The influence of electricity upon vegetation has been the subject of
numerous investigations. Some have been made to ascertain the effects
of the electric current through the soil; others to ascertain the
effect of the electric light upon growth through the air. Among the
latter are those of Prof. L.H. Bailey of the Cornell University
Agricultural Experiment Station. In Bulletin No. 30 of the
Horticultural Department is given an account of experiments with the
electric light upon the growth of certain vegetables, like endive,
spinach, and radish; and upon certain flowers like the heliotrope,
petunia, verbena primula, etc. The results are interesting and
somewhat variable. The forcing house where the experiments were
carried on was 20 × 60 ft., and was divided into two portions by a
partition. In one of these the plants received light from the sun by
day and were in darkness at night. In the other they received the
sunlight and in addition had the benefit of an arc light the whole or
a part of the night. The experiment lasted from January until April
during two years, six weeks of the time the first year with a naked
light and the balance of the time with the light protected by an
ordinary white globe. It is not the purpose here to enter into any
great details, but to give the general conclusions.
The effect of the naked light running all night was to hasten
maturity, the nearer the plants being to the light the greater being
the acceleration. The lettuce, spinach, etc., "ran to seed" in the
"light" house long before similar plants in the dark. An examination
of the spinach leaves with the microscope showed the same amount of
starch in each, but in the electric light plants the grains were
larger, had more distinct markings and gave a deeper color with
iodine.
With lettuce it was found that the nearer the plants were to the light
the worse the effect; and conversely those furthest away were the best
developed. Cress and endive gave the same results. In the case of the
latter, some of the plants were shaded from the light by an iron post,
and these grew better and were larger than those exposed to its direct
rays. The average weight of eight plants in full light was 49.6
grains, as opposed to an average of six plants in the shade of 93.8
grains. Radishes were strongly attracted to the light and moved toward
it during the night. During the day they straightened up, but moved
again toward the light at night. The plants nearest the lamp made a
poor growth and were nearly dead at the end of six weeks. Averaging
the weight of plant, of top and of tuber, it was found that those
grown in the dark were heavier in every instance than those grown in
the light; and the percentage of marketable tubers from the
light-grown plants was twenty-seven, as opposed to seventy-eight in
the dark. Chemical analyses showed the plants in the light to be more
mature than those in the dark, although they were much smaller. Dwarf
peas showed the same facts, those in full light being smaller than
those in the dark. The former bloomed a week earlier than the latter,
but the production of seed was less, being only about four-sevenths as
great.
Further experiments were made by excluding the sun during the day and
exposing the plants to the diffused electric light only. In all cases,
with radishes, lettuce, peas, corn, and potatoes, the plants died in
about four weeks. Only a little starch and no chlorophyl was found in
the plants deprived of sunlight and only receiving the electric light.
Thus the experiments with a naked light showed conclusively that
"within range of an ordinary forcing house the naked arc light running
continuously through the night is injurious to some plants." In no
case did it prove profitable.
Experiments with the light inclosed in a white globe and running all
night were different in their results. The effect was much less
marked. Lettuce was decidedly better in the light house; radishes were
thrifty but did not produce as much as in the dark house. A third
series of experiments with the naked light running a part of the night
only were also made. Radishes, peas, lettuce, and many flowers were
experimented upon. The lettuce was greatly benefited by the light.
"Three weeks after transplanting (Feb. 5)," we are told, "both
varieties in the lighthouse were fully 50 per cent. in advance of
those in the dark house in size, and the color and other characters of
the plants were fully as good. The plants had received at this time
70½ hours of electric light. Just a month later the first heads were
sold from the light house, but it was six weeks later when the first
heads were sold from the dark house. In other words, the electric
light plants were two weeks ahead of the others. This gain had been
purchased by 161¾ hours of electric light, worth at current prices of
street lighting about $7."
