MADSTONE, a vegetable substance or stone which when applied to a wound caused by the bite of a mad dog is said to prevent hydro phobia. The most famous one in the United States is owned by the descendants of a family named Fred, in Virginia. This stone was brought over from Scotland in 1776. It is said to be the one spoken of by Sir Walter Scott in The Talisman) and has been religiously pre served as one of the most valuable relics of the age. It is about two inches long by one inch broad, and about half an inch thick, and is of a chocolate color. When applied to the wound it adheres till all the poison is absorbed, when it drops off. It is then soaked in warm milk or water for a time, and when removed the liquid is found to be full of a greenish-yellow scum. It is said that of the 130 cases in which it has been applied for the bite of a mad dog, none ever suffered from hydrophobia. There are
said to be three authenticated madstones in the United States.
The belief in a madstone was common hun dreds of years ago in the East, and travelers in India in 1677 and 1685 make mention of it. Tradition said it grew on the head of certain snakes. George F. Kunz, a New York expert in gems, identifies the madstone, or snakestone, of the East, with the stone known as tabersheer, which is a variety of opal found in the joints of the bamboo in Hindustan and Burma. This stone is formed of juice which by evaporation becomes mucilaginous, then a solid substance, and when placed in the mouth will adhere to the palate or cause water to boil. Sir David Brewster says it is found in the joints of dis eased corn-stalks and is formed by sap depos iting silica.