8 Professor Halford. 



of the tiger snake (Hoptocephalus curtus) and death 

 in nineteen dogs ; the shortest interval being seventeen 

 minutes." 



C. J. Martin's Opinions on this Subject. 



" Although the yield of poison from our Australian 

 snakes is so small, we find that the virulence of our 

 black snake (Pseudechis poTphyriacus) compares very 

 favourably with that of the cobra ; that is to say, the 

 minimal fatal dose per pound weight is, in our hands, 

 considerably less than that given for the cobra by the 

 Indian Snake Commission. Some idea of this viru- 

 lence may be gathered from the fact, that ^ grain 

 invariably kills a rabbit of 5lb. weight, when injected 

 into a vein, in about one hundred seconds. 



"The following experiments illustrate the toxic 

 power of the poison : 



" One-tenth grain of dried black snake poison was 

 dissolved in 5 c.cm, of 1 per cent. NaCl. solution, 

 0'05 c.cm. would accordingly equal ^ grain. 



" Four rabbits, each weighing olb were taken, and 

 the poison injected into the median vein of the ear. 

 The first two received Ol c.cm. of the solution, and 

 died in ninety seconds and ninety-one seconds after the 

 withdrawal of the syringe. Two others received 0'05 

 c.cm of the solution ( x ~ grain), and succumbed in 

 ninety-seven and ninety-eight seconds respectively. 



" Similar experiments were performed with a solution 

 of the venom from the tiger snake (Hoplocephalus 

 curtus) prepared in a similar manner, so that 0'05 

 c.cm. equalled ^ grain. The two rabbits which 

 received 0*1 c.cm. (=^ grain) died in ninety-two and 

 one hundred and one seconds, and those which had 



