PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF VENOM OF BLACK SNAKE, 277 
Appenp1ix—Tue Toxic VALUE oF VENoMs. 
Calmette' has worked out a table of the relative toxicity of 
venoms, as Roux and Vaillard have done for tetanus toxines, 
based on the number of grammes of an animal (rabbit) killed by 
one gramme of dry poison subcutaneously introduced. He found 
the toxic value calculated in this way was represented by the 
following numbers : 
Cobra. St ae ee 4,000,000 
Hoplocephalus curtus ... 3,450,000 
Pseudechis wae tee 800,000 
Pelias berus ace ey 250,000 
My own experiments with rabbits place the toxic power of the 
two Australian venoms higher, viz.:— 
Hoplocephalus curtus ... 4,000,000 
Pseudechis en a 2,000,000 
That is to say that -00025 gramme of the former invariably 
kills a rabbit of 1 kilogramme weight, and ‘0005 gramme of the 
latter is required to effect the same end. This is a very high 
virulence, and much exceeds that of most of the poisonous proteids 
of zymotic diseases hitherto separated, and is about the same as 
the diptheria toxine of Roux and Yersin.? I append the toxic 
values of albumoses from diptheria and anthrax toxine,’ and toxo- 
Peptone* from cholera cultures, calculated in the same way for 
comparison : 
Diptheria toxine ... ... 4,000,000 (about) 
Anthrax albumoses ... ee 80 
Toxo-peptone a 3,000 
: Suanl de Institut Pasteur, Tome. vur., 1894. 
: Quoted by Sims Woodhead—Bacteria and their Products, p. 307. 
‘ Sydney Martin—« Reports of Local Government Board,” 1890-91. 
p. a ‘i, quoted by Vaughan and Norry—“ Ptomaines and Leucomaines” 
