_Ivy Poisoning from Touch._--One of the two species of _Rhus_, is exceedingly common in all portions of the United States, producing a severe inflammation of the skin when handled, or even in some persons by merely being near the plants or in the smoke of a fire where they are burning. There are two varieties of the _Rhus toxicodendron_, one being the shrub commonly called _poison oak_, and the other a climbing vine generally known by the name of poison ivy. The _Rhus venenata_ grows in swampy localities all over the United States, and is known as poison-sumac, swamp dog-wood, poison-elder, and poison dog-wood. About twenty-four to forty-eight hours after the exposure, the skin begins to itch, and this is shortly followed by an inflammation accompanied by the formation of numerous small blisters, and still later by scaling. It should not be forgotten that the berries and other portions of these plants are poisonous when taken internally, giving rise under such circumstances to vertigo, faintness, dilation of the pupils, trembling, confusion of the senses, and, in some instances, convulsions. Should it be discovered that anyone has been exposed to poisoning by these plants, the skin should be washed as quickly as is possible with alcohol, or some substance like whisky that contains it; where this cannot be obtained, hot water and soap should be liberally applied--the object, in either case, being the removal of as much of the poison as is possible. After the irritation of the skin has begun, the parts may be bathed in a one per cent. solution of carbolic acid, to be repeated every few hours, as the necessities of the case may demand. Lead-water is also frequently used with benefit, lime-water also appears to be of use, but the various powders and salves sold in stores rarely help the patient much. The best thing after all is soap and water as hot as it can be borne; and ordinarily the itching and inflammation will disappear in four or five days, followed by scaling. VENOMOUS SNAKES AND SNAKE BITES. Much popular misapprehension exists on the subject of snakes, both as to the results of their bites and the appropriate treatment under such circumstances. It is not generally understood that a very large percentage of our American snakes are entirely harmless--the poisonous ones being decidedly more the exception than the rule. Within the confines of the United States there exist only two families of venomous serpents. By far the most numerous are three genera of viperine snakes, including the rattlesnakes and moccasins; all of these have a pit-like depression between the nose and eyes, and hence are called _pit-vipers_. In the southern portion of our country there are two species of a colubrine genus closely related to the dreaded cobra of the East, one of them being called the coral-snake or harlequin snake, and the other, which occurs in the southwest, is known as the Sonoran coral-snake.