APPENDIX. 



Iv 



not aware of the source of his trouble, and had never mentioned 

 the fact of his using arsenic to his numerous physicians, who had 

 therefore worked in the dark as to the real cause of his condition.* 

 Mr. C. J. Mayuard, author of the " Naturalists' Guide," "Birds 

 of Eastern North America " and other works, was at one time so 

 seriously affected by the arsenic used in the preparation of skins 

 of birds and mammals that he was obliged to discard the pre- 

 servative, suffering for several years from the symptoms of 

 chronic arsenical poisoning. Workmen in factories where arsen- 

 ical preparations are made frequently suffer from arsenical poison- 

 ing, either acute or chronic, and fatal cases are on record. Some 

 of the men employed in handling arsenate of soda, Paris green 

 and other insecticides in the storehouse connected with the gypsy 

 moth work have been somewhat affected by arsenical poisoning. 

 The effect of poisoning from arsenical wall paper is well known. 



The cases of poisoning so far given are those of people who 

 have been exposed to the dust or fumes of arsenic in-doors. It 

 might be thought that persons working out of doors would not 

 be similarly affected. Out-door conditions, such as atmospheric 

 currents and sunlight, may lessen the danger of poison by inhala- 

 tion. Yet arsenic, being chemically unchangeable and its poi- 

 sonous properties not being affected by light, air or water, has 

 practically the same effect when brought in contact with the skin 

 or mucous membranes, whether the person using it is out-doors or 

 in-doors. Among the workmen employed in the manufacture of 

 an arsenical green which is obtained from arsenite of soda by 

 treating it with sulphate of copper and then with pyroligneous 

 acid, the symptoms of arsenical poisoning are very marked. The 

 process of manufacture usually takes place in the open air. The 

 evil consequences of working over the mixture appear in boils, 

 pimples and an itching rash about the nostrils and in the flexures 

 of the arms. In severe cases headache, thirst and nausea occur. 

 Eruptions on the hands, face and other exposed parts, ulcers in 

 the groin and other symptoms of arsenical poisoning by absorp- 

 tion are not uncommon among those who use Paris green in the 

 field, either in spraying trees or in dusting the poison over pota- 

 toes or other field crops. 



In these cases poisoning is probably caused by the absorption 

 through the pores of fine arsenical dust or spray, floating in the 

 atmosphere, or by the absorption of particles of arsenic which 

 reach the hands, face and other portions of the body in various 



Montague Browne, Practical Taxidermy," pages 66, 67. 



