REMARKS UPON THE 



entirely n--o\erixl, I allows! her to depart. Sh- -a lied on tin- following murning to show 

 herself. 



"The Sunk.- unfortunately escaped, l.ut the wonuui described it an a ' Kula Sump,' whi. h 

 is the term ordinarily used for flu- Kobra Kapelle. 



14 1 have writt.-n the alx>ve entirely from memory, the OMB having occurred eight or nine 



\-ar- agO, 



"A middle-aged woman was brought to my door in the early part of the rainy season, 

 who had IH-.-H l>itt>n by a Snake at daybreak, while stooping down for the purpose of 



-A, ..-[.ilij I',,- |],.,,, V|,,. ,.;,]].., | ,,;., ,,, ,.,,. I,.,,,,;,. ,,; .|,.. |, ,,,,,. ,|,.,, ;, ,--,, ),;! |,J U .|| ).,-_ 



and nothing more was thought of it, iw her attention was directed to her infant, who became 

 fractious for the breast. She accordingly went to bed to give the child sustenance, and 

 not l"ii_' afterwords complained of giddiness. It was suggested to her that a Snake might 

 have l.itt.-n her, but she referred to a hole in the mud-wall from which the rat must have 

 darted out. 



"Nothing further transpired until the household \ven> ulurmed on finding her in a state 

 of insensibility, foaming at the mouth, and the infant at her breast. They were then 

 convinced that a Snake must have done the mischief, and immediately carried her off to 

 the charmer! After detaining the woman for a full hour, the fellow coolly told her 

 friends to take her off to the Commissioner, who would prescribe for her. The poor woman 

 had been dead for some time before the incantations were finished. On arriving at my house, 

 I found the deceased in a state of incipient decomposition, and, having heard the statement 

 of her friends, directed them to take the body away for the performance of funeral rites, 

 and to lose no time in bringing her infant, who was said to be suffering from the effects of the 

 poison. 



"The poor thing reached my house in a state of insensibility, though not dead. Its head 

 was hanging on its shoulder, and when raised beyond the perj>en<lirular would fall on the 

 opposite shoulder. The body was not cold, and that was the only in.lication that death had 

 not supervened. I selected one of the smallest of the leaves of the ArixMochia, and pounded 

 one-third of it, and, with a small table-spoonful of water, pum-.l the solution into the stomach. 

 After the lapse of four or five minutes the child heaved a deep sigh, opened its eyes wildly, 

 gave a loud scream, and afterwards became quite composed. The child was brought to me on 

 the following morning quite well." 



As this plant is so valuable, and seems likely to become an acknowledged remedy, a few 

 lines may be spared for a short description of the species, and the mode of its action. 



The Arutolocftin fmlira is one species of a rather large genus, inhabiting many parts of 

 the world, but being most plentiful in the hotter regions. It is a creeping plant, and the 

 sjierimens grown by Mr. Lowther were trained upon a trellis-work, which they clothed with 

 their narrow, abruptly pointed leaves. Another species of this group of plants, the Aritto- 

 lochia, serpentines, is not uncommmon in parts of North America, where it is known under the 

 title of the Virginian Snake-root. An infusion of this plant is used as a specific against ague 

 and liver affections. 



The fresh leaf of the Arixf<>Jn,-lin ///////-/ is, when tasted, very bitter and aromatic, bear- 

 ing some resemblance to quinine in the clear searching quality of the bitter. It is remarkable 

 that when persons are suffering from the poison of the Cobra, they describe it a.s l>eing sweet. 

 There is certainly a kind of sweetness in the leaf, for on chewing a dried leaf of this plant, 

 kindly sent me by Sir \\. Hooker, from the collection in the botanical gardens at Kew, I find 

 it to !* rather, but not very bitter, with a ]>unp-nt aroma, something like that of the common 

 ivy, and a faint, though decided sweetness as an after-flavor. 



It is not a universal s|--iti<-. for when experiments were tried by getting some dogs 

 bitt.-n by the Cobra, and treating them with this leaf, they died to all appearance sooner 

 than if they had been entirely neglected. Mr. Lowther has made rather a curious series 

 of experiments on the Cobra's poison and the mode of its action, and has found that while 



human beings become cold as marble under the influence of the venom, dogs are affected 

 vou nx-n. 



