Professor Hal ford. 



cells of the same character and size, as I did twenty-seven 

 years ago ? How conies it that none of the observers 

 in India have seen these large cells ? If they had 

 looked for them at the times after death I indicated, 

 they would have seen them, for they are, as ceils, a 

 post-mortem change, although antecedent changes in 

 the proteids of the blood were going on, probably 

 chemical, not to be detected with the microscope. On 

 this most difficult point, on the interaction of the 

 proteids of the blood, the most remarkable work on 

 " The Chemistry of the Blood," by the late Dr. L. C. 

 Wooldridge, must be carefully studied. 



How comes it that my most urgent thought has been 

 again directed to this subject ? The answer is as 

 follows : 



A few months ago, I heard that Mr. Martin, of 

 Sydney, M.B., B. Sc., of the London TJniversit}-, had 

 said that he thought my ideas of the action of snake 

 venom on the blood were most probably correct. Mr. 

 Martin had been formerly Demonstrator of Physiology 

 at King's College, London, and is now Demonstrator 

 of Physiology in the University of Sydney, and had 

 since devoted himself to the study of the chemical 

 composition of snake venom. I heard that he was 

 coming to see me to study the physiological action 

 on the blood and tissues. He came, and I found in 

 him a most accomplished laboratory worker, possessing 

 a thorough knowledge of present animal chemistry. 



He gave me his papers on the subject, which 

 truthfully record the results of his experiments, his 

 observations, and his previous reading, and which, I 

 think, should be known to all who are concerned in 

 unravelling this difficult subject. The papers are : 

 First, "The Venom of the Australian Black Snake," 