This experiment was repeated with the same results. In the second
experiment the plants receiving eighty-four hours of electric light,
costing $3.50, were ready for market ten days before the plants in the
dark house. The influence of the light upon color of flowers was
variable. With tulips the colors of the lighted plants were deeper and
richer than the others, but they faded after four or five days.
Verbenas were injured in every case, being of shorter growth and
losing their flowers sooner than those in the dark house. "Scarlet,
dark red, blue and pink flowers within three feet of the light soon
turned to a grayish white." Chinese primulas seven feet from the light
were unaffected, but those four feet away were changed. Lilac colors
were bleached to pure white when the light struck them fairly. An
elaborate series of tables of the effect of the light is given in the
paper. The author believes it possible that the electric light may be
used some day to pecuniary advantage in floricultural establishments.
These experiments naturally open up many questions. Those which will
be of most importance to the practical man will be such as relate to
the benefits to be derived from the use of the electric light. That
electricity has a great effect upon vegetation can no longer be
denied. What remains now is to ascertain how to use the force with the
most economy and to the best advantage. If by its use early vegetables
will be made earlier, bright flowers be made brighter, it will be a
question of only a short time before it will come into general use. To
the student of plant physiology there are also many questions of
interest, but into these it is not the intention to enter. Prof.
Bailey's general conclusions are, in part, as follows: "There are a
few points which are clear: the electric light promotes assimilation,
it often hastens growth and maturity, it is capable of producing
natural flavors and colors in fruits, it often intensifies colors of
flowers and sometimes increases the production of flowers. The
experiments show that periods of darkness are not necessary to the
growth and development of plants. There is every reason, therefore, to
suppose that the electric light can be profitably used in the growing
of plants. It is only necessary to overcome the difficulties, the
chief of which are the injurious influences upon plants near the
light, the too rapid hastening to maturity in some species, and in
short the whole series of practical adjustments of conditions to
individual circumstances. Thus far, to be sure, we have learned more
of the injurious effects than of the beneficial ones, but this only
means that we are acquiring definite facts concerning the whole
influence of electric light upon vegetation; and in some cases,
notably in our lettuce tests, the light has already been found to be a
useful adjunct to forcing establishments.... It is highly probable
that there are certain times in the life of the plant when the
electric light will prove to be particularly helpful. Many experiments
show that injury follows its use at that critical time when the
planetlet is losing its support from the seed and is beginning to
shift for itself, and other experiments show that good results follow
from its later use.... On the whole, I am inclined toward Siemens'
view that there is a future for electro-horticulture."
JOSEPH P. JAMES.
Washington, Jan. 20, 1892.
* * * * *
ELECTRICITY IN AGRICULTURE. By CLARENCE D. WARNER.
It is well known that currents of electricity exist in the atmosphere.
Clouds are charged and discharged. There is a constant change of
electricity from earth to air and from air to earth, the latter being
the great reservoir for all electricity. Hills, mountain peaks, trees,
high chimneys, spires, in fact all points elevated above the earth's
surface assist greatly in charging and discharging the atmosphere.
Again, if two iron rods are driven into the earth and connected by a
copper wire with an electrometer in the circuit, the instrument is
almost immediately affected, showing that currents of electricity are
running through the ground. Now, what is the function of these
atmospheric and ground electric currents? Many scientists are agreed
that certain forms of precipitation are due to electrical action; but
my observations have led me to believe conclusively that electricity
is a potent factor in the economy of nature, and has more to do with
the growth and development of plants than has hitherto been known.
Davy succeeded in the decomposition of the alkalies, potash and soda,
by means of electric currents. In our laboratories, water and ternary
compounds are rapidly decomposed by the battery, and we may reasonably
suppose that that which is effected in our laboratories by artificial
means takes place in the great laboratory of nature on a grander and
more extended scale.
Plant food is carried throughout the plant by means of the flow of
sap; these currents circulate through all the rootlets and center, as
it were, in the stalk, carrying their tiny burdens of various elements
and depositing them in their proper places. That this phenomenon of
circulation is due to electricity cannot be doubted. Most plants grow
more rapidly during the night than in the day. May not the following
be a reason for this?
