SNAKE-POISON LITERATURE. 109 



The Indian Snake Commission give many exam- 

 ples of this, and shew conclusively that the 

 action gf the poison upon the heart is com- 

 mensurate with the amount of poison absorbed. 

 Thus, when the animals operated on were 

 bitten, the average time from the bite to the com- 

 mencement of artificial respiration, was forty-two 

 minutes, and from the commencement of artificial 

 respiration to the period of death, ten hours forty- 

 one minutes. When half the quantity of virus or- 

 dinarily ejected was hypodermically injected into 

 an animal, the average time from the injection 

 to the commencement- of artificial respiration, 

 was one hour ten minutes, and from this to death, 

 seventeen hours forty-four minutes. Again, when 

 only half a grain of cobra-poison was hypoder- 

 mically injected, the time from injection to com- 

 mencement of artificial respiration, was two hours 

 forty-five minutes, and from that period to death, 

 twenty-six hours eighteen minutes ; and lastly, 

 when ^ of a grain was injected, the time from in- 

 jection to artificial respiration was four hours two 

 minutes; and from the commencement of artificial 

 respiration to death, thirty-seven hours fifty 

 minutes. According to Brunton and Fayrer cases 

 do occur in which the heart is principally 



