110 ON THE NATURE AND ACTION OF SNAKE- POISON. 



any diminution of the effect of the poisons, the man in both 

 cases having died* {vide Indian Medical Gazette, October, 1873). 



The same may be said of other reputed antidotes, such as : — 

 Tanjore pill and other preparations of arsenic ; the hypodermic 

 injection of liquor potassse, quinine, ipecacuanha, Aristolochia 

 indica, and a variety of other drugs, generally of a vegetable 

 nature, and enjoying a large amount of popular confidence : all, 

 when brought to the test of carefully conducted experiment, 

 failed, as might have been expected, to give any favourable 

 result. 



It seems almost unnecessary to allude to the so-called snake- 

 stones; they are powerless for good or evil. They have also 

 enjoyed much confidence ; but when submitted to the test of 

 impartial experiment and observation, their virtues prove as 

 unreal as those of the antidotes above mentioned. 



With reference to the mechanical methods of preventing the 

 entry of the poison into the circulation after a bite, we think 

 that the speedy application of an elastic cord (such as is used 

 in bloodless operations) round the limb, combined with the 

 application of cups attached to an exhausting-syringe or pump,f 

 might be of advantage, and that it might be made of general 

 application in India. 



* It is unnecessary to occupy time by describing iu detail the various sub- 

 stances (animal, vegetable, and mineral) that have been administered as 

 antidotes. Particulars may be found in the Thanatophidia, where the details of 

 experiments conducted for the investigation of their actions are recorded. 



t Such an apparatus has now been constructed. 



