446 SNAKES OF CEYLON. 



in the human subject strongly suggests internal haemorrhage. 

 As shown when dealing with Echis toxaemia, internal 

 haemorrhages are by no means uncommon, and it may be 

 that " haemorrhagin " causes internal bleeding in this toxaemia 

 in the human subject. In some cases indeed definite 

 haemorrhages have been reported, though the toxaemia 

 appeared slight. 



Acton and Knowles noticed in the subjects of their experi- 

 ments that the degree of paresis in this form of toxaemia is 

 more pronounced than in cobra poisoning, also that there was 

 less tendency to convulsions towards the climax. Further, 

 while in the cobra bitten subject, death or complete recovery 

 occurs within 24 hours, the fatal issue in krait poisoning was 

 in some cases much more protracted, in one case occurring 

 after four days. 



(i) Illustrative Case ;* The details set forth here are 

 the result of an interview I had with the deceased's 

 friend, Mr. Chambers, who was with Mr. Fox when he 

 was bitten, and subsequently the entire day until 7 p.m., 

 when his condition was so serious that he was admitted 

 to hospital. On February 26, 1914, Mr. Fox, a young 

 middle-aged European in robust health, was bitten by a 

 krait (B. cxruleus) f on the left wrist at about 10 a.m. 

 in the Zoological Gardens, Calcutta. The snake was a half- 

 grown one measuring 2 feet 3 inches, and the wounds inflicted 

 consisted of 5 punctures. Mr. Fox was experimenting with 

 a view to demonstrating the efficacy of a secret remedy in 

 which he had every faith as an antidote for snake poisoning. 



Symptoms : Instantaneous pain was complained of in the 

 punctures, evidently of an unusual type, his own expression 

 being that it was " fiery," and the wounds bled. Within one 

 and a half minutes he had himself incised four of the five 

 punctures with a lancet (which, I am informed, was quite clean 

 and sterile, having been boiled and not used for any purpose 

 subsequently). After incision the antidote, which was a 

 fluid, was instilled into each wound. The fifth puncture was 



* Published by me in the " Indian Medical Gazette '* for July, 1.914. 

 t The identification is unassailable. 



