134 OPHIDIANS. 
and the nerve-centres are dead, the motor nerves alone remain- 
ing irritable. 
4th. That in warm-blooded animals respiration ceases owing 
to paralysis of the nerve-centres. 
5th. That the sensory nerves and the centres of nerve power 
in the medulla spinalis and the medulla oblongata lose their vi- 
tality before the efferent or motor nerves become affected. 
6th. That the muscular system retains its irritability in the 
cold-blooded animals acutely poisoned, for a considerable time 
after death. 
7th. That the effect of the venom being to depress the vital 
energy of the heart and ‘nerve-centres, a resort to stimulants 
is clearly indicated as the rational mode of early constitutional 
treatment. 
ANNUAL DEATHS FROM SNAKE-BITES IN INDIA. 
According to official returns in the Bengal Presidency for 
1869 the following abstracts are taken, viz.: 
Bengal, Assam, Orissa, . “ ‘ ‘ ‘ . 6,645 
Northwest Provinces, : 4 és $ Z » 1,995 
Punjab, . . : : : e z . 785 
Oude, . ‘ 3 ‘ ‘ ; » 1,205 
Central Provinces, . . 3 : i ‘ 606 
Central India, . : . . 7 7 . a 120 
11,416 
Making a total of 11,416 for an estimated population of 
121,000,000, which would give over 25,000 deaths for the 
year throughout the whole of India! 
Details of the above Cases of Snake-bites, from the 
preceding Report. 
The returns from the Bengal Presidency are detailed as 
follows, viz.: 3037 males and 3182 females; of these, as far 
