528 
A CASE OF POISONING BY MEANS OF SEA SALT. 
By M. He lies, Bergarac. 
One morning in the month of May, 1833, M. B. drove two 
bulls to the fair of Villemblard, and in order to give them an illu- 
sory appearance of being good feeders, a quality which one of the 
two was far from possessing, he had fed them with every thing that 
he thought would promote their appetite ; but seeing that neither 
of them throve much, and that he could not obtain from either 
that roundness of carcass which is so desirable in these animals, 
he gave to the one that throve the least a solution of five handfuls 
of salt in four pounds of water. His object was in this ma- 
noeuvre to produce an ardent thirst, that would constrain him 
to swallow a great quantity of water, and thus produce an ap- 
pearance of condition which he could not obtain by any other 
means. This proceeding seemed to be crowned with complete 
success, for during a journey of two leagues and a half to the 
fair he drank of every pond of water to which he came near. 
On his arrival, his evil star would not permit the owner to sell 
his cattle, however anxious he might be to effect it. It was neces- 
sary to drive them home again. 
On the following morning, the one who had been so abominably 
drugged was evidently very ill, and was attended during four days 
by the village cow-leech. At length, beginning to despair, he 
requested me to see the animal. 
From the violent heaving of the flanks, and the burning heat 
of the mouth, and the drooping of the eyelids, and the smallness 
of the pulse, and, in fact, the rapid exhaustion of the animal, I 
judged that he was in a desperate situation, and near his end : in 
fact, he died on the following morning, and I was not permitted 
to make any post-mortem examination. 
In the month of June, in the same year, a farmer of Maurens 
pursued the same foolish course, and I was not sent for until all 
hope of saving the animal had fled. 
On my arrivaKI found the animal presenting the same symp- 
toms as the others, and I did not hesitate at once to give an un- 
favourable opinion. I promised, nevertheless, to return on the 
succeeding day, if it was only to examine the carcass ; but early in 
the morning a messenger arrived, who informed me that he died 
on the preceding evening, and was interred immediately after its 
death. I thus lost the second opportunity of ascertaining what 
were the organa principally affected by this singular disease. 
On the 3d of April, 1839, l was officially employed to super- 
