AS COMPARED WITH THAT OF OTHER VENOMOUS SNAKES. 115 



Experiment I. 



June 9th, 1874. — 0*015 gramme of the dried Crotalus-'poison 

 diluted with 1 c.c. of distilled water was hypodermically injected 

 into the thigh of a full-grown guinea-pig at 11.30 a.m. 



Restlessness and muscular twitchings of the body generally 

 soon commenced ; these passed away, but the animal became 

 sluggish, in which condition it remained all night, and died at 

 about 9 A.M. the next morning. 



The injected limb became much swollen, infiltrated, and 

 discoloured with sanguineo-serous effusion. 



The intestines were not ecchymosed ; there was much san- 

 guinolent fluid and also blood effused into the abdominal areolar 

 tissue. 



No convulsions were observed ; but as the animal was not seen 

 during a short time previous to death, they cannot be said 

 positively not to have occurred ; nor is it known if the heart 

 ceased to beat at the moment when apparent death took place. 



Experiment II. 



A few drops of watery solution of Crotalus-i^oison, of same 

 strength, were injected under the skin of a guinea-pig's thigh at 

 12.16 noon. 



12.17. Marked twitchings of head and hind legs, very similar 

 to those produced in some of the cases of cobra-poisoning. 



12.18. Hind leg (poisoned one) weak. 



12.20. Twitchings much increased, now mainly in head and 

 neck, not so much in hind legs. 



12.28. Guinea-pig quiet, but with occasional twitchings ; 

 sluggish and disinclined to move. 



1.30. Sluggish in moving; can still move about, though 

 disinclined to do so. The punctured thigh is very blue. 



The rest of the notes of this experiment were lost. 



The animal died. 



Experiment III. 



June 10th, 1874. — J of a grain of Crotalus- and J of a grain of 

 cobra-poison were carefully weighed and diluted, each with 

 (95) I 2 