We have already mentioned how electric currents pass from air to earth
and _vice versa_; at night the plant is generally covered with dew and
the plant itself becomes a good conductor, and, consequently, currents
of electricity pass to each through this medium, and during the
passage convert soil elements into plant food and stimulate the upward
currents to gather up the dissolved elements and carry them to their
proper places.
From the time electricity became a science, much research has been
made to determine its effect, if any, upon plant growth. The earlier
investigations gave in many cases contradictory results. Whether this
was due to a lack of knowledge of the science on the part of the one
performing the experiments, or some defect in the technical
applications, we are not prepared to say; but this we do know, that
such men as Jolabert, Nollet, Mainbray and other eminent physicists
affirmed that electricity favored the germination of seeds and
accelerated the growth of plants; while, on the other hand,
Ingenhouse, Sylvestre and other savants denied the existence of this
electric influence. The heated controversies and animated discussions
attending the opposing theories stimulated more careful and thorough
investigations, which establish beyond a doubt that electricity has a
beneficial effect on vegetation. Sir Humphry Davy, Humboldt, Wollaston
and Becquerel occupied themselves with the theoretical side of the
question; but it was not till after 1845 that practical electroculture
was undertaken. Williamson suggested the use of gigantic electrostatic
machines, but the attempts were fruitless. The methods most generally
adopted in experiments consisted of two metallic plates--one of copper
and one of zinc--placed in the soil and connected by a wire. Sheppard
employed the method in England in 1846 and Forster used the same in
Scotland. In the year 1847 Hubeck in Germany surrounded a field with a
network of wires. Sheppard's experiments showed that electricity
increased the return from root crops, while grass perished near the
electrodes, and plants developed without the use of electricity were
inferior to those grown under its influence. Hubeck came to the
conclusion that seeds germinated more rapidly and buckwheat gave
larger returns; in all other cases the electric current produced no
result. Professor Fife in England and Otto von Ende in Germany carried
on experiments at the same time, but with negative results, and these
scientists advised the complete abandonment of applying electricity to
agriculture. After some years had elapsed Fichtner began a series of
experiments in the same direction. He employed a battery, the two
wires of which were placed in the soil parallel to each other. Between
the wires were planted peas, grass and barley, and in every case the
crop showed an increase of from thirteen to twenty-seven per cent.
when compared with ordinary methods of cultivation.
Fischer, of Waldheim, believing atmospheric electricity to aid much in
the growth and development of plants, made the following tests:
He placed metallic supports to the number of about sixty around each
hectare (2.47 acres) of loam; these supports were provided at their
summits with electrical accumulators in the form of crowns surmounted
with teeth. These collectors were united by metallic connection. The
result of this culture applied to cereals was to increase the crop by
half.
The following experiment was also tried: Metallic plates sixty-five
centimeters by forty centimeters were placed in the soil. These plates
were alternately of zinc and copper and placed about thirty meters
apart, connected two and two, by a wire. The result was to increase
from twofold to fourfold the production of certain garden plants. Mr.
Fischer says that it is evidently proved that electricity aids in the
more complete breaking up of the soil constituents. Finally he says
that plants thus treated mature more quickly, are almost always
perfectly healthy, and are not affected with fungoid growth.
Later, N. Specnew, inspired by the results arrived at by his
predecessors, was led to investigate the influence of electricity on
plants in every stage of their development; the results of his
experiments were most satisfactory and of practical interest. He began
by submitting different seeds to the action of an electric current,
and found that their development was rendered more rapid and complete.
He experimented with the seeds of haricot beans, sunflowers, winter
and spring rye. Two lots, of twelve groups of one hundred and twenty
seeds each, were plunged into water until they swelled, and while wet
the seeds were introduced into long glass cylinders, open at both
ends. Copper disks were pressed against the seeds, the disks were
connected with the poles of an induction coil, the current was kept on
for one or two minutes and immediately afterward the seeds were sown.
