1874 The Zoologist — October, 1869. 



In twelve minutes convulsions set in, and the animal was dead in 

 eighteen minutes. 



** 6. Dog D was now brought out: he was a large powerful animal, 

 and the same snake (cobra No. 4) was made to bite him. This dog 

 died six hours after. 



" 7. This cobra was set aside, and No. 5 was next turned out and 

 made to bite a chicken ; and, notwithstanding the assiduous appli- 

 cation of the snake-slone, the chicken was dead in five minutes. 



" 8. A second chicken was bitten by the same snake, in which case 

 the stem sent by Mr. Garde, being well ground, was applied to the 

 wound, and some of it poured down its throat ; notwithstanding which, 

 the chicken was dead in forty-five minutes. 



" 9. This snake was now laid aside, and cobra No. 6 brought out 

 and made to bile the leg of a third chicken. Immediately after the 

 wound was well scarified and indigo freely applied to it, and some 

 poured down its throat; notwithstanding which, the chicken died in 

 four minutes. 



" 10. This snake was now made to bite a dog (E), and the stem was 

 applied to the wound, and also given by the mouth. The dog was 

 sick, and the wound greatly inflamed ; but the animal died the next 

 day, some thirty hours after. 



" 11. Snake No. 1 was now turned out and made to bile a dog (F), 

 which died in five hours. 



" I shall not trouble you here with a detail of the various symptoms 

 which followed the biles of the snakes as exhibited by these several 

 animals : those first bitten died rapidly, and the subsequent ones more 

 slowly. From these experiments the remedies used seemed to be 

 utterly worthless. No fairer trial could have been given to the snake- 

 stone, to the application of which in every instance Dr. Biisleed 

 attended assiduously. I am not aware of the name of the stem sent 

 by Mr. Garde ; it looked like an ascleprade, and I should like to give 

 it another trial ere deciding finally as to its antidotal properties. 

 From the several experiments I have conducted I draw the following 

 conclusions : — 



'* 1st. For the bite of the cobra to prove effective, it is necessary 

 that the said cobra should have the opportunity of seizing the part it 

 wounds, so as to grasp or close its jaws thereon to enable it to inject 

 the poison into the wounds. 



" 2nd. A simple wound sufficient to draw blood is frequently in- 

 flicted by the cobra striking at any animal, which it constantly does 



