460  Tyrotoxicon  in  Ice  Oream,  Milk,  etc.  {AmselZ'mirm 
process  was  begun  enough  of  the  poison  was  generated  to  seriously 
affect  those  eating  of  it. 
It  should  be  remarked,  that  in  the  custard  which  I  made  there  was 
nothing  peculiar  in  the  taste.  It  was  sweet  and  pleasant.  But  while 
it  was  not  at  all  acid  to  the  taste,  it  gave  a  decidedly  acid  reaction  as 
tested  by  litmus,  and  was  not  amphoteric  in  reaction,  as  cow's  milk 
frequently  is. 
It  is  possible  that  the  presence  of  the  large  amount  of  albumen  in 
the-  custard,  from  the  eggs,  hastened  fermentation.  I  believe  that 
makers  of  cheese  have  found  by  experience  that  a  large  amount  of 
albumen  in  cheese  renders  decomposition  more  easy. 
How  the  special  germ  which  produces  the  poison  found  its  way 
into  the  Lawton  cream  I  cannot  say ;  but  that  it  was  either  present 
in  the  milk  or  was  contained  in  the  eggs  used,  I  think  cannot  now 
be  doubted. 
TYROTOXICON,  AND  CHOLERA  INFANTUM. 
I  desire  to  call  attention  to  the  great  similarity  between 
symptoms  of  poisoning  by  tyrotoxicon,  and  those  of  cholera  in- 
fantum. I  am  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  term  "cholera  infantum" 
is  used  by  many  in  referring  to  almost  any  summer  diarrhoea  of 
children ;  but  restricting  the  term  to  the  violent  choleraic  diarrhoea, 
as  is  done  by  Smith  and  other  best  authorities  on  the  subject,  we 
shall  find  its  similarity  to  poisoning  by  tyrotoxicon  very  marked. 
The  suddenness  and  violence  of  the  attack,  the  nausea  and  vomit- 
ing without  marked  tenderness  of  the  abdomen,  the  character  of  the 
stools,  the  great  thirst,  the  severe  pain  in  the  back  of  the  head,  the 
nervous  prostration,  and  the  tendency  to  deep  sleep,  are  all  observed 
in  both.  Again,  the  white,  soggy  appearance  of  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  stomach  of  the  cat  corresponds  exactly  with  observations 
in  children  after  death  from  cholera  infantum.  Cholera  infantum,  as 
is  stated  by  Smith,  "  is  a  disease  of  the  summer  months ;  and,  with 
exceptional  cases,  of  the  cities."  Thus,  the  disease  occurs  at  a  time 
when  decomposition  of  milk  takes  place  most  readily.  It  occurs  at 
places  where  absolutely  fresh  milk  often  cannot  be  obtained.  It  is 
most  prevalent  among  classes  of  people  whose  surroundings  are  most 
favorable  to  fermentative  changes.  It  is  most  certainly  fatal  at  an  age 
when  there  is  the  greatest  dependence  upon  milk  as  a  food,  and  when, 
on  account  of  the  rapid  development  of  intestinal  follicles,  there  is  the 
greatest  susceptibility  to  the  action  of  an  irritant  poison,  and  when 
