138 OPHIDIANS. . 
vein to the coronary arteries of the heart in 7 seconds, and 
was distributed through the circulation in 9 seconds. 
Dr. Fayrer recommends the application of a ligature with- 
out delay in cases of snake-bites; but there is not a single 
case on record where its application has proved of any use 
whatever,and this fact also accords with my own experience. 
To test this point, Dr. Shorlt, of Madras, seized the promi- 
nent part of the’ myscles of a dog’s hind leg with a stout pair 
of forceps, under the points of which a ligature was passed 
with a strong cord; this was drawn as tightly as possible 
with the force of a strong man, and the portion of the muscle 
remaining above the ligature was of the size of a grain of 
cocoa. An assistant held a pair of scissors just over the liga- 
ture. The fang of a live Cobra was passed through the part 
just above the scissors, and, the instant the fang was drawn, 
the projecting part was excised close to the ligature. 
What appreciable portion of poison could have passed into 
the circulation in the second or two that elapsed between the 
injection of the venom and the excision of the part? Yet 
death ensued in an hour! Had the dog been bitten by the 
snake in his hinder parts death would have ensued in from 
30 to 40 minutes. This was a case in which the deadliness 
of the poison could not be doubted ; but the application of 
the ligature only delayed the mortal result a few minutes. 
To determine the degree of virulence of the different poisons 
it will be necessary to institute a series of experiments with 
animals of the same kind, of as nearly the same age as 
possible. The poison must be introduced into the same vein, 
at the same distance from the heart, and in (as nearly as pos- 
sible), the same quantity. 
In the experiments which have already been made, and in 
the cases of snake-bites given in another part of this work, 
the facts prove that, when the poison is introduced into the 
