10 ON THE NATURE AND ACTION OF THE 



observed that the poison examined by Dr. Armstrong had 

 already begun to undergo decomposition ; l)ut if it should be 

 found by further experiments that the properties of the extract 

 and precipitate from perfectly fresh cobra-poison are the same 

 as tliose of the poison he used, it will form a notable distinction 

 between the poison of the cobra and that of the rattlesnake. 

 The precipitate thrown down by alcohol from the poison of the 

 rattlesnake has been ascertained to be active, while the alcoholic 

 extract is inert {vide Weir Mitchell, Physiology and Toxicology 

 of the Venom of the Rattlesnake, Smithsonian Contributions, 

 1860, p. 36). 



We have experimented on four different samples of poison 

 sent from Bengal, The first was originally a clear transparent 

 fluid ; but after keeping it decomposed and became almost 

 black, as already described. It retained its fluidity and activity 

 to the last. The third sample was of a light-brown colour, 

 quite solid, and resembling dry hard cheese in its consistency. 

 The second and fourth consisted of a clear, thin, transparent 

 fluid and a white curdy precipitate. ]N"one of these specimens 

 had the same activity as the first ; they produced similar 

 symptoms, but much less marked. 



Effects of the Poison. — The local effects of the poison are 

 partial paralysis of the bitten part, occasionally pain in it, 

 ecchymosis around the spot where the poison has been intro- 

 duced, and sometimes in other and distant parts, and, if the 

 animal survives for some hours, infiltration and perhaps incipient 

 decomposition of the tissues and haemorrhagic discharge. 



The general symptoms are depression, faintness, hurried 

 respiration and exhaustion, lethargy, nausea, and vomiting. In 

 guinea-pigs and rabbits peculiar twitching movements occur, 

 which seem to represent vomiting in them, and occasionally, in 

 fact, guinea-pigs do vomit. Dogs vom.it, are salivated, and 

 present an appearance as if the hair had all been rubbed the 

 wrong way, " staring." As the poisoning proceeds, paralysis 

 appears, sometimes affecting the hind legs first and seeming to 

 creep up the body, and sometimes affecting the whole animal 



