162 



THE LAND-MARKS OF 



The intraven- 

 ous injection 

 of ammonia 

 in snake- 

 poisoningf. 



Halford'a 

 experiments. 



be considered absolutely satisfactory ; but at the 

 same time, investigations should, of course, be con- 

 tinued by that able physiologist, Dr. Wolfenden, 

 who has done so much in the study of animal 

 poisons, and Drs. Weir Mitchell and Reichart, 

 who have already spent so much time, labour, 

 and money in snake-poison investigations, and 

 who are the pioneers of these recent researches. 



I have already referred briefly to the subject 

 of the intravenous injection of ammonia in 

 snake-bite, but as the treatment is still to be 

 found recommended in the pages of some of our 

 standard works, I will deal more fully with the 

 question, and shew on what slender grounds 

 its reputation was based and maintained. We 

 have seen that, although originality of the pro- 

 cedure was claimed by Dr. Halford of Melbourne, 

 as a fact it had been tried and condemned by 

 Fontana. The grounds on which Dr. Halford 

 was led to recommend the treatment were six 

 experiments on the lower animals ; and the con- 

 firmatory evidence of its success was to be found 

 later on in a number of cases which were pub- 

 lished in the Australian newspapers. In order 

 to arrive at a just conclusion as to the merits 

 <d the advocated treatment, it is necessary to 