The temperature was kept from 45° to 50° Fahrenheit, and the
experiments repeated four times. The following table shows the
results:
Peas. Beans. Barley. Sunflowers.
Days. Days. Days. Days.
Electrified seeds developed in 2.5 3 2 8.5
Non-electrified seeds developed in 4 6 5 15
It was also observed that the plants coming from electrified seeds
were better developed, their leaves were much larger and their color
brighter than in those plants growing from non-electrified seeds. The
current did not affect the yield.
At the Botanical Gardens at Kew, the following experiment was tried:
Large plates of zinc and copper (0.445 meter and 0.712 meter) were
placed in the soil and connected by wires, so arranged that the
current passed through the ground; the arrangement was really a
battery of (zinc | earth | copper). This method was applied to pot
herbs and flowering plants and also to the growing of garden produce;
in the latter case the result was a large crop and the vegetables
grown were of enormous size.
Extensive experiments in electroculture were also made at Pskov,
Russia. Plots of earth were sown to rye, corn, oats, barley, peas,
clover and flax; around these respective plots were placed insulating
rods, on the top of which were crown-shaped collectors--the latter
connected by means of wires. Atmospheric electricity was thus
collected above the seeds, and the latter matured in a highly
electrified atmosphere; the plots were submitted to identical
conditions and the experiments were carried on for five years. The
results showed a considerable increase in the yield of seed and straw,
the ripening was more rapid and the barley ripened nearly two weeks
earlier with electroculture. Potatoes grown by the latter method were
seldom diseased, only to 5 per cent., against 10 to 40 per cent. by
ordinary culture.
Grandeau, at the School of Forestry at Nancy, found by experiment that
the electrical tension always existing between the upper air and soil
stimulated growth. He found plants protected from the influence were
less vigorous than those subject to it.
Macagno, also believing that the passage of electricity from air
through the vine to earth would stimulate growth, selected a certain
number of vines, all of the same variety and all in the same condition
of health and development. Sixteen vines were submitted to experiment
and sixteen were left to natural influences. In the ends of the vines
under treatment, pointed platinum wires were inserted, to which were
attached copper wires, leading to the tops of tall poles near the
vines; at the base of these same vines other platinum wires were
inserted and connected by copper wires with the soil. At the close of
the experiment, which began April 15, and lasted till September 16,
the wood, leaves and fruit of both sets of vines were submitted to
careful analysis with the following results:
Without conductor. With conductor.
Moisture per cent. 78.21 79.84
Sugar. 16.86 18.41
Tartaric acid. 0.880 0.791
Bitartrate of potash. 0.180 0.186
Thus we see that the percentage of moisture and sugar is greater and
the undesirable acid lower in those vines subject to electrical
influences than in those left to natural conditions. There are also
experiments which prove the beneficial effects of electricity on vines
attacked by phylloxera.
The following experiments were made at this station: Several plots
were prepared in the greenhouse, all of which had the same kind of
soil and were subjected to like influences and conditions. Frames in
the form of a parallelogram, about three feet by two feet, were put
together; across the narrow way were run copper wires in series of
from four to nine strands, each series separated by a space about four
inches wide, and the strands by a space of one-half inch. These frames
were buried in the soil of the plot at a little depth, so that the
roots of the garden plants set would come in contact with the wires,
the supposition being that the currents of electricity passing along
the wires would decompose into its constituents the plant food in the
vicinity of the roots and more readily prepare it for the plants. Two
electric gardens were thus prepared and each furnished with two common
battery cells, so arranged as to allow continuous currents to pass
through each series of wires. Near each electric garden was a plot
prepared in the same manner, save the electrical apparatus. We will
call the two gardens A and B.
The place chosen for the experiments was in a part of the greenhouse
which is given up largely to the raising of lettuce, and the gardens
were located where much trouble from mildew had been experienced. The
reason for this choice of location was to notice, if any, the effect
of electricity upon mildew, this disease being, as it is well known, a
source of much trouble to those who desire to grow early lettuce. The
soil was carefully prepared, the material taken from a pile of loam
commonly used in the plant house.
