liv 



ing resulting from tato«ing — a practice he believed these men indulged 

 in in their hours of rest. In San Francisco he accidentally heard of 

 some officers of one of Her Majesty's ships who were going to give a 

 party on board their vessel and were anxious to have it decorated. 

 Wi h that end in view they procured the first green boughs they 

 could find, and were pleased to get something so exactly suited to 

 their purpose for decoration. They were considerably surprised, 

 however, when the ladies came on board and refused to enter a place so 

 admirably decorated. Several of the officers themselves who decorated 

 the place were laid up for a long time afterwards. When the men re- 

 ferred to in the paper were brought to him he thought it looked like a 

 case of blood poisoning. He could hardly think it was an emanation 

 from the plants which poisoned, but inclined to the belief that it was 

 that the poisoning proceeded from the milky exudation from the plants 

 when cutting them, which had been smeared on the arms and face. 

 The symptoms described were certainly akin to erysipelas, which in 

 effect it was. It was a very singular plant, and it was interesting to 

 have Mr. Abbott's account of it. 



Mr. Abbott pointed out that in one case the irritation broke out on 

 the abdomen and over most of the body. 



Dr. Wolphagbn said he was inclined to the belief that the symptoms 

 described were a kind of eczema, which was similar at first to an attack 

 of erysipelas. The plant had fine hairs, and it might be possible that 

 these hairs caused the irritation and inflammation, and the skin of face 

 and arms being more delicate, was consequently more liable to attack. 

 According to the latest authorities, erysipelas was supposed to be due to 

 a poison germ. The sufferings of these men might be due to the 

 mechanical irritation of the hairs described, or to the presence of the 

 erysipelas germ in the plant. The discovery of the latter hypothesis 

 would be extremely interesting. 



Mr. Ward suggested that the poison had emanated from the plant, 

 as it was burning and was an acrid juice distilled from it by heat. 

 If it was due to the juice of the plant the hands would have been 

 affected. Mi. Abbott's immunity might be due to the difference be- 

 tween his diet and the prison fare. 



Mr. Johnston said he had examined the plant, and did not find any 

 hairs that would come readily from it. 



Dr. Barnard said a poison had been extracted from the plant known 

 as toxicodendric acid. 



The Secretary read several cases to show that the plant did not have 

 the same effect on all people, its effect varying in different constitutions. 



Mr. J. B. Walker related a very unpleasant experience he had 

 after culling a common purple creeper, dolicos pruricus, which has a 

 quautity ot irritant fibres at the ends of the seed vessels. The effect 

 was aD intolerable itching for some time, and an excessive thickening 

 of the skin. 



Dr. Perkins said the subject had been almost exhausted. He 

 believed the plant was collected for medicinal purposes at night time, 

 thus proving that it was the emanation from the plant was capable of 

 producing the disease of toxic poisoning. The poison attacks the ner- 

 vous system, and was similar in symptoms to strychnine. It was a 

 powerful agent, and had been used with more or less effect in paralysis. 

 He quite agreed with Mr. Abbott that its effect would be greater on 

 nervous 01 irritable people, and attributed Mr. Abbott's escape to his 

 phlegmatic temperament. 



Mr. Ward said there were instances of total blindness having been 

 caused by the juice of this plant being rubbed into the eyes. 



