290 VENOMOUS SNAKES AND THE PHENOMENA OF THEIR VENOMS 
fasciatus, and Enhydrina valakadien. In the case of each 1o or more lethal 
doses were neutralized by very small quantities of permanganate in solution 
(ro per cent), and in most of them 20 lethal doses were readily rendered 
harmless. This salt will neutralize about its own weight of the venom and 
is effective against every class of snake venom. 
After the injection of the venom the ligature is to be applied to the limb for 
30 seconds to 10 minutes, the release occurring in from 2 to 3.5 minutes. 
The results with rabbits were very encouraging, but better results were 
obtained with the experiments on cats. 
Practical Merit of the Treaiment : 
The practical value of the potassium permanganate treatment on human 
subjects may be very great. Rogers * has already reported 17 cases of snake 
bite in India in which this local treatment has been resorted to. The results 
recorded by him show that only 2 out of 17 cases ended fatally. In these 
cases nothing definite about the quantities of venom injected by the snakes 
could be learned, hence no conclusion can be drawn as to the absolute efficacy 
of potassium permanganate. It seems, however, that this salt has done 
much in averting death, as evidenced by the small mortality of cases thus 
treated in comparison with the deaths usually following the bites of these 
deadly Indian serpents where this treatment is not used. 
The table given by Rogers presents many interesting facts and it is given 
here for those interested in scrutinizing various points concerning the cases 
of snake bite in human subjects (table 42). 

TABLE 42. 
Sex Age Snake Fang | Site of bit Aneel) orimelhs 
“ : ; pa e. eaten ime bitten. Result. 
Male Ad. Daboia 1 ?6 Arm At once Day Recovered. 
Male 30 Cobra 1 2 Foot 30 mins. Evening Do. 
Female | 40 Cobra ! is Forearm 11 hrs. Midnight Died. 
Female | Ad. Daboia 1 2 Foot 30 mins. Morning Recovered. 
Male Ad. Daboia 1 2 Toe 45 mins. 9 P.M. Do. 
Male Ad. Daboia ! wa ? At once Day Do. 
Female Ad. Daboia 1 2 Foot 4 hrs. in Do. 
Male Ad Daboia ! 2 Foot 1 hr. Afternoon Do. 
Female 35 Cobra (seen) 2 2 Finger 30 mins. Io A.M. Do. 
Female Ch: p32 I Finger At once Noon Do. 
Male Ad. ras 2 Foot Soon 10 P.M. Do. 
Female | Ad. P2 a ? 9 hrs. 3 A.M. Died. 
1 Killed and identified. 2 Snake not killed. 
Several cases of snake bites have lately been successfully treated by the 
same method, but I deem it superfluous to record them at this place. 

1 Rogers. Five cases of snake bite successfully treated by the local application of permanganate of 
potash. Indian Med. Gazette, 1905, XL, 41. Twelve cases of snake bite treated by incision 
and application of permanganate of potash with ten recoveries. Indian Med. Gazette, 1905, 
XL, 369. 
