328 Sir L. Brunton, Sir J. Fayrer, and Dr. L. Rogers. [Feb. 22, 



check further absorption of the poison. An incision was then made 

 in the long axis of the limb over the seat of injection of the poison, 

 and the edges dissected up slightly on either side so as to fully expose 

 the affected tissues and to form a small pocket, into which the crystals 

 of permanganate were next placed, and after moistening with a few 

 drops of sterile normal salt solution (water, or even saliva, would 

 serve in an emergency) they were well rubbed in until the exposed 

 tissues presented a uniformly blackened appearance. About 3 minutes 

 were usually occupied by the little operation, on the completion of 

 which the ligature was released and a dressing and bandage applied 

 to the wound. The animals were under chloroform throughout the 

 operation, including the injection of the venom. The amount of 

 permanganate held by the instrument made for these experiments was 

 \ gramme, this quantity being used in each of the experiments. 



The results of the experiments so far performed may most con- 

 veniently be summarised in the following table, by means of which 

 they may readily be studied. The actual doses of venoms injected 

 are given in Column 4, and the dose per kilogramme weight in 

 Column 5. The time which was allowed to elapse after the injection 

 of the poison before the application of the ligature (Column 6) was 

 usually J minute, which it was calculated would be sufficient to allow 

 a handkerchief, or in the case of a native a strip of a pugari or of 

 the cotton garments commonly worn by the poorer classes in the 

 tropics, being tied round the limb and twisted up to form an efficient 

 ligature. In a few of the later experiments this application of the 

 ligature was delayed for 5 and 10 minutes. In Column 8 the time 

 is shown which was taken over the operation from the application 

 to the release of the ligature, while the ultimate result is shown in 

 Column 9. In most of the control experiments a ligature was applied 

 round the thigh for about the same time as in the operations, as it 

 appeared possible that the ligature might delay somewhat the absorp- 

 tion of the poison, although it could scarcely affect the ultimate 

 result of its action, owing to the poison being an essentially cumulative 

 one. 



The first six experiments of Table II were performed on rabbits, 

 with the result that only prolongation of life was obtained. Thus, 

 after a dose of 10 milligrammes per kilogramme (Experiment 1), death 

 took place only a little quicker than after one-tenth of this dose in a 

 control animal (Experiment 5). Again 5 milligrammes per kilogramme 

 in a treated animal caused death in 3J hours (Experiment 2), but 

 0*5 milligramme per kilogramme in a control killed in the same time 

 (Experiment 6). The rapidity of death in this last animal shows that 

 0*5 milligramme per kilogramme is still much above the minimal 

 lethal dose of Cobra venom for rabbits, so that the doses used in the 

 treated cases were many times a lethal dose (about five to fifty times), 



