exhalations have been collected in a Jar and found to be 

 capable of inflaming and blistering the akin of an arm 



plunged into it. 



1 

 Prof. J. J. Rein , in his treatise on Lacquer Work, 



describes the poison of the Japanese lac tree, Rhus vemi - 



cifera, as being volatile, as do also the Japanese chemist 



2 3 



Yoshida and the French chemist Bertrand. Recent work by 



Prof. A. B. Stevens , however, seems to show that this 



poison is not volatile, and is similar to, if not identi- 



5 

 cal with that obtained by Pfaff from Rhus toxicodendron 



and Rhus venenata . 



Sot many cases of internal poisoning by Rhus toxico- 

 dendron are on record in medical literature. Two cases 



of poisoning from eating the fruit of this plant have been 



6 

 described • The subjects of these cases were two children 



who had eaten nearly a pint of the fruit. The symptoms 



are described in detail, being in general, similar to 



those of alkaloidal poisoning. Warm water was given to 



promote emesis; afterwards large quantities of carbonate 



1, Rein, The Ind, of Jap., p. 338, et seq. 



E. H. Yoshida on Urushi Lacquer, Jour. Chem. See. ,1883, p. 472, 



3. Ann. de Chem. et de Phys. , Series YII, Vol. 12, p 125, 1897. 



4. Amer. Jour, Pharm. 78, p. 53, Feb. 1906. 



5. An account of Pfaff's work will be found in another 



part of this papers. 



6. Amer. Jour. Med. 5ci. 51 (1866), p. 560, 



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