212 C. J. MARTIN. 
beat taken on a slowly moving cylinder covered with smoked 
paper. One of the Marriott’s tubes of the apparatus was pre 
viously filled with a mixture of defibrinated mammalian blood 
one part, and “65% sodium chloride solution, containing 1 in 
1,000 Na,CO;, two parts. The other tube was filled with a 
similar solution containing a known proportion of venom. The — 
amount of venom contained in the solution was either 0-1 or 1}. 
The former appeared to at first stimulate the heart, but it speedily 
began to beat more slowly, then became irregular and feeble, and 
eventually stopped in diastole after about thirty mmutes. The 
stronger solution of venom produced immediate slowing and 
enfeeblement of the contractions, which became diminished i 
rate and extent until in a few minutes the heart ceased to beat. 
If the stronger venom-containing solution was allowed to flow 
through the heart for only ten seconds, the substitution of the 
unpoisoned feeding mixture failed to produce any recovery of the 
cardiac contractions. 
Two experiments were made with the hearts of small turtles by — 
means of a Ludwig and Coat’s apparatus. In the former ‘17, of 
venom was employed, and in the latter a feeding solution col 
taining 1% of the venom was allowed to flow through the heart 
for one hundred seconds, and then replaced by the blood solution ; 
only. This had however, no effect, and the beats became rapidly 
less and less apparent until they were imperceptible in twelve 
minutes from the introduction of the venom. 
(b)—Effect on Mammals. 
I commenced my investigations into the action of f 
the circulatory apparatus, by taking tracings of the pressure 
an artery, both during and after the introduction of the poise 
The venom was introduced by injection subcutaneously, 
peritoneal cavity, or directly into the circulation through 4 Ye 
th, becaus? 
or artery. I chose intravenous injection to begin W! 
the method of subcutaneous inoculation introduces 4? 
the venom 02 : 
ee Skat eh ey mea 
into the 
quantity—vie, rate of absorption. ‘This mothod bas MW = 
