1903.] On the Action of the Poison of the Hydvophidw. 481 



so-called " fern-fronds " of the Palaeobotanist really belonged to Sper- 

 mophyta. It is at present impossible to say at what stage in the 

 evolution of the Fern-Cycad phylum, the great change in reproductive 

 methods came, whether it followed in the wake of general anatomical 

 advance, or vice versa. The discovery of further evidence as to the 

 reproductive processes of these ancient plants may be expected to 

 'yield interesting results. 



The authors are much indebted to Miss Marie Stopes for her 

 valuable aid in the examination of the numerous sections in the 

 Williamson and various other Collections. 



Mr. James Lomax deserves high praise for his good judgment and 

 skill in collecting and preparing the material for the investigation. 



A full account of the fossils dealt with in the present note is in 

 preparation, and will shortly be submitted to the Eoyal Society. 



*' On the Physiological Action of the Poison of the Hydrophidae." 

 By Leonard Eogbrs, M.D., B.S. (Lond.), M.B.C.P., F.R.C.S., 

 lately officiating Professor of Pathology, Medical College, 

 Calcutta. Communicated by Major A. Alcock, F.RS. Be- 

 ceived March 31,— Bead May 7, 1903. 



It has long been known that the great group of the Hydrophidae, or 

 Sea-snakes, are poisonous, and cases of death produced by their bites 

 have been recorded, for example, that in Sir Joseph Fayrer's work on 

 the Poisonous Snakes of India, of the ship's captain bitten while 

 bathing in the Bay of Bengal, with a fatal result. The fishermen on 

 this coast are also well aware of the danger of the bites of these reptiles, 

 and take such good care to avoid them, that deaths among them are 

 quite uncommon as far as I can ascertain. Deaths, however, not very 

 rarely occur among those employed in oyster fisheries in shallow water 

 in some places on the Madras coast, owing to snakes being trodden on, 

 so that a study of the nature of the poison of this class of snakes has a 

 practical as well as a scientific side, and, as far as I can gather from the 

 literature of the subject obtainable in Calcutta, it has not yet received 

 much attention. During the last year I have been investigating the 

 subject, and although the amount of poison I have been able to obtain 

 has been very small, yet it has sufficed to allow of certain definite 

 results being obtained, which will be summarised in the following 

 paper. 



The Collection of the Poison. 



The Hydrophidae are met with in large numbers all round the 

 coasts of the Indian peninsula, and have been specially studied at 

 Puri on the east coast in Orrisa. It was at this place that I obtained 



