1878.] on Destroying the Activity of Cobra Poison. 



473 



4.24 p.m. Restless, but does not seem to twitch ; cries like the other- 

 guinea-pigs occasionally. 



About 6 the animal lay quiet with occasional twitches, and about 

 6.30 it died. 



In order to ascertain which substance would be most likely to save 

 the life of the animal by local application to the point of injection, 

 either by destroying the poison itself, or by preventing its absorption 

 by the tissues, we applied chloride of gold, permanganate of potash, 

 chloride of platinum, and carbolic acid locally, the method adopted 

 being to inject the poison under the skin of the leg, immediately 

 afterwards to apply a ligature tightly above that point, and then to 

 make an incision and apply the substance in just the same manner as 

 we would have done if the animal had actually been bitten. From 

 the following experiments, however, it will be seen that the absorption 

 of the poison is so rapid that all local applications were useless. It 

 should be noted that the quantity of poison we employed was large, 

 and it still remains to be seen whether these local applications may 

 turn the balance between life and death when the quantity of the 

 poison would be just sufficient to kill in case of no remedy being- 

 applied. 



Experiment XVII. 

 Guinea-pig weighing 1 lb. 



4.27?r p.m. Injected 2 grs. 9 centigrammes of cobra poison into thigh, 

 ligature applied immediately. 



4.29J p.m. Solution of chloride of platinum applied. 

 4.31 ,, Twitching violently. 



4.33 „ Twitching violently ; ligature remains on limb. 

 4.40 ,, Not worse ; the ligature is evidently delaying the action 

 of the poison. 



4.47 p.m. Getting weaker. 

 4.50 Convulsed. 

 4.52 „ Dead. 



Death delayed in this instance. 



Experiment XVITI. 

 April 4th, 1878. Guinea-pig weighing 1J lb. 

 4.11' 10" p.m. Injected 3 centigrammes of cobra poison. 

 4.13 p.m. Chloride of gold solution, 1 in 10 ; ligature kept on until 

 chloride of gold was applied. 



4.15 p.m. Twitching. 



4.16 ,, Leg paralysed. 



4.17 ,, Animal nearly paralysed. 



4.19 ,, Do. dying. 



4.20 ,, Convulsions. 

 4.22 „ Dead. 



VOL. XXVIT. 2 I 



