353 Drs. Brunton and Fayrer on ths Nature and Action [Jane 19, 



of a population (according to Dr. Hunter) of 120,972,263, or, in round 

 numbers, about one person in every 10,000. 



This total, large as it is, we fear cannot be regarded as the real mortality 

 in these provinces, nor may the numbers be accepted as an absolutely 

 true indication of the relative frequency of deaths in each. 



The information from which these records were framed was, though 

 official, probably only partial and imperfect. Dr. Fayrer believes that if 

 systematic returns could be kept, as he has suggested that they should be, 

 by the police in every district, subdivision, and municipality, the number of 

 deaths would be, excluding all doubtful cases, much larger. He believes 

 also that were such information collected throughout the whole of Ilin- 

 doostan, it would be found that more than 20,000 persons die annually 

 from snake-bite. 



The result of his investigations in India has been, we think, to show 

 that, so far, no agent or antidote, as that term is commonly understood, 

 has been found effective in neutralizing the action of snake-poison. We 

 think it is also pretty clearly demonstrated that death is caused in most 

 cases, at all events where a full quantity of the virus has been injected, 

 by its action on the nerve-centres, though whether on them alone, or also 

 on the peripheral distribution of the nerves, or on the muscles them- 

 selves, or the exact extent to which each is affected, there may be some 

 difficulty in determining. The futility of all the methods of treatment 

 hitherto had recourse to is probably explained by the mode of death : 

 their inutility had long since been demonstrated by Fontana, who, 

 ninety years ago, among other things, showed that the outward and 

 inward use of ammonia, as well as its injection into the veins, was as 

 powerless for good as were all other remedies. 



There is apparently some analogy between the nature of the action of 

 the cobra-virus and that of curara, death in both cases being brought 

 about by arrest of respiration through paralysis of the respiratory 

 apparatus. 



In the case of the curara it has been demonstrated by experiment that 

 this is due to paralysis of the peripheral distribution of the motor nerves ; 

 and it has been further shown that if respiration be continued artificially for 

 a sufficient length of time, perfect recovery may take place, as we have our- 

 selves observed, the poison being eliminated from the system, and not 

 having, during its presence, so far compromised the integrity of the parts of 

 the nervous system where it took effect as to interfere with a resumption 

 of their functions after its removal. Now it is evident that artificial respi- 

 ration and the use of any remedies that may expedite elimination, with 

 the application of artificial warmth to sustain temperature up to the 

 normal standard, are the measures which may be regarded as antidotal 

 in a rational sense to this form of poisoning ; and such they have proved 

 themselves to be ; for if an animal apparently dead from curara-poisoning 

 be kept warm and artificial respiration be kept up for some hours, it will 

 perfectly recover. 