Garden A was located where mildew had been the most detrimental; the
experiments began the first of January and closed the first of April.
For the garden, fifteen lettuce plants of the head variety were
selected, all of the same size and of the same degree of vitality, as
nearly as could be determined; the plants were set directly over the
wires, so that the roots were in contact with the latter; the plants
were well watered and cared for as in ordinary culture, and the fluid
in the battery cells was renewed from time to time, that the current
of electricity might not become too feeble. At the close of the
experiments the following results were noted:
Five plants died from mildew, the others were well developed and the
heads large. The largest heads were over the greatest number of wires
and nearest the electrodes. It was further noticed that the healthiest
and largest plants, as soon as the current became feeble or ceased
altogether, began to be affected with mildew. On examining the roots
of the plants it was found that they had grown about the wires as if
there they found the greatest amount of nourishment; the roots were
healthy and in no way appeared to have been injured by the current,
but, rather, much benefited by the electrical influences.
Beside garden A was prepared another plot of the same dimensions,
having the same kind of soil and treated in like manner as the first,
but the electrical apparatus and wires were wanting. At the close of
the experiments only three plants had partially developed, and two of
these were nearly destroyed by mildew--one only was free from the
disease. The results, therefore, show that the healthiest and largest
plants grew in the electric plot.
In the second experiment, which we called B, twenty plants of the same
variety of lettuce and of equal size were taken. The treatment given
was the same as the plants in plot A received. Five plants only
remained unaffected with mildew; seven died from the disease when they
were half grown; the rest were quite well developed, but at the last
part of the experiment began to be affected. Several heads were large,
the largest being over the greatest number of wires and nearest the
electrodes. Examination of the roots disclosed the same phenomena as
in A.
Near plot B were also set twenty other plants, subjected to like
conditions as the first, but without electricity; all but one died
from mildew before they were half grown, the solitary plant that
survived being only partly developed at the close of the experiment,
and even this was badly affected with the disease.
Everything considered, the results were in favor of electricity. Those
plants subjected to the greatest electrical influence were hardier,
healthier, larger, had a better color, and were much less affected by
mildew than the others. Experiments were made with various grasses,
but no marked results were obtained.
The question would naturally arise whether there may not be a limit
reached where electricity would completely overcome the attack of
mildew and stimulate the plant to a healthy and vigorous condition
throughout its entire growth. From the fact that the hardiest,
healthiest, and largest heads of lettuce grew over the greatest number
of currents and nearest the electrodes, it would seem that electricity
is one of the agents employed by nature to aid in supplying the plant
with nourishment and to stimulate its growth. To what extent plants
may be submitted to electrical influence, or what strength of current
is best suited to them and what currents prove detrimental to their
development, have not been determined as yet, but it is desirable to
continue this research until some definite information shall be gained
on these points. Probably different varieties of plants differ greatly
in their capacity for enduring the action of electric currents without
injury--experiment alone must determine this.
It has been proved that the slow discharge of static electricity
facilitates the assimilation of nitrogen by plants. Faraday showed
that plants grown in metallic cages, around which circulated electric
currents, contained 50 per cent. less organic matter than plants grown
in the open air. It would seem from the researches of the latter
physicist that those plants requiring a large percentage of nitrogen
for their development would be remarkably benefited if grown under
electric influence.--_Massachusetts Agricultural College, Bulletin No
16._
[A very interesting article on the Influence of Electricity upon
Plants, illustrated, is given in SUPPLEMENT 806. It presents the
results of the studies of Prof. Lemstrom, of Helsingfors.]
* * * * *
THE TREATMENT OF RATTLESNAKE BITE BY PERMANGANATE OF POTASSIUM,
BASED ON NINE SUCCESSFUL CASES.
By AMOS W. BARBER, M.D.,[1] Cheyenne.
