454 
H. C. YARROW. 
by Mr. Higgins himself from the gall of the JLomo di machete 
snake, ten drops of gall being diluted with one hundred drops of 
alcohol of ninety-five per cent., and ten drops of this solution be¬ 
ing diluted with four fluid ounces of water. 
It is intended to conduct a series of experiments with snake 
gall to verify or disprove those of the persons named. 
A few years since, in some parts of the South, great reliance 
was placed in a certain weed or plant called Jestis weed or Justice 
weed, so named from a person celebrated as a curer of snake 
bites. This person, called Isham Justice, resided in 1800 in Sum¬ 
ter District, South Carolina, and was so convinced himself of the 
efficacy of his remedy that he frequently made the offer to allow 
snakes to bite him for the sum of one dollar. The plant he used 
is known to botanists as Eupatorium linearifolium of Linnaeus 
and Elliott, although the Eupatorium hyssopifolium is also 
known as Justice’s weed, and possesses similar medical properties. 
The common name of the plant is boneset or wild horehound. 
Upon what was considered undoubted evidence from respectable 
citizens, Justice was granted a sum of money by the State Legis¬ 
lature upon his making known the secret of his remedy. A num¬ 
ber of cases are reported of the cure of snake bite, using this 
plant as an antidote, and Mr. Haynesworth, in the Phil. Med. 
and Phys. Jour., 1808, III., part I., 57, gives a detailed account 
of nine cases of recovery from rattlesnake bite, in which the weed 
was employed. It is prepared by boiling a handful of the plant 
in a quart of new milk down to a pint, and of this a tablespoon¬ 
ful is given every few minutes until the dangerous symptoms are 
over. It should be mentioned that the South American plants 
Aya-pana and Yejuco du Guaco, reputed as antidotal to snake 
venom, also belong to the genus Eupatoria. Some little atten¬ 
tion has been given to this reputed antidote, as the writer believes 
that if it really is of benefit in snake poison, it must be so owing 
to the analogy of its therapeutic effect with that of jaborandi, 
both being tonic, diaphoretic, diuretic and laxative. 
In 1873 Drs. Fayrer, Brunton and Richards instituted a series 
of experiments with a view to determining whether continued arti¬ 
ficial respiration in cases of snake bite would prolong life, and 
