ANIMAL PRODUCTS 157 



animals for some of their medicines, and in 

 Homoeopathic treatment the following agents are 

 used : Castoreum, a secretion of the beaver, is 

 useful for certain nervous affections, and Moschus, 

 a secretion yielded by the musk-deer, is a nerve 

 stimulant ; while Mephites, a product from the 

 skunk, is valuable in cases of whooping-cough. 

 Many snake poisons are employed in a dilute form 

 as medicines, that obtained from the rattlesnake 

 (Crotolus) being used in the treatment of yellow 

 fever, and that from the Indian cobra (Naia tripu- 

 dians) as a heart remedy. Lachesis mutus (the 

 bushmaster) is another snake which yields a poison 

 used in certain cases of heart trouble, and for 

 diphtheria ; while Elaps corralinus, a dilution of 

 the poison of the coral snake, has a marked action 

 upon the eyes, and is also used as a cure for 

 deafness. The poison of the bird-eating spiders 

 (My gale), as well as that from the Spanish and 

 Cuban tarantulas, is used in certain cases of nervous 

 affections, and that from another spider (Theridion) 

 for giddiness. Apis, the poison of the bee, is 

 utilised for brain trouble ; and Vespa, the venom 

 of the wasp, and Formica, the poison of the ant, are 

 other remedial agents employed for various purposes. 

 Several of the molluscs are used in the practice of 

 Homoeopathy, a solution secreted by the lobster 

 serving as a medicine, while Asterias rubens, a 

 product prepared by pounding up the common 

 starfish, is useful in some forms of cancer. 



Pepsine is another medicinal animal-product, 

 which is obtained from the stomachs of sheep, 



