POISON OF SOME INDIAN VENOMOUS SNAKES. 17 



distilled water and injected into the back of a guinea-pig, 

 weighing about a pound and a quarter. 



2.23. Injection made. 



2.26. The animal looks scared and is twitching. This 

 guinea-pig is very active. 



2.30. Another dose injected. The annual is twitching much. 

 It jumped out of the deep box in which it had been placed for 

 observation. Breathing is hurried. 



2.36. It seems better. Another dose injected into the thigh. 



2.45. Not much effect. Another dose injected. 



2.46. Twitching continues ; animal remains active. It 

 recovered. 



Means of preventing the Effects of the Poison. 



There are three ways in which the toxic effects of a poison 

 may be entirely prevented or greatly diminished. These are : — 

 1st, by preventing its admission into the blood ; 2nd, by 

 counteracting the effects it produces while it is circulating in 

 the body and sustaining life by artificial respiration; 3rd, by 

 quickening its elimination. The first of these methods is the 

 only one which has hitherto been of any great service in cases 

 of poisoning by the bite of cobras. Various attempts have 

 been made to counteract the effects of cobra-poison by means of 

 antidotes ; but the advantage derived from their use is still, to 

 say the least, doubtful. No special attempts, so far as we 

 know, have been made to hasten the elimination of the poison, 

 or at least none have been made avowedly for this purpose, 

 though it is possible that some of the antidotes may have had 

 that effect. This part of the subject we will treat in a future 

 paper. 



The subject of prevention of entry of the virus by ligature or 

 other mechanical measures has been fully discussed in the 

 Thanatopliidia ; it is unnecessary to recur to it here, for the 

 present at all events. 



For the purpose of attempting to counteract the effects of the 

 cobra-poison while it is circulating in the blood, it is necessary 

 to have some idea of its mode of action. 



(95) 



