THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF SNAKE-VENOMS 175 



Venom of Notechis scutafiis (syn. HoplocepJialus curtus ; the 



Tiger Snake of Australia) : — 



Eabbit (by intravenous in- 

 jection, according to 

 Tidswell) 000006 gramme per kilogramme 



Venom of V'lpera riissellii (Daboia) : — 



Rabbit (by intravenous in- 

 jection, according to G. 

 Lamb) 0-00005 gramme per kilogramme 



Venom oi Lachesis gramineus (Green Pit-Viper, India) : — 



Rabbit (by intravenous in- 

 jection, according to G. 

 Lamb) ... ... ... 0'002 gramme per kilogramme 



Venom of Crotalus adamanteus (Californian liattle- Snake) : — 



Rabbit (by intravenous in- 

 jection, according to Mc- 

 Farland, G. Lamb, and 

 Flexner and Noguchi) ... 0-00025 gramme per kilogramme 



It will have been seen from the foregoing figures, that the 

 respective sensitiveness of the dog, cat, rabbit, guinea-pig, rat, 

 mouse, and frog, with regard to the same venom, is in no way 

 proportional to the weight of these animals. 



The species mentioned are, per unit of weight, more or less 

 resistant to intoxication ; and, on experimenting with other animals, 

 as for instance the monkey, pig, ass, and horse, we find that 

 the monkey is much more susceptible to intoxication than the dog, 

 and that the ass is extremely sensitive (0010 gramme of Cobra- 

 venom is sufficient to kill it), while the horse is less so, and the pig 

 is by far the most resistant. 



The same weight of dry Cobra-venom, let us say 1 gramme to 

 be precise, will enable us to kill 1,250 kilogrammes of dog, 2,000 

 kilogrammes of rabbit, 2,500 kilogrammes of guinea-pig, 1,430 

 kilogrammes of rat, or b,333 kilogrammes of mouse. 



