The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1907-05-05
ANIMALS AND POISON,
Some Species Are Immune 10 the
Most Deadly Drugs.
MYSTERY OF THE HEDGEHOG.
Thl, Bris,ly Little Creature Can Make
IDEAL Of Arsenic or Opium and
Wash 1, Down With Draft Of
Pru,sie Acid Without Discomfort

Wash 4, Down With a Draft Of
Prv,sie Acid Withou, Discomfort
Poison l. surely one % the most
weird n natures bizarre contriyances.
4 tiny speck Of an innocent looking
white powder on the tip Of the tongue
means instant death II that powder .
happens 10 be- the deadly drug acOnl-
tine. A moments Whit Of unseen va
por, aud II that yapor rises from pure
prussic acid all human aid is too late F.
The strangcst fact about that curioL =
group Of bOtiey allied polsOns s that
sometimes the are not pOisons. OF
course every one knows that when
kept under control by the sklllful hand
OF the physician poisous are most val
liable medicines But few persons are
aware Of the still more curious fact
that polsons when taken by certain an
imnls even ia large quantities are quite
harmless
Yet. strange as 1t may seem, this Is
perfectly true Take, for instance the
hedgehog. This bristly little animal Is
absolutely poison proof. Il can eat
without discomfort as much opium as
n hardened Chinese can smoke In n
fortnight and can wash meal down
with as much prusslc acid as would
Kill regiment Of soldiers. IL Is ca
pa BILE Of swallowing arsenic with Just
Ial - a. la4
II IL quite immune 10 the venom or the
snake. though the prickly hedgehog
has little need TO fear tho approach Of
such reptile. II has even been stated
that II can swallow corrosive subli-
mate. and yet this Is a virulent poison
which human beings must handle with
caution for even solution Of 1t eNter-
naly applied has been known TO cause
death.
Cyanide OF potassium ls another
deadly substance or which tie hedgr
hog need have no fear. and yet the
merest trace Of the poison Is sufficient
to cause n full grown man to foam Mt
the mouth and lose the power OF his
limbs Truly the hedgehog Is strange
freak, and yet not 80 inexpllcablc us
the polsons by which he refuses to be
poisoned.
Man IL said to resemble the monkey
In more ways than one; but, whatever
charncterlstics they may have In com
mon. the ape differs from the human
| being In this respect-he can take with
| |, punlty ns much strychnlnc ns would
/ | two men instantly. The monkey
cgrlously enough. shares the immunity
| & strychnlne poisoning with invertc
| be1tc animals. Another phenomenon Is
i3c rat The number Of rat poisOns
sold by druggists Is legion, but there Is
ole poison which never enters into
their composition namely, digitalln
tie active principle of the foxglove
One-half grain Of this poisonous prln
ciple sUfiiccs TO kill n man within thre.
quarters Of an hour, but the rat abso
lutely refuses TO let 1t Kill him.
When II IL discovered that humar
being has swallowed oXalic acid, the
first thing the doctor does Is TO give hi
unfortunate patient good dose OF
ch tlk. technically known as calcium
carbonate. Strange to relate. chickens
are not poisoned by oxallc acid, for th'
simple reason that their lntcstlnes con
tain the antdote In the form OF quan
titles Of calcium. which combine witt
thr poison aud render II quite harm
less. II IL interesting, however, e
mention that II oXalic acid Is injected
into the blood of fowl II would b,
poisoned. IL Is only when given by th'
~ puth that the acid comes in coutac
with the antidotc. However, as chick
ems are not provided with hypodcrmi,
sytlnges, they are not likely TO run an,
danger.
II China were inhabited by pigeon,
instead OF 10y people who speak pigcor
English, n costly war and no end o
controversy might have been averted
for pigeons are not demornliZed by
opium. You cannot put pigeon I,
sleep With the "drOwsy giant" simply
because there Is something In the blrd'
Interior which rcsists the narcotic In
fiuonce Of the morphine 10 whlcl
opium owes It's activity.
There Is little to connect the Russian
peasant with a goat-unlcss II II beard
yet nevertheless both have one trait
IN common neither * harmed by hem
loc6 II was the Juice of the hcmlock
So we have been told until we are tired
OF hcaring it that killed Socrates. Ever
since then II has been on the poison llst
as far ms civilized beings are concern
sd but, all the same. roots OF hemloch
nrc eaten ns food by the Russian peas
ant'-and by goats.
In one respect the peasant OF the
Aus trlan Tyrol resembles the hedge
hog because he can take In one dose
as much arsenic ns would XIII several
Al orleans, This Is not because the
pen SAINT Is provided with any specla
means OF combating the effects OF III,
drug, but because he hahituates him
self 10 It. The Tyrolean finds that mr.
sculc increases his power OF endurance