Symptoms of Phalline Poisoning.— instead of acting on the heart as does muscarine, toxic agent of the "death-cup"—tends to dissolve the blood-corpuscles, thus bringing about a condition simulating cholera. Severe cramps in the abdomen and lower limbs, particularly, come on a few hours after ingestion of the fungus. Violent rhoea, the stools becoming choleraic, rice-water stools, — vomiting, algidity, collapse, cyanosis, muscular contraction, and convulsions sometimes follow one another in more or less rapid succession: a series of symptoms differing entirely from muscarine poisoning. The toms increase in intensity without the mental hebetude and torpor witnessed in the latter, though, when death is ap proached in from two to four days, creasing somnolence, due to carbonic acid poisoning, may be witnessed. The prognosis is far less favorable than in muscarine poisoning.
Treatment of Phalline Poisoning. Unless free vomiting and diarrhcea have already relieved the stomach and in testines of what portion of the fungus may remain, the seine precautionary measures in this particular should be re sorted to as in muscarine poisoning. Unfortunately, there is no known anti dote for phalline, but, common salt act ing as a solvent, intravenous injections of normal salt solution (7 parts of mon salt to 1000 parts of water) might be tried. Transfusion of blood might
also prove of value.
The patient is not out of danger for some days even after alleviation of the most active symptoms. He should, there fore, be closely watched and his strength sustained, as indicated under the pre vious heading.
If the amount of phalline already taken up by the system is not too large, it may wear itself out on the blood, and the patient may recover. It is suggested that this wearing-out process may be as sisted by transfusing into the veins blood freshly taken from some warm-blooded animal. The depletion of the blood serum might be remedied by similar transfusions of salt and warm water. Chestnut (Ciro. No. 13, Division of Botany, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, '98).
Scrum-therapy applied to mushroom poisoning. The guinea-pig and especially the rabbit are very susceptible to phal line. In these two animals the poison is inactive when taken by the mouth, but kills in minute doses when introduced intravenously or subcutaneously. Toler ance was easily established. Having re gard to the weight of the animal, it can quickly be brought to sustain very large doses. Claisse (Gaz. Ilebdom. de Med. et de Chir., June 23, '9S).