XX 
Able fontana on the 
them in warm water, as they then operated both more fpeedily 
and more furely ; and their adtivity is ftill more increafed by 
foaking them in the poifon, boiled in water to the confiftence of 
julep. Various large animals, fuch as rabbits, have fallen down 
motionlefs in this manner in lefs than two minutes ; and feme of 
the fmaller fort have been vifibly affedted in lefs than one minute. 
I introduced one of the arrows, that had been well foaked in 
the boiled poifon, into the comb of a fowl, and left it there a 
whole day, without any appearance of injury to the animal. 
The next day I perforated the comb and the wattles with two 
arrows prepared as before, and left them there for ten hours ; 
but ftili without any effedt. I then perforated one of the muf- 
cles of the thigh with an arrow, and the animal died in forty- 
two minutes. 
I had propofed to myfelf, amongft other things, to examine 
what alteration this poifon may undergo by uniting it with 
acids and with alkalies. This I had tried with the poifon 
of the viper, the noxious qualities of which neither the mo ft - 
powerful mineral acids, nor the moft adtive alkalies, could take 
away. For this purpofe then I diffolved the poifon in three 
mineral acids, as alfo in diftilled vinegar, and in rum ; and about 
an hour after I made the following experiments. 
I made fome fmall gafihes in the {kin of a fmall Guinea-pig, 
and covered it over feveral times wdth the poifon diflblved in the 
nitrous acid : the animal appeared to buffer nothing but the me- 
chanical inconvenience of the wound and the acid ; within an 
hour after it was as lively as ever. Two hours after I repeated 
the experiment on another part of the Ikin prepared as above, 
which I covered wdth the poifon diffolved in rum ; the animal; 
died in lefs than four minutes. 
I flightly wounded the {kin of a young rabbit, and applied to 
it many drops of the poifon diffolved in oil of vitriol : it feemed 
to fuffer nothing, and was as lively as before. Four hours after 
I prepared another part of the (kin as above, and applied to it a 
few drops of the poifon diflblved in diftilled vinegar : the animal 
fell down after four minutes, and was quite dead in fix. 
I prepared 
