THE CHEMICAL STUDY OF SNAKE-VENOMS 163 
of liquid, which contains a small quantity of proteids in solution. 
These proteids can be nothing but a mixture of proto- and deutero- 
albumoses with peptones. That there is actually no trace of the 
latter can easily be ascertained. 
Neumeister! has shown that it is impossible to precipitate all 
the proto-albumoses of a solution by saturation with neutral salts, 
and, since the filtrate becomes slightly turbid when a few drops 
of a5 per cent. solution of sulphate of copper are added to it, we 
must conclude that it contains a small proportion of these proto- 
albumoses. 
The deposit retained upon the filter after washing with sulphate 
of magnesium is redissolved in distilled water, and dialysed for three 
days. An abundant precipitate then becomes collected in the 
dialyser. This is centrifuged. The clear liquid is decanted with 
a pipette, then concentrated by dialysis in absolute alcohol, and 
finally evaporated at 40° C. until completely desiccated. The solid 
residue is washed and centrifuged several times in distilled water, 
after which it is dried on chloride of sodium. 
This method enables us to separate two albumoses, both pre- 
cipitable by saturation with sulphate of magnesium, and belonging 
to the class of primary albumoses : one of these, proto-albumose, 
is soluble in distilled water, the other, hetero-albumose, is insoluble ; 
but the latter can be dissolved in dilute solutions of neutral salts. 
These bodies are respectively identical with those obtained by the 
pepsic digestion of proteids.” 
In order to study separately the local and general effects of 
these different albumoses, C. J. Martin and MacGarvie Smith 
performed the following experiment :— 
They introduced beneath the skin of the belly of a guinea- 
pig, previously shaved and rendered aseptic, two small pieces of 
sterilized sponge, about 2 c.mm., one of which was impregnated 
' Zeitschrift fiir Biologie, xxiii. 
2 Kühne and Chittenden, ‘‘ Ueber Albumosen,” Zeitschrift für Biologie, 1884. 
