1896 - 97 .] Prof. Fraser on Properties of Bile of Serpents. 461 
grm. p. kilo. The bile of the ox, therefore, is able to antagonise 
the toxic action of serpents’ venom, its antagonising power, how- 
ever, being only about the one-seventieth of that of the strongest 
of the biles of venomous serpents that have been tested. It was 
shown by other experiments that the bile of the rabbit and of the 
guinea-pig also possesses this anti-venomous property, and also in 
a degree which, though feeble when compared with the bile of 
venomous serpents, is yet in itself considerable. 
While, therefore, it may now be assumed that the bile of all 
animals is anti- venomous, the difference observed between the 
potency of the bile of venomous serpents when contrasted with 
that of ordinary animals suggests that the anti-venomous property 
must be dependent, at least in part, on some specific constituent 
or constituents present in different quantities in the bile of different 
animals. As this constituent is most largely present in the bile of 
venomous serpents, an endeavour was made to separate it from 
their bile. For this purpose, absolute alcohol was added in excess 
to a concentrated solution of the bile of the puff-adder, of which I 
possessed a greater quantity, though still only small, than that of 
any other venomous serpent. By this means, the substances 
soluble in alcohol, consisting of the bile salts and of a small 
quantity of bile pigments, were separated in solution from the 
substances insoluble in alcohol, consisting of proteids and of the 
bulk of the bile pigments, and it was hoped also of the special 
anti-venomous constituent. Water was then added to the sub- 
stances insoluble in alcohol, and the watery solution, after having 
been centrifugalized, was evaporated to dryness over sulphuric 
acid in the vacuum of an air pump. The alcoholic solution was 
also dried, in the first place on a water bath at 100° F., and 
afterwards in vacuo over sulphuric acid. This analysis was made 
with the whole of the bile at my disposal for the purpose, which, 
however, weighed only *5 grm., and from it *45 grm. of substances 
soluble in alcohol and *05 grm. of those insoluble were obtained. 
The extraction of the latter with water yielded only *02 grm. of a 
dark green solid, representing, therefore, about the one-twenty- 
sixth part of the original bile. 
Several experiments were made with each of the two products. 
When the product consisting of the substances soluble in alcohol 