[Footnote 1: Governor of Wyoming.]
Poisoned wounds, inflicted by the fangs of the rattlesnake, are
happily more rare each year, since, as the country is becoming more
populated, the crotalus is rapidly being exterminated. Yet,
considering the recklessness which characterizes the cow boy in his
treatment of this reptile, it is astonishing that this class of injury
is not more common. Thus it is the invariable custom among the
cattlemen to dismount and destroy these snakes whenever they are seen.
This is readily accomplished, since a slight blow will break the back.
This blow is, however, generally delivered by means of the quirt, a
whip not over two and a half feet long, and hence a weapon which
brings the one who wields it in unpleasant proximity to the fangs of
the reptile. A still more dangerous practice, and one which I have
frequently seen, is a method of playing with the rattlesnake for the
delectation of the cow boy at the expense of a "tenderfoot." It is
well known that unless a snake is coiled, or held by the tail or body,
or placed at length in a hole or crevice so narrow that by rendering
its length sinuous a certain amount of support is given, it cannot
strike. On this theory a mounted cow boy first puts a rattler to
flight, then pushes his pony in pursuit, stoops from the saddle,
seizes it by the tail, gives a quick upward jerk, and, swinging it so
rapidly around his head that it is impossible for it to strike, sets
off in pursuit of whoever has exhibited most terror at the sight of
the reptile. When within fair distance he hurls the snake at the
unfortunate victim, in the full assurance that even should it strike
him it cannot bury its fangs in his flesh, since it is impossible for
it to coil till it reaches the ground. This is a jest of which I have
frequently been the victim, nor have I yet learned to appreciate it
with unalloyed mirth.
The belief that rattlesnakes always give warning before striking is
not well founded. If come upon suddenly, they often strike first, and
if disturbed when in a space so narrow that the coil cannot be formed,
they may give no warning of their presence beyond the penetration of
the fangs into the hand or foot of an intruder. One such case I saw.
It seems to be well established that a snake will not voluntarily
crawl over a hair rope, and in certain parts of the country it is
common for campers-out to surround their beds with such a rope, since
the reptiles seek warmth, and are frequently found under or in the
blankets of those sleeping on the ground.
After an exceptionally large experience with wounds inflicted by the
fangs of the rattlesnake, and an experience which, I am glad to say,
has been most successful in its outcome, I think it my duty to add,
from a practical standpoint, my testimony as to the efficacy of
permanganate of potassium in the treatment of this class of cases.
This drug was first introduced by Lacerda, of Brazil, and, if more
generally used, would, I believe, render comparatively innocuous a
class of injury which now usually terminates in death.
I make this statement as to the fatality of crotalus poison advisedly.
I know the belief is very common that the poison of a rattlesnake is
readily combated by full doses of whisky. This is fallacious. I have
taken the pains to investigate a number of instances of cure resulting
from the employment of free stimulation. In each case the fangs did
not penetrate deeply into the tissues, but either scratched over the
surface or tore through, making a wound of entrance and exit, so that
the poison, or at least the major part of it, was not injected into
the tissues of the person struck. The effect is very much the same as
when an inexperienced practitioner picks up a fold of skin for the
purpose of making a hypodermic injection, and plunges his needle
entirely through, forcing the medicament wide of his patient.
Nearly all, if not all, of the cases treated by stimulation alone
have, according to my experience, perished if they have received a
full dose of virus from a vigorous snake. One of these cases lived for
upward of a month. He then perished of what might be considered a
chronic pyæmia, the symptoms being those of blood poisoning,
accompanied by multiple abscesses. Another case, not occurring in my
own practice, died at the end of four days apparently of cardiac
failure. Active delirium persisted all through this case. Two other
cases treated by stimulants also died with symptoms of more or less
acute blood poisoning.
