23. _Experiments on the Poison of the Viper_.—M. Desaulx confirms the fact that dogs can swallow with impunity even large quantities of the poison of vipers. He observed also that when this poison was withdrawn from the vesicles it soon lost in power, and after a certain time became inert: a portion ten days old being introduced into a fresh wound of a living animal, only caused slight tumefaction on the part. Mangili, on the contrary, found it, when hermetically sealed up, to retain its virulence for many months. The species of viper from which M. Desaulx obtained his poison is not mentioned.—_Bull. Univ._ C. xi. 142. 24. _Destruction of Moles_.—The following method of destroying moles is asserted, by the Count de Boisseulh, to be excellent. Grounds much infested by these animals have been perfectly freed from them by means of it. A number of worms must be procured, killed, and powdered with pulverised vomica-nut; the whole is to [p233] be mixed and left for twenty-four hours. The mole-tracks are then to be opened, and two or three of these worms placed in each hole. If the meadow is large, they cannot be placed in every hole; but by multiplying them as much as possible, a good result is sure to be obtained.—_Ann. de Agricul. de la Charente_. 25. _On growing Salad-herbs at Sea_.—On long sea-voyages, whatever esculent roots, or fruit, or whatever vegetable essences may be stowed in the steward’s stores, whether for the use of the officers or crew, nothing can be a greater treat to the former, especially within the tropics, than a dish of fresh salubrious salad-herbs. The want of such an addition to the ordinary fare on board a ship has often been a cause of disease, and misfortune, and even death!—it is needless, therefore, to insist on the usefulness, or to state the antiscorbutic, and consequently sanatory qualities, of fresh vegetables in such situations; and however limited the means to supply such a want as is described below, yet, as it may be highly useful to convalescents, and in individual cases, the publication may not be deemed altogether valueless. Provide one, two, or three deal boards, made of well-seasoned inch stuff, sixteen inches square, with a ledge all round, rising one inch above the smooth surface of the board; and as it is intended to hold water, the ledges must be closely and neatly fitted: at each corner a nail, or small hook, should be placed, with strings tied into a loop above, by which the board may be slung in the necessary horizontal position; a thin covering-board, made of the same material and dimensions, is also necessary, and which will serve for all the boards. Pieces of the _thickest_ flannel must be had for each board, cut so as to fit exactly within the ledges. These flannels require to be well soaked, and repeatedly washed in boiling water, before they can be used, to discharge from them whatever is pernicious to vegetation as they come from the manufacturer’s hands.