The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-06-22
WHAT ARE MApsToNEs2
Most of Them Are Fossil Coral The
Question of Their Virtue Considered.
From the 81. Louis RepubLlc

Most of Them Are Fossil Coral The
Question of Their Virtue Considered.
From the ST. Louis Republic.
What are madstonesa Geologically, the
writer can speak of quite number he has
seen and of others he has heard described.
They seem TO be mostly fossil corals. Dur
ing the great mad-dog scare at Hannibal,
Mo-, some three years ago number of
madstoues from various sections of the
country were obtained by the MAYOR of
that city. The maj rity Of these stones
were Devonian favorites. AT least three
Eadstones the writer has seen were fossil
coral from the lower silurian, while others
are tertiary fossils. In some instances the
virtues of maidstone are claimed for those
singular calcuti, or balls of lime and hair
that are sometimes found in the stomach of
the OK.
One object used as a maidstone in Illinois
is said to have been taken from an ancient
mound in Kentucky, 1t is one of those
pretty perforated badge stones made of
variegaued slate. and made by the old
mound builders. / was unable to soc that
it had absorbent qualities
Other forms of rock, such as tufa from
thermal springs, lava and stones of volcanic
origin, have been used as madstones. but
a majority of these objects claimed as
remedial agents are, as before remarked.
found to be ancient c ralineS. The most
irregular stories are sometimes told of the
origin of madstones by those that possess
them, these people not always being among
the best informed. The history of one
maidstone that has a great reputation is
that it was taken from the stomach of a
beef and had been for ned there, yet almost
any geologist would recognize in the stone
an old silurian coral.
Another maidstone, widely known and
much used. has its history given as of
meteoric origin, having been picked up
near the spot where a large meteor was
once seen TO descend to the eartn. This
maidstone, too, Is coral, and full of those
peculiar open radiating cells that were
once the home of poypi of Devonian seas
The history of still another and some
what similar stone of great repute gives it
a miraculous origin in Mexico, yet we have
found precisely such q one in an old
Devonian reef in Calhoun county, Illinois.
Now we come to the most important
question in this investigation. What evil
dence have we that madstones really have
the virtue ascribed to them of removing
virus from the human systems Are they
really of any benefit.
The last question is very much more
easily answered than the first In the Fl st
questio it is very dillicalt to get evidence
That the bite of the dog has left any virus
in the system of the person bitten 1t Is
probably very seldom that we have positive
evidence that the dog was mad, or had real
rabies. Negative evidence is not always
convincing. Among the country folk,
where the maidstone is mostly used, volumes
of evidence could be obtained that would
read well, but it might not all be reliable
OF the matter professional and scientific
men know little or nothing from the fact
that it is thought to be dangerous to their
reputation to take especial interest in such
investigation
We know of prominent physician who
went off into an adjoining state to have a
maidstone applied to wound made by a
dog thouga to be rabid. He ackno vledged
that his mind felt relieved afterward. but