The feeling is almost universal among the people of Wyoming that a
fair strike from a rattlesnake is certain death, and that the free use
of stimulants simply postpones the end. I do not for a moment deny
that a strong, lusty man may be struck fairly by a rattlesnake and if
the wound is at once opened and cauterized, and the heart judiciously
supported, he may yet recover; still the fact remains that the great
majority of these cases perish at a longer or shorter interval
following the infliction of the wound. Hence any treatment that will
save even the majority of such cases is a distinct gain, and one which
has saved every one of nine cases to which it has been applied needs
no further commendation.
The first case of rattlesnake wound to which I was called occurred in
1885. A cow boy was bitten on the foot, the fang penetrating through
the boot. He was brought forty miles to Fort Fetterman, where I was
then stationed. I saw him about twenty-four hours after he was struck.
There was an enormous swelling, extending up to the knee. The whole
limb was bronzed in appearance. There was no special discoloration
about the wound; in fact, the swelling disguised this to such an
extent that it was impossible to determine exactly where the fangs had
entered. The pulse was scarcely perceptible at the wrist; the heart
was beating with excessive rapidity. The patient was suffering great
pain. His mind was clear, but he was oppressed with a dreadful
anxiety. Up to the time I saw him he had received absolutely no
treatment, excepting the application of a cactus poultice to the leg,
since there was no whisky at the ranch where he was wounded. I at once
made free incisions, five or six in number, from one to two inches in
depth, and about three inches in length. These cuts gave him very
little pain, nor was there much bleeding, though there was an enormous
amount of serous oozing. Into these wounds was poured a fifteen per
cent. solution of permanganate of potassium, and fully half an hour
was devoted to kneading this drug into the tissues. In addition I made
many hypodermic injections into all portions of the swollen tissue,
but particularly about the wound. Since there was no very distinct
line of demarkation between the swollen and healthy tissue, I did not,
as in other cases, endeavor to prevent the extension of the cellular
involvement by a complete circle of hypodermic injections. I employed,
in all, about forty grains of the permanganate. In addition to the
local treatment I pushed stimulation, employing carbonate of ammonium
and whisky. By means of diuretics and laxatives the kidneys and bowels
were encouraged to eliminate as much of the poison as possible.
The patient went on to uninterrupted recovery. The wound healed with
very little sloughing. The patient returned to his work in about a
month. The cure of this case was regarded by the cow boys as most
exceptional, since, in their experience, similar cases, even though
very freely stimulated, had not recovered.
Some time later I was called to see a girl, aged 14, who was struck by
a rattlesnake, fifty-six miles from Fort Fetterman. There was some
trouble about procuring relays, and I was compelled to ride the same
horse all the way out. This took a little short of five hours. This,
together with the time consumed in sending me word, caused an interval
of about twenty hours between the infliction of the injury and the
time I saw the patient. I found the fangs had entered on either side
of the distal joint of the middle metacarpal bone. The arm was
enormously swollen, almost to the axilla, and exhibited a bronzed
discoloration; this was especially marked about the wound and along
the course of the lymphatics. The swollen area was _boggy_ to the
touch, and exhibited a distinct line of demarkation between the
healthy and diseased tissues, excepting along the course of the
brachial vessels, where the indurated discolored area extended as a
broad band into the axilliary lymphatics, which were distinctly
swollen. The patient was delirious, was harrassed by terror,
complained bitterly of pain, and had an exceedingly feeble, rapid
heart action. There was marked dyspnoea, and all the signs of
impending dissolution. I at once made free multiple incisions into all
parts of the inflamed tissue, carrying two of my cuts through the
wounds made by the fangs of the snake. In the arm these incisions were
several inches long and from one to two inches deep. As in the former
case, the bleeding was slight, but there was a free exudation of
serum. Into these wounds a fifteen per cent. permanganate of potassium
solution was poured, and as much as possible was kneaded into the
tissues. In addition multiple hypodermic injections were made, these
being carried particularly into the bitten region, and circularly
around the arm just at the border of the line of demarkation, thus
endeavoring to limit by a complete circle of the antiseptic solution
the further extension of the inflammatory process. In the region of
the brachial vessels I hesitated to make my injections as thoroughly
as in the rest of the circumference of the arm, fearing lest the
permanganate of potassium might injure important vessels or nerves.
