American Poifon called Ticunas. xxxiii 
One of them died three days after, but the other two were ftill 
living at the end of eight days. 
I alfo prepared the nerves of two other rabbits exactly as 
above, but without the poifon, to ferve as a kind of comparative 
experiment to the former. One of thefe rabbits died in thirty- 
fix hours, and the other was ftill living eight days after. 
Thefe experiments feemed fufficient ground to determine, 
whether the American poifon, when applied externally to the 
nerves, is capable of producing any malady or diforder in ani- 
mals. But it remained to be tried, whether it be equally in- 
active when applied to wounded nerves, as alfo to the pulp of 
the nerves. 
I prepared the fciatic nerve of a rabbit as above, and I pierced 
it feverai times through with a lancet, before I applied the poi- 
fon to it, and then put the poifon exa&ly upon the wounded 
part of the nerve. The rabbit lived five days, and then died 
without any apparent ilinefs. I repeated the experiment on ano- 
ther rabbit with the fame circumftances, and it was ftill living 
eight days after. 
I varied the experiment a little on the nerves of three other 
rabbits. Inftead of wounding the nerve in many places, I made 
an incifion, above five- twelfths of an inch long, into it, and in- 
troduced into the flit fome threads, well foaked in the poifon, 
and covered the whole up very well. One of thefe died in fixty 
hours, but feemingly not from the poifon ; the other two were 
living eight days after. 
I thought it neceflary to vary alfo this fecond kind of experi- 
ment, and to cut the nerve as I had done in examining the poi- 
fon of the viper. In confequence I cut the fciatic nerve as far as 
I could from the top, to be able eafily to wrap the rags about it. 
The detached part of the nerve in the largeft rabbits might be 
about an inch and a half. Having placed the nerve on the rags 
I covered it well with poifon in the part where it was cut, and 
covered the whole up with the rags as ufual. 
I performed this experiment on fix rabbits. Two of them 
died in forty hours ; two others in three days ; but the remain- 
ing two were living four days after. 
Vom LXX. E 
For 
