128 OPHIDIANS. 
Nos. 5, 6, and 7, received respectively ten, eight, and seven 
drops of poison. 
“No. 5 died in thirty-six hours. The wound was sur- 
rounded by softened tissues, but was not stained with blood. 
The organs generally were normal, except the stomach, which 
contained bloody mucus. The heart was full of clotted 
blood. 
“No. 6 died in sixty-seven hours. The local appearances 
in this case were much as in the last one, but less extensive. 
The interior organs were healthy, and the heart contained 
two loose and soft clots. 
“No. 7 died during the seventh day. The wound, in this 
case, penetrated the muscles, which were dark and much soft- 
ened. The blood in the heart was mostly diffluent, present- 
ing but a single small coagulum of loose structure. The 
intestines were spotted with ecchymoses, and the peritoneal 
cavity contained about a drachm of fluid blood. 
“‘T may add to these cases the numerous instances in which 
I have wounded the mouths of snakes, or torn the vagina 
dentis, while robbing them of poison. On none of these oc- 
casions has any serious result followed the injury, even where 
venom had fallen upon the abraded surfaces in considerable 
amount. 
“The above experiments were on the whole so definite in 
their results, that I did not think it necessary to multiply 
them. I had very many times injured snakes far more than 
these were injured by their own fangs or the preparatory 
manipulations, and I therefore felt at liberty to conclude that 
the animals employed on these latter occasions really died 
from the venom. The length of time required for this to 
occur was curious, and far exceeded in most of them that 
which was noted in Bernard’s cases, or in the many instances 
