THEIE NATURE AND EFFECTS. 151 



the shorter is the duration of life after it. The patient, 

 therefore, should be kept quiet and his strength hus- 

 banded. Nourishing food should be given if necessary, 

 and if there is any tendency to syncope a small amount 

 of stimulants. In animals, however, alcohol certainly 

 does not lengthen life. 



If the bite has been inflicted by a colubrine snake, 

 salivation and paralysis of the tongue and throat will 

 soon show themselves. The head should be placed on 

 one side to allow the saliva to trickle out, as otherwise 

 it will probably enter the paralysed larynx, and aid the 

 process of suffocation ; the tongue, also, should be pre- 

 vented from falling back, and at this stage the patient 

 should have nothing given him to swallow, as he is 

 quite incapable of doing so, and therefore the substance 

 will very likely be forced into the windpipe. I have 

 even found, after death, remedies in the air-tubes in 

 the lungs, which had been forced there by the anxious 

 friends, a circumstance which would have rendered 

 recovery impossible. 



The next feature will be failure of the respiratory 

 power. In the most acute form this occurs in a very 

 rapid manner, the function appearing to be suddenly 

 overpowered ; but it is not always thus extinguished. 

 In the less rapid cases the respiration fails very 

 gradually, and as death is clearly the result of this 

 failure every effort should be made to stimulate the 

 lessening function. Frequently ■ repeated affusions of 



