144 REMARKS UPON THE ARISTOLOCHIA. 



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 perpendicular would fall on the 

 opposite shoulder. The body was not cold, and that was the only indication that death 

 had not supervened. I selected one of the smallest of the leaves of the Aristolochia, and 

 pounded one-third of it, and, with a small table-spoonful of water, poured 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 Aristolochia Indica 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 specimens 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 

 Aristolochia serpentina, is not uncommon 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 Aristolochia Indica is, when tasted, veiy bitter and aromatic, bearing 

 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 as being 

 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 W. Hooker, from the collection in the botanical gardens 

 at Kew, I find it to be rather, but not very bitter, with a pungent aroma, something like 

 that of the common ivy, and a faint, though decided sweetness as an after-flavour. 



It is not a universal specific, for when experiments were tried by getting some dogs 

 bitten 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 

 in precisely an opposite manner, being thrown into a high fever, from which they die. 

 The body of a dog killed by a Cobra's bite, will remain quite hot for some ten hours. The 

 Aristolochia, therefore, which is a powerful stimulant, rather aids than counteracts the 

 operation of the poison. 



In the case of a human being, however, the effect of this remedy seems to be infallible, 

 and Mr. Lowther informs me that he always kept a mortar and pestle by the plant, so that 

 no time should be lost in bruising the leaf, and mixing it thoroughly with water, before 

 pouring it down the throat of the sufferer. The admixture of water was necessary, 

 because, in most instances, the patient was insensible, and the jaws stiffened, so that the 

 mouth needed to be opened forcibly, and the preparation poured down the throat. 



THE second mode of cure employed by the natives of India, Ceylon, and even of some 

 parts of Africa, is the now celebrated Snake-stone, so carefully described by Sir 

 J. E. Tennent in his "Natural History of Ceylon." On being bitten by a Cobra, the 

 sufferer applies one of these remarkable objects to each puncture, where they adhere 

 strongly for a variable space of time, five or six minutes appearing to be the usual average. 

 They seem to absorb the blood as it flows from the wound, and at last fall off without 

 being touched, when the danger is considered to be over. This mode of application is 

 general throughout all parts of the world where the Snake-stone is known. 



Through the kindness of Sir J. E. Tennent, I have been enabled to make a careful 

 inspection of these objects, and to peruse the original letters relating to their use. They 

 are flattish, shaped something like the half of an almond with squared ends, rather light, 

 bearing a very high polish, and of an intense black in fact, looking much as if they were 

 rudely cut from common jet. The value of these singular objects is placed beyond doubt 

 by the carefully accredited narratives lately published. 