This treatment caused very little pain, but immediately after the
constitutional symptoms became distinctly aggravated. I stimulated
freely, and at once made preparations to take the patient to the Fort
Fetterman hospital. She was transported over the fifty-six miles, I
riding the same horse back again, and arriving at Fort Fetterman the
same evening.
The after treatment of this case was comparatively simple. She was
stimulated freely as long as cardiac weakness was manifested. As in
the former case, diuretics and laxatives were employed. The arm was
wrapped in cloth soaked in a weak permanganate solution, was placed in
a splint, and was loosely bandaged. There was some sloughing, but this
was treated on general surgical principles. The patient recovered the
entire use of her arm, and was turned out cured in about six weeks.
The third case I saw about fourteen hours after he was struck. The
patient was a healthy blacksmith, about 30 years of age. The wound was
at about the middle of the forearm, the fangs entering toward the
ulnar side. When I saw the patient he exhibited comparatively trifling
symptoms. His heart action was rapid, and he was suffering from the
typical despondency and terror, but I could not note the profound
systemic depression characteristic of the great majority of cases.
Surrounding the wound and extending up the forearm for several inches
there was a boggy swelling, exhibiting a sharp line of demarkation. It
was bronzed in color, and was apparently spreading. I at once applied
the intermittent ligature just above the elbow, and injected the
permanganate of potassium solution freely all through the involved
tissues, particularly in the region of the bite and about the
periphery of the swelling, surrounding the latter by a complete ring
of injections.
The general treatment of this patient was continued on the same
general line as described in the former cases, stimulants being
employed moderately. He recovered without any bad symptoms. There was
no sloughing; the swelling disappeared without any necrosis of tissue.
He is still pursuing his trade in Cheyenne, and suffers from
absolutely no disability.
I saw but one case shortly after the wound was inflicted. This patient
was a healthy young man, who was struck about the middle of the dorsal
surface of the hand, the fangs entering on each side of a metacarpal
bone, and the poison lodging apparently in the palm of the hand. The
patient, when seen, exhibited the characteristic terror and
depression, weak, rapid heart action, and agonizing local pain. I made
two small incisions in the region of the wound upon the dorsum of the
hand, and injected permanganate of potassium freely. This patient
ultimately recovered, but only after sloughing and prolonged
suppuration. I believe that had I incised freely and at once from the
palmar surface, I would have been spared this unpleasant complication.
I have had in all nine cases, and without a single death. The others
are in their general features and in the treatment employed quite
similar to those given.
The symptoms resulting from snake bite poison are strikingly like
those dependent upon the violent septic poison seen in pre-antiseptic
times. There is often the same prodromal chill, the high elevation of
temperature, the profound effect on the circulation, and the rapid
cellular involvement. The tissue disturbance following snake poisoning
differs from ordinary cellulitis, however, in the following
particulars: The color is _bronze_, not red; the involved area is
_boggy_, not brawny; and the extension of the process is _exceedingly
rapid_.
The treatment applicable to one condition seems to be equally
successful when applied to the other. In cellulitis, free incisions,
antiseptic lotions, and active stimulation are the three means upon
which the surgeon mainly depends, and in combating the local and
general symptoms excited by snake bite poisoning, the same treatment
has given me the successful results detailed above. Whether or not
permanganate of potassium is more active than other antiseptics in
snake bite poisoning I am not prepared to state, but the high
authority of S. Weir Mitchell, together with my own experience, does
not incline me to substitute any other drug at present.
I would formulate the treatment for poison of the rattlesnake as
follows:
1. Free incisions to the bottom of the wound and immediate
cauterization; or, if this is not practicable, sucking of the wound.
2. The immediate application of an intermittent tourniquet, that is,
one which is relaxed for a moment at a time, so that the poison may
gain admission into the circulation in small doses.