XXVI 
Abbe Font ana on the 
left the arrows for twenty or thirty hours together in the muf- 
cles, and yet none of them have died. It is true, indeed, that 
lome few, after being operated on, appeared lefs lively than be- 
fore ; and it feemed, that the wounded parts, or the lower half 
of the body, had fenlibly loft fome of its natural motion, and 
this torpor continued in fome for many hours ; but then again 
others continued as lively as before. 
After all thefe experiments it may be fafely aflerted, that the 
American poifon is intirely innoxious to cold-blooded animals, as 
is the poifon of the viper ; in which refpeft thefe two poifons 
have a great analogy, although the one be no more than an ani- 
mal gum, as I have fhewn ellewhere, and the other a mere vege- 
table juice. 
It remained to examine the aftion of this poifon on living ani- 
mals ; and alfc which are the particular parts of animals that 
are affected by it when it proves fatal. 
Every thing tended to make one think, that it excites 
one of thofe diforders which modern phyficians call nervous. 
The fymptoms are precifely and decisively the fymptoms of 
thofe difeafes. Convulfions, faintnefs, a total lofs of ftrength 
and motion, a diminution or intire want of fenfation, are 
the ordinary fymptoms of the poifon, in animals. It has 
often been obferved, that very lively animals become in a 
moment fenfelefs and motionlefs, and feem at the point of death. 
I have generally obferved a fymptom which feems to be a real 
demonftration that the diforder produced by, this poifon is purely 
nervous. If the animals do not die in a few minutes, they per-* 
feftlv recover again, although they have been thrown into a ftate 
of lethargy often for hours, and have not given any certain and 
evident figns of life. Now this is the very cafe with the diforders 
which are called nervous. They frequently come on at once ; 
they fometimes excite con vul five motions, and fbmetimes they 
deprive the patient of all ftrength ; but as foon as the effects of 
the diforder ceafe, the patient becomes perfectly well, and is 
hardly fenfible that he has been ill. Notwithftanding all this, 
thefe figns could not impofe on me after my experiments on the 
poifon of the viper : for the diforder produced by that poifon 
2 has 
