AmMaJr°chr'  Si*™1' }     Toxic  Constituent  of  Poison  Ivy.  113 
Reputed  to  be  Poisonous,  or  are  Suspected  of  Being  So,"  and  pub- 
lished in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Nebraska  State  Board  of  Agri- 
culture for  1901.  This  account  is  so  detailed  that  I  repeat  it  here, 
as  follows : 
"  An  assistant  brought  into  my  laboratory  a  tin  box  full  of 
plants,  among  which  were  many  flowering  specimens  of  the  Poison 
Ivy.  The  day  was  hot,  and  the  assistant  had  walked  in  the  sun  for 
a  mile  or  more,  in  bringing  in  the  plants.  Knowing  my  suscepti- 
bility to  Poison  Ivy  poisoning  he  warned  me  not  to  touch  the  tin 
box  or  its  contents.  I  therefore  told  him  to  open  the  box  while 
I  looked  on  and  selected  the  plants  which  1  wished  him  to  preserve 
for  pressing.  As  the  box  was  opened  I  leaned  over  and  looked  in, 
being  very  careful  not  to  come  into  contact  with  the  box  or  the 
plants.  As  the  assistant  took  up  plant  after  plant  I  pointed  to 
others  and  asked  him  in  regard  to  the  stations  where  he  secured 
them.  I  was  very  careful,  as  I  had  been  very  severely  poisoned 
many  times  before,  and  did  not  wish  to  have  another  experience  of 
the  discomfort.  Yet  in  a  day  or  two  I  found  myself  suffering  with 
the  usual  inflammation,  only  the  surfaces  affected  were  those  only 
which  had  been  directly  exposed  when  I  leaned  over  the  box  of 
plants.  My  face  was  inflamed  all  over,  except  where  my  beard, 
mustache,  eyebrows,  and  nose  made  projecting  protections.  Above 
these  there  were  small  areas  entirely  free  from  inflammation.  The 
under  side  of  my  eyebrows  (the  'overhang')  was  thoroughly 
poisoned,  and  so  was  the  inside  of  my  nose  (the  nostrils).  My 
right  hand  was  severly  poisoned,  but  here  again  the  distribution  of 
the  inflammation  was  peculiar,  being  confined  to  the  parts  which 
were  directed  dozvnward  as  I  pointed  at  the  various  specimens  in 
the  box.  Thus  the  proximal  and  middle  joints  of  the  second,  third 
and  fourth  fingers,  and  the  under  side  of  the  wrist  of  that  hand 
were  badly  affected,  while  the  upper  side  of  the  hand  was  not 
poisoned  at  all.  My  left  hand  was  not  poisoned,  and  I  account  for 
this  by  the  fact  that  it  was  kept  back  and  not  used  in  indicating 
plants  to  be  examined  by  the  assistant." 
I  do  not  see  how  any  one  can  escape  from  the  conclusion  that 
that  which  poisoned  me  so  severely  and  so  peculiarly  was  volatile 
enough  to  be  carried  up  (apparently  in  straight  lines)  in  the  warm 
air  which  escaped  from  the  tin  collecting  box  (vasculum)  when 
opened  in  my  study.  In  this  case  there  was  no  contact  on  my  part 
with  the  Poison  Ivy,  nor  with  any  other  plants  in  the  vasculum.  I 
