VENOMS OF POISONOUS SEEPENTS. 475 



exact toxioological research. Recent investigations, however, have 

 made it certain that the most active constituent of the venom of 

 serpents is not alkaloidal in its nature, as was supposed by some. 

 In 1881 Gautier announced the isolation of two alkaloids from the 

 venom of the cobra which gave precipitates with tannin, Mayer's 

 reagent, Nessler's reagent, iodin in potassium iodid, etc. They 

 formed crystallizable platinochlorids and aurochlorids, and also crys- 

 talline, neutral, somewhat deliquescent hydrochlorids. The neutral 

 or slightly acid solutions produced an immediate precipitate of 

 Prussian blue in a mixture of potassium ferricyanid and ferric 

 chlorid. The substances possessed a decided physiological action, 

 but Gautier himself did not consider them to be the most dangerous 

 constituents of the venom. This observation of Gautier as to the 

 presence of distinct basic substances in venoms is at variance with 

 that of Wolcott Gibbs, who was unable to obtain an alkaloid from 

 the rattlesnake (Crotalus) venom. S. Weir Mitchell and E. T. 

 Reichert were likewise unable to substantiate Gautier's statements. 

 Subsequently, Wolfenden, in an elaborate paper on the nature of 

 cobra venom, confirmed Wolcott Gibbs as to the entire absence of 

 any alkaloidal body. 



Mitchell and Reichert made a careful study of the venoms of 

 various serpents, such as cobra, rattlesnake, moccasin, and Indian 

 viper, and succeeded in isolating two proteid constituents, one 

 belonging to the class of globulins and the other to the peptons. 

 The pepton is said to be non-precipitable by alcohol. According to 

 them, the globulin constituent consisted of at least three distinct 

 globulins. They found that boiling coagulated and destroyed the 

 globulin as a poison, but that the venom pepton was toxically un- 

 changed, so that the solution, though still poisonous, failed to pro- 

 duce the characteristic local lesions due to fresh or unboiled venom. 

 On the other hand, Gautier asserted that the venom was not sensibly 

 altered on being heated to 120°- 125° and that the toxic action 

 remained constant even when all the proteid constituents were re- 

 moved, thus showing that the toxic action cannot be attributed to the 

 albuminoids. Later, Quartier acknowledged that viper venom was 

 destroyed at 100°. Calmette found it to be destroyed at 98°, while 

 still later Phisalix and Bertrand showed that an exposure of five 

 minutes at 80°- 85° destroyed the toxicity. The venom pepton 

 from the rattlesnake or the moccasin, however, when injected into 

 animals produced toxic effects which were marked by an (Edematous 

 swelling over the site of injection ; the tumor was filled with serum, 

 and so also was the subcutaneous cellular tissue. Furthermore, 

 a gradual breaking down of the tissues occurred, accompanied by 

 rapid putrefactive changes and a more or less extensive slough. 

 That peptons may possess intensely poisonous properties has been 

 shown to be the case by a number of authors, among whom may be 



