Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-04-24
MYSTERIOUS POISONS.
THE DEADLY OROWTHS AND
DRUGS ABOUNDINC.
Tho True stories About Them Are More
Wonderful Than are Any of the
False Ones---Nesetabie and
Mineral Poisons.

his vile Were OVerpOWered by the
noxious fumes of stick OF poison
alder which had been thrown into the
kitchen stove, and how physician
had hard struggle TO save their lives.
A reporter showed it to we'll
known scientist who has made the
study of toXicology, a specially, and
asked him whether there could possibly
be any truth in it, Here is what the
professor said:
Young man take out your note
book. sit down and listen and will
tell you something about "a subject that
the public knows less about than any
ether subject in the world. That story
isn't true, and nothing like il ever was
true on ever will be true. II Is OF
exactly the same character Gs the
following myths which | en- going 10
relate TO you.
''On the island Of Java grows the
bOhUH npdS tree, which owes its
notoricty to Focrsch, "a surgeon in the
employ o. the Dutch East India com
pany. who nearly n hundred years
ago, told some wonderful stories about
it, He related how the emanation OF
this tree killed all animals that APP
preached il: how the birds that few
too near il fell dead; how criminals
that were condemned TO death were
allowed to collect leaves from the tree,
and that only two out Of twenty ever
returned; how it grew in a valley,
with no tree or plant within ten miles
OF it, all being a barren waste. strewn
with human and other bones. 1t was
IA beautiful story and the world believed
il. Scientists discovered in 1910 that
the upas was very poisonous tree.
whose effects We're similar TO those OF
poison ivy.
'NeXt is the manchineel. a poison
Gus evergreen tree which grows in the
West India Islands This tree is said
to be more deadly than the Upas, and
it was generally supposed that a drop
of its juice falling upon the skin had
the same effect rs the application
of IA red-hot iron. The milky juice Of
this tree is undoubtedly highly poison
Gus. bu' such stories as the above are
highly exaggerated. This poison,
like our poison sunach, affects some
persons more seriously than Others.
1t is said that the smoke from
burning manchineel wood produces
temporary blindness. This is true in
a measure, though it does not affec,
every one in the same way. Berthold
Seemann. the botanist was blind for
few days after he had gathered some
OF the leaves OF the tree on the coast
Of Florida. and some Of the crew were
blind for nearly week from having
made "a fire OF sCme OF the wood.
'Dramatists az rule don't know the
first thing aboit poisons. Nathaniel
Lee il his tragedy of Alexander,
makes one of hi, characters admins
ter n poison to the conqueror OF the
world, which,
Mixed vi i his vino single drop gives
death
And sends him bowling to the shades
below. -
After swallowing this terrible mix
ture. AiordH,ier goes through the lat
ter part OF the fourth and most OF the
fifth act kills IA man, makes "a tine
speech, raves wildly, RECEIVERS his
senses, and after n fine dying address,
goes of. Now there isn't poison in the
world which can produce such an effect
There is Il poison. little known to play
wrights, which has much more won
derful effect than this. bat very few
people know anything about il. After
it IL swallowed the person walks abou:
for IA time varying from half an hour
TO two hours; thea his skin. and even
the whites of his eyes, become o.
strange purplish. livid color He may
feel perfectly well, when suddenly acute
pain will SO; IN and in few moments
he dies. Thia effect is produced 10y
nitro benzine.
Then there is Philip Massinger.
who in his play The Duke OF Milan, :
shows that he doesn't know the first
thing about toxicology. One OF the
characters scatters n poisonous powder
over a flower, which is afterward given
to a female. Some of the powder falls
on her hand. and when her lover sal
utes the tips OF her fingers he dies.
Pure aconitine itself, the most power
! ful or all known vegetable poisOns.
| WOuld hafdy produce mat efCct.
The most powerful and deadly poi
sen in the world and ut the same
time the oldest one known To mankind
is prussic acid. To Illustrate It's antio-
uity: An Psychologist has read on an
Egyptian papyrus preserved at the
| Louvre. 'Pronouuca nos the name OF
I j. a. O. under the penalty OF the
! ppaph Tho only uois ~, ,vhioh 40 =, ~
distilled from The peach is prussic acid
SO that il must have been known to
the Egyptian. A knight in the reign
of 1fberius. accused OF high treason.
swallowed poison and fell dead at the
feet Of the Senators. No poison but
prussic acid, and that only in a con-
centrated state would have had ta:s
effect The prissic acid that is sold
IN drug stores is only the Diluted stu II.
! containing a small Derce ntare of the