AS COMPARED WITH THAT OF OTHER VENOMOUS SNAKES. 123 



Neither of these two experiments give any definite results, 

 as the period intervening between death and examination of the 

 condition of the nerve-centres was not determined exactly. 



The results of the following experiments show that the local 

 as well as the general effect of the cobra- and Crotahcs-i>oisons, 

 i.e. colubrine and viperine, is to cause hsemorrhage, ecchymosis, 

 and sanguinolent effusions into the areolar tissue, not only at 

 the seat of inoculation and its neighbourhood, but also in the 

 mucous membranes and other vascular parts. It is obvious 

 also that the Crotalus-ipoison acts more energetically in this 

 respect than the cobra-poison, and that this is perhaps one of 

 the most marked distinctions between them. 



Experiment XII. 



August 6th, 1874. — A cat was chloralised, and part of the 

 mesentery placed under the microscope on the warm stage. 

 Crotalus-i^oison, diluted with water, was then applied to the 

 mesentery, and its eff'ects watched. The white coipuscles were 

 observed to cling in quantities to the walls of the vessels, and 

 as the current of blood hurried through them, some masses of 

 pale matter like aggregation of white corpuscles were observed 

 to pass with the stream ; very soon, marked extravasation of 

 red corpuscles took place, and to the naked eye the mesentery 

 became discoloured by patches of ecchymosis in the course of 

 the small blood-vessels, like the foliage on the branches of a 

 tree. 



There could be no doubt that the local action of the poison 

 had a marked effect in producing extravasation of blood. 



Experiment XIII. 



A similar experiment was repeated on another part of the 

 mesentery of the same cat with cobra-poison, exactly as the 

 Crotahis-^oison had been applied in the previous experiment. 

 This was carefully watched, but no extravasation took place; 

 there was a marked difference in the result of the application 

 of the two poisons, at all events as far as these two experiments 

 were concerned. 



