VOL. XXVII.] PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. 685 



was violently tortured, but did not die. At last he took 2 drachms of opium, 

 which threw him into a deep sleep ; but after vomiting and voiding fetid excre- 

 ments, he recovered by degrees his former briskness. 



Some weeks after, when the same dog had recovered his former vigour, we 

 tried on him a much stronger poison. We caused him to be bit 3 or 4 times 

 on the belly, a little below the navel, by an enraged viper. There arose im- 

 mediately little black bladders, containing a liquid blackish sort of corruption ; 

 they were flaccid and tremulous, like the gall-bladder when it is about half full; 

 and a livid colour by degrees spread over all the neighbouring parts. The 

 venom propagated itself with surprising quickness, and weakened all, but more 

 especially the animal functions : for notwithstanding the diaphragm still per- 

 formed its office pretty strongly, though with some disorder, and the heart con- 

 tinued beating, though faintly and irregular ; yet they seemed to fare much 

 better than the brain, the strength of which was so weakened, that it could 

 perform the functions of sense and motion but very faintly ; so that the dog lay 

 without any strength or sensation, as if he had been seized with a lethargy, or apo- 

 plexy : which kind of stupidity we also observed in different degrees in all other 

 dogs bit by a viper. Being willing to save this dog, though we had found by 

 many experiments, that much slighter wounds made by a viper had occasioned 

 death, we had recourse to several remedies; and therefore cupped and scarified the 

 part that was wounded, and applied theriaca, Ven. treacle. We let him rest for 

 about two hours: but his sleepiness increasing more and more, and his vital and 

 animal functions sinking, we were obliged to have recourse to another method 

 of cure. Wherefore, to dispel his sleepiness, we forced into his throat half a 

 drachm of volatile salt of hartshorn, mixed in broth ; a little after which his 

 eyes, which before looked dead, began to revive, and he was able to stand on 

 his feet and walk. We then repeated the same dose of the volatile salt, by 

 which he was freed from his sleepiness, and the strength of his heart recovered ; 

 and notwithstanding he remained weak for 3 days, yet he sensibly recovered 

 strength, though he would not eat all that time : but he drank water very 

 plentifully, and greedily ; and on the second day did not refuse cold broth : 

 after the 3d day he began to eat solid meats, and seemed now out of danger ; 

 only some large foul ulcers remained on that part of his belly that was bitten, 

 of which he would scarcely have died, had he not been killed by another dog ; 

 which prevented us from seeing the event of this experiment. 



But to try more fully the force of the above-mentioned poison, it is necessary 

 to make several experiments of it : for though the bite of a viper, if it be but 

 slight, may kill some dogs ; yet in the month following, a large strong dog, 

 that was bitten in the tongue, which is a very dangerous part, recovered with- 



