12 INDIAN SNAKE POISONS, 



the human subject, an interval of an hour occurs before 

 any constitutional symptoms are developed. Under 

 certain exceptional circumstances the symptoms of 

 poisoning may begin almost at once. In the case of 

 dogs bitten by cobras this interval varies very greatly — e 

 perhaps fifteen minutes may be taken as its average 

 length, or perhaps a little less. 



The retardation of the constitutional symptoms pro- 

 bably means that before cobra-poison can produce any, 

 effect, it must be present in the blood in certain pro- 

 portion, and, of course, in slow absorption, either due to 

 the small quantity of the poison injected, or to its 

 being injected into an unfavourable situation, some time 

 must elapse before this proportion can be attained. In 

 these cases the symptoms are delayed, as is also the 

 fatal result ; whereas, should the poison enter the cir- 

 culation rapidly, as by injection into a vein, the 

 symptoms and fatal result follow immediately. At the 

 same time it is clear that for a short time a fatal 

 quantity of poison may be present in the circulation 

 without producing a symptom ; for the bitten part may 

 be sometimes amputated before the occurrence of any 

 sign of poisoning, yet, nevertheless, the animal may 

 die. 



In man the first constitutional symptom that cobra- 

 poison produces seems to be a feeling of intoxication, 

 although there appears to be no outward evidence of 

 it. That this symptom is not more frequently described 



