THE CHEMISTRY OF VENOMS. 13 



Carbonic acid— soluble; cloudiness by boiling. 



Sodic carbonate— very soluble ; boiling no effect. 



Hydrochloric acid (0.4 per cent.)— very soluble. 



Metaphosphoric acid— rendered of a yellowish tint; not appreciably dissolved ; boiling no appre- 



ciable effect. 

 Orthophosphoric acid— -very soluble ; boiling no effect. 



Sodic metaphosphate—vevj soluble, forming a very clear solution ; boiling no effect. 

 Sodic o'rthophosphate— slightly soluble; dissolving slowly in excess, forming a slightly turbid 



solution ; boiling clears absolutely. 

 Potassic sulphate— insoluble ; boiling no decided effect. 

 Calcic chloride— soluble by the addition of a comparatively larger amount; boiling causes 



coagulation. 

 Acetic acid (5 per cent.)— very soluble. 

 Acetic acid (glacial) — very soluble. 



The Venom Peptone,— After the separation of the dialysis-globulin the filtrate, as 

 before stated, gives no coagula by brief boiling, but by testing with the usual proteid 

 tests very decided reactions are obtained. It is further found that if the above 

 filtrate is placed in a fresh dialyser, that the principle giving the proteid reactions 

 will readily pass through the membrane. The fact that this substance will dialyse 

 readily, and that it is not immediately coagulated at the temperature of boiling 

 water, and not precipitated by cupric sulphate and ferric chloride, nor by neutrali- 

 zation, renders it certain that it belongs to a peculiar class of bodies which are 

 known as peptones, and which are ordinarily the result of peptic or tryptic 

 digestion. This peptone may also be prepared by briefly boiling the solution of 

 venom, which coagulates the other albuminous principles, and leaves this in solu- 

 tion; but the coagula caused by boiling the solution of Crotalus are so extremely 

 fine, that it is impossible to filter the mixture clear, even by repeated filtration 

 through many thicknesses (7) of the best filter paper ; furthermore, continued boil- 

 ing causes a breaking down of the peptone with the apparent formation of fine 

 coagula (see Cobra peptone, p. 17). We, however, prepared the peptone by 

 dialysis, and obtained the following reactions : — 



No immediate coagulation at a temperature of 100° C. 



Full reactions with the proteid color tests. 



No precipitate with weak or strong nitric acid. 



Ferric chloride — no precipitate. 



Cupric sulphate — no precipitate. 



Mercuric chloride — decided precipitate. 



Absolute alcohol — precipitate ; precipitate redissolved by the addition of water. 



Mercuric nitrate — decided precipitate. 



Potassic hydrate— precipitate by saturation; precipitate redissolved by the addition of nitric acid, 



forming a decidedly yellowish solution, which becomes decolorized by further 



addition of acid. 

 Potassic ferrocyanide in presence of weak acetic acid — a precipitate. 



To revert now to the globulins and their distinctive features, it seems clear that 

 these principles must exist in the venom as distinct bodies, and are not simply 

 representatives of a single globulin which have arisen through our manipulations. 

 The first distinguishing feature between them is represented in the process of 

 isolation, but if we place the reactions of the different globulins in parallel columns, 



