8 INSECTICIDE STUDIES. 



poisoning caused by this class of goods, the following account is 

 given of cases of eliminate poisoning found in medical records: 



LEAD POISON! N<1 < A I'M-: I) BY THE MANUFACTURE OF FUSES FOR 

 LICHTIV; ' 



On February L'L'. 1*7"). a woman of about 4i years of age came under my rare at 

 the hospital. Sh> complained of pains in the stomach and a general indisposition or 

 breaking down. For a number of days she had suffered with severe gripes. Her 

 stomach was not swollen, but her skin was very sensitive and palpation caused a 

 contraction of the abdominal muscles. There was, however, no tumor in the abdom- 

 inal cavity. She had suffered fur about lifteen days with obstinate constipation that 

 could be relieved only by an injection; her liver was .small and not painful; her 

 tongue white, appetite nearly entirely lacking and breath foul. There was nausea 

 and a distaste for food. a:.l one could observe the existence of a grayish-black slate- 

 colored border on the edges of her teeth next to the gums, which had all the char- 

 acteristics of lead bands. That symptom, added to the gripes and to cramps in the 

 calves of the legs during the night, caused me to diagnose the case as lead poisoning. 

 This woman was under mv care until _the 16th of March, at which time she began 

 to convalesce, although at that time she was still an;emie and feeble: but there was 

 unquestionable improvement. 



Being well convinced that my patient was suffering with lead poisoning. I thought 

 I oiiL'ht to find the cause. I found that she had worked for live years in a well-aired 

 factory employing about :!< people, where they were engaged in the manufacture of 

 fusi-> which were to be used by smokers to light their pipes and cigars. Her work 

 differed from that of her fellow-workers in that she was employed in winding the 

 cotton that was to be used for the manufacture of fuses, while they wove the threads 

 of cotton. She was thus more exposed than her companions to the emanating dust, 

 .ally as the cold weather had obliged them to close the windows of the shop. 

 These fuses were about as large around as a pencil or the little linger and of a yel- 

 lowish oranire color, indicating that they were colored with lead eliminate. A 

 chemical analysis showed the presence of this compound. 



At tin- shop where these fuses were manufactured I found that those who were 

 engaged in weaving them did not show any appreciable symptoms of lead poisoning. 

 \\hile those who were employed to shake out and wind the cotton all had fairly 

 well developed ,-;!-,-. Tin- merchant at Paris who manufactured these fuses said 

 that they wen- originated in Germany, but were now exported largely, especially to 

 America. 



FATAL POISONING i'.v BATING CI>NFF.<TK>NF.IIY <<>L<>RKI> WITH i HAD 



i IllloMATK. '' 



On March 14, 1*7-, between ! and 11 a. m., the two sons of Mr. II.. aged respec- 

 tively :ii Mini 1 ; yean, ate -everal small ornaments representing bees that had been 

 placed .MI a cake. In the afternoon .,f the same day they became very ill and were 

 attacked with severe vomiting and great prostration. The vomited mass was at first 

 yell. >\v, and was tliro\\n up with irn-at pain. Vomiting continued until 11 p.m., 

 after \\ liieh it became infrequent. When the physician arrived, at t> p. m.. they were 

 in bed and suffering extremely. They had reddened faces, complained of irreat 

 thirst, were languid, had no dysentery, allli-m-h they complained of .-light pains. 



" Annales d'h\ L'iene. I'd - 1 I. L875, 



'> Vierteljahres.-chrift lur L'erichtl. Medi/.in. Is7l. 'JO: 90, 





