THEIE NATUEE AND EFFECTS. 149 



poison deposited by the bite of a snake requires a most 

 intelligent dissection, guided by eye-sight and judgment, 

 but an injection of a chemical agent must be to a great 

 extent made by guess-work ; and the solution, instead 

 of following the poison, takes the line of least resistance 

 in the tissues, often leading it far from the poison. 

 Applying the agent to an incision over the wound is 

 also nearly useless. In cases where the poison has been 

 artificially injected by an instrument, I have obtained 

 excellent results both with potassic hydrate, sodic 

 hydrate, and potassic permanganate ; but after the 

 natural bite of a snake this method of treatment is 

 without avail. By chance it may occasionally succeed, 

 but though I have had special instruments contrived so 

 as to irrigate the whole of the poisoned area with these 

 re-agents, I have, in a very large proportion of cases, 

 failed altogether ; whereas with thorough excision under 

 the condition that sufficient poison to kill has not 

 already been absorbed, failure is impossible. All that 

 chemical agents can do is to destroy the tissue and the 

 poison in it, and by no means can you tell whether you 

 are destroying more than is necessary, or less. But 

 with excision you remove exactly the poison deposit. 

 You are guided by sight and knowledge. In the artificial 

 injection of the poison through a tube, the re-agent 

 follows through that tube the course taken by the 

 poi|on — a piece of simplicity of practice which unfor- 

 tunately does not obtain after cobra-bite. 



