julep. Various large 

 animals, such as rabbits, have fallen down motionless in this manner in less than 

 2 minutes; and some of the smaller sort have been visibly affected in less than J 

 minute. I introduced 1 of the arrows, tinat had been well soaked in the boiled 

 poison, into the comb of a fowl, and left it there a wiiole day, without any 



