1878.] 



Prof. Pecller on Cobra Poison. 



25 



Experiment 6, where enough poison to kill 225 chickens was injected, 

 and death resulted from the setting in of diarrhoea, and from the 

 subsequent exhaustion, in 50 hours 6 minutes after the performance of 

 the hypodermic injection. In the experiments of injecting the mixture 

 of the cobra poison and solution of platinum tetrachloride immediately 

 after it was made, the results are not quite so satisfactory, but they 

 still show that large quantities of poison (enough to kill 180 chickens 

 being used in Experiment No. 1) may be injected, and that the fatal 

 result does not take place until after the expiration of a period very 

 much longer, as a rule, than would be the case without the use of the 

 platinum salt. I have not thought it worth while to experiment with 

 small quantities of poison in this manner, as the result of the first 

 section conclusively shows that, if the platinum salt has time allowed 

 to act upon the poison, the poisonous action of the virus is entirely 

 destroyed. Before finally accepting this conclusion, I thought it 

 advisable to try a similar set of experiments on other animals, such 

 as dogs ; and, as will be seen below, the experiments which have been 

 performed have entirely borne out the conclusion above arrived at. 



In the report of the Snake Poison Commission already referred to, 

 a number of experiments have been made on the action upon dogs of 

 graduated doses of cobra virus, and in the following table will be 

 found a summary of the principal results : — 



Table C. — Action of Cobra Poison on Bogs. 





Wt. of Poison 



"Weight of 



Time of 



Kesiut. 



1 



injected. 



Dog. 



Experiment. 









hrs. mins. 





*I.S.P.C. 3. 



2\ grains 



33 lbs. 



1 43 



Death 



I.S.P.C. 4. 



2 



25 „ 



1 43 



33 



I.S.P.C. 5. 



U „ 



39 „ 



1 21 



33 



I.S.P.C. 6. 



1 grain 



28 „ 



1 42 



33 



I.S.P.C. 7. 



1 



24 „ 



57 





I.S.P.C. 8. 



3 



4 33 



35 „ 



1 32 





I.S.P.C. 9. 



i „ 



24 „ 



2 24 



33 



I.S.P.C. 10. 



i 



2 33 



19 „ 



1 58 



33 



I.S.P.C. 11. 



A 



4 33 



20 „ 



4 20 





I.S.P.C. 12. 



A 



4 33 



41 „ 



8 



33 



I.S.P.C. 16. 





40 „ 



5 6 



33 



I.S.P.C. 17. 



¥ 33 



14 „ 



4 28 



3) 



I.S.P.C. 14. 



TO 33 



18 „ 



11 30 





From this table it appears that from a quarter of a grain ('0162 

 gram) to a sixth of a grain may be looked on as a fatal dose to an 

 ordinary sized dog, while any quantities larger than this will produce 

 a very rapidly fatal effect. 



In order to test the action of the poison mixed with platinum salt, 



* These refer to the number of each experiment in the report above quoted. 



