Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-04-21

Wherever there is decomposing flesh
in reighborhoods close to swamp or
marshy lands you will always find the
insects in clouds about the decompos-
ing mass, upOn which they appear to
feed with avidity.
, Mosquitoes. after being born, fly to
such neighborhoods, and they are gen
orally born in places where decompos-
ing animal matter abounds. 1t is not
necessary that<it be the carcass of a
dead horse or dog that thus furnishes
the mosquito with it's first opportunity
to test it's implements. Dea flies,
dead fish, d~ecomposing insects peculiar
to swamps. rotting bones or the re-
mains of other mosquitoes are suffi-
cient for the purpose.
A careful micrOscopical examination
of these insects has proven that only
the female mosquitoes contain the poi
son, some having it in larger quanti-
ties than Others. 1t is thus true that
it is only the female mosquito that
stings. Each insect contains about
.0oos of a grain of poison. One hun-
dred females carry about one drop of
s%trychnine or prussic acid.
If this drop We're to be injected hypo-
dermically, it would kill a man in
stantly. A drop of sthychnine SO adj
ministered would also Kill a man, but
the mosquito poison, which is stronger
than s%trychnine. would do it more
quickly.
THE POISON.
When held up to the light this poison
is found to be of a light yellow color
and about as thick as glycerine. It is
extremely sour to the taste. a quality
which is due to the presence of formic
acid. There is also present undecan
as follows: c.. II, H. "a, which will be
at once understood by all chemists.
Undecan is a carbon hydrate which is
also found in bees and wasps.
The most dangerous places where one
could be bitten by a mosquito are on
the lips and tongue, where the finest
blood vessels are conferred.
The reason for this is that the kin
here is thin and the insect has a better
! chance to introduce the poison, and
the blood vessels are finer and closer
together thar elsewhere.
Strychnine is a vegetable alkaloid.
but the mosquito poison is an animal
alkaloid. The mosquito gets it's poi
son out of the decomposing animal mat
ter upon which it feasts as soon as it
is born or shortly after.
THE ANTIDoTE.
The best antidote for mosquito bite
is permanganate of potash in a solu-
ton of / to IS. This is an antidote for
many poisons, and has been tried in
cases of mosquito bite with uniform
success. A quantity of this solution
should always be kept in readiness to
be rubbed upon the mosquito bite as
soon as inflicted; it Immediately re-
duces the swelling, takes away the
pain and renders the bite of the insect
harmless.
In the case of people who are sleep
ing, the poison of the mosquito has a
chance to circulate through the system
This is accomplished much more quick
ly if the insect strikes a vein, which
at once carries the poison to other
; parts of the body. In this respect II
would be we'll to remember that a dan
t gerous place to be SO poisoned Is under
the arm, as there are big veins there
5 and the skin is much finer.
The mosquito poison is never admin
2 istered internally. 1t is administers
l in the one way. that is the quickest il
: it's effects. the surest in it's aim at tn
heart and the most powerful known t
science~ Nothing that medical scienc
knows can procure quicker effects Q
D this kind than hypodermic injections.
The bite of a rattlesnake is a direc
: blow at the life of it's enemy, becaus
l the venom is thrown Immediately int
the system, where 1t will at once reacl
the heart, and in this respect 1t Is q