22 Professor Halford. 



been sufficiently eliminated and the patient saved ? I 

 have often thought that the vomiting, purging, and 

 micturition, usually occurring in the lower animals, 

 were similar efforts on Nature's part, but very few 

 indeed recovered. 



Influence of Rapidity of Injection of Snake 

 Venom. 



The following lucid extract is from Dr. C. J. Martin's 

 paper in the Journal of Physiology already referred to. 

 It tells us of things that were before quite unknown, 

 and which have the most important bearing on the 

 subject under consideration : 



" The variations in effect caused by the alterations 

 in the rapidity of injection are very marked. So 

 much so, that it is impossible to compare the results 

 from different experiments, unless the rate with which 

 the poison is introduced is a constant factor. Intra- 

 vascular clotting is produced most readily if the dose 

 be rapidly thrown into a vein near the heart (e.g., the 

 jugular). On increasing the time of delivery of the 

 poison into the circulation, either by employing diluted 

 solution, or by pressing down the piston of the syringe 

 more slowly, the positive phase (increased coagulability 

 of the blood) is less and less pronounced. If the rate of 

 the injection be still further prolonged, the positive 

 phase, if present, is so rapidly succeeded by the negative 

 variation that this latter appears to be the only result. 

 The negative phase becomes more and more pronounced 

 as larger quantities of the venom are allowed to slowly 

 enter the circulation. For slow injections I have 

 connected a burette containing a very dilute solution 



