The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1879-06-14
Something About Poisons.

Something About Poisons.
Poison: A substance which, when
taken into the stomach, mixed with the
blood or applied to the skin or flesh,
proves fatal or deleterious anything i'm
fictitious or malignant" Our scissors
make the first clip out of Webster for a
definition of the greaest evil as well as
the greatest good known in the medical
world. For after the fashion of the old
saying, sit takes thief to catch thiei'
in public systems, SO in the individual
system, if one poison has stolen away
into the net work of veins, by fair means
or foul, there is small hope of recovering
ones own, save another poison be sent
after it.
All medicines seem to be more or less
poisonous. But owing to the large doses
those classed 'sless" require to produce
death or even deleterious effects, they are
by the mass of people regarded as harm
less, for arsenic, strychnine, opium,
chloroform, mercury and perhaps q few
other prominent remedies cover all, to
them, dangerous poisons. Yet we read
In daily paper of child suddenly
Attacked by severe vomiting, which the
usual remedies fail to check, ends in
exhaustion and death; and the cause is
laid anywhere but at the confecti0ner's
counter where the boy bought his
candies and cakes favored with bitter
almond.
The bitter almond 10 powerful
poison" A single drop of the essential
oil on cats tongue made dead pussy
OF q living one In just five minutes, by
experiment. Some delicate organiza-
tions, especially among children, can
bear but little OF this essence, the
smallest quantity producing an eruption
like nettie rash, II nothing worse, and
yet macaroons are eaten and given to
children to eat with impunity, while
confectioners are often nowadays using,
not the bitter almond. but the essential
oil, for their favoring. There is
" family connection" between the bitter
and sweet almond, how close Is not easily
defined, but sufficient to show that on
some persons the sweet nut on our
tables, If eaten, produces an effect
similar to that caused by the bitter
almond.
Fish poison ID one Of the most singu.
lar in all the range of toxicology-"
Certain kinds of fish in hot countries
are looked upon as always poisonous
Other kinds are only poisonous TO pecu-.
liar constitutions. at certain times, and
perhaps depending somewhat on the
climate. The richer sort Of vertebrate
fish, though actually eaten with perfect
safety by mankind In general, sre never
theless poisonous, either at all times or
only occasionally to peculiar individuals.
This fact 10 self-eyident to many Of us
who have experienced nausea after eat
ing white fish, salmon, lobster, etc, at
one time or another, and instinct il wise
when 1t heeds the hint and declines the
poison In the future.
Lead poisoning we are more familiar
with, as some members OF our houses
holds are more susceptible than others to
the injurious effect Of water run through
lead pipes. But the poison In this case,
acting slowly and subtly Is usually
classed under the broad. good naturedly
term, malaria" Those who
work In lead mines or in any way with
lead and absorb Its fine dust into their
systems, except by the greatest care,
sooner or later have what Is general
phrase0logy IL called printers or painters
palsy. The habit of children to bite and
wet their lead pencils Is often followed
by serious results, which are more likely
to BE- traced to q CLOSE school.rOom and
hard study than to the lead pencils,
states pencils and chalk they have
ON at short intervals i've days
out OF every seven.
Another of the everyday pOisOns Is
found in the syrup which IL q Leading
feature of the American breakfast table.
4 The use of chloride of tin In glucose
syrnps has been proved BY numerous
analysis.D Think of that, Oh, ye who
indulge In tgolden drip and smaple
syrup" on cold, wintry HOrpings on your
hot cakes. Beware Of any syrup that
leaves Uetaiic taste In the mouth, lest
By means Of the sweet liquid ysur
stomach gets q tia lining and you, won
dering why ON earth you have developed
dyspepsia, conclude that it must be the
hot CAKES that. disagree with you. And
If the said cakes be made of the rising
easy stuff called baking powder, very
likely the disagreement can, in part, be
laid On them, Tor analysis has also shown
that baking powder contains q large pro-
y5ortion of desiested alum. Metefisr
Mediea journal