SECTION Y. 
EXPERIMENTS ON THE INFLUENCE OF 
SNAKE-POISON ON THE LOWER ANIMALS, AND ON THE 
VALUE OF CERTAIN MODES OF TREATMENT AND REPUTED ANTIDOTES 
SUMMARY. 
1 he experiments of which this is a summary were com¬ 
menced in October, 180?,* and were continued during a period 
of three years at such intervals as time and other and more im¬ 
portant avocations permitted. My object has been to determine, 
by actual observation, the effect on life of the poison of the 
venomous snakes of India, and to test the value of remedies, 
whether internal or external. 
So many absurd ideas on the subject prevail, that it is de¬ 
sirable to know the real truth, not less with reference to the 
actual modus operandi of the poison, than to the value of the 
many vaunted antidotes. The results, I regret to say, tend to 
show that in the present state of our knowledge we can do little 
to counteract or neutralize the action of the poison; but what 
may be expected from treatment I have endeavoured to show. 
As to antidotes, I would speak with reserve on the subject of 
possible future discoveries; my experience does not encourage 
me to hope that we shall discover anything that can be re¬ 
garded as an antidote, in the sense usually conveyed by that 
term. But considering the imperfection of our knowledge on 
this and kindred subjects, I would do nought to deter or dis¬ 
courage others from further investigation. 
My personal experience is derived from the action of the 
poison on the lower animals, and in a few cases on Man ; the 
antagonism of the venom to the vital forces is shown in one as 
well as in the other, and is no doubt subject to the same laws. 
The deductions from one are applicable to the other. 
The greatest care has been observed in all the experiments, 
and most of them have been often repeated, to exclude as far 
as possible sources of error, and to obviate generalization from 
insufficient data. 
Almost every experiment has been witnessed by competent 
observers, to whom I am much indebted for their assistance, 
and for the additional value which their presence attaches to 
the validity of what was done. 
The object of investigation has been the simple truth. I can 
safely say there was neither foregone conclusion to maintain 
nor theory either to support or oppose. 
The snakes with which the experiments have been 'conducted 
were:— 
The varieties of Naja tripudians or Cobra. 
The Ophiojrhagus daps or Hamadryad. 
The Bungarus fasciatus or Sankni. 
The Bungarus cceruleus or Krait. 
Some of the HydrojMdce. 
The Baboia russellii. 
The Belas carinata. 
The Trimeresurus monticola. 
And in the case of the Callophides and of the other Crotabides, 
I have referred to the experiments of others, not having had 
opportunity of testing them myself. 
* I would remark tlmt these are not my first investigations in the subiect of 
Cobra poisoning. My experiments were commenced at Lucknow in 1854, and were 
performed on Dogs, Fowls, and Quails. I then ascertained, among other thino- s 
that the virus might be preserved in the dried state on vaccine-glass slips and 
that it retained its properties, although not so actively as when fresh. 
The living creatures experimented on have been the Ox, 
Horse, Goat, Pig, Dog, Cat, Civet, Mongoose, Rabbit, Rat, 
Domestic Fowls, Kites, Herons, fish, innocent snakes, poisonous 
snakes, Lizards, Frogs, Toads, Snails. 
-i he symptoms produced by the poison both constitutionally 
and locally have been carefully noted. The state of the blood 
has also been examined, especially with reference to structural 
changes, and for this part of the investigation I have been 
much indebted to Professors Partridge, Ewart, W. Palmer, J. 
Anderson, and Dr. Douglas Cunningham. 
In point of relative deadliness, I should be inclined to 
consider that the Cobra, Oplnophagus , and Baboia are very 
nearly on a par. They are quite capable of destroying a full- 
grown Dog in half an hour, sometimes in much less time; 
and very frequently I believe Man has succumbed within an 
equally short period, though generally the time is much 
longer. 
The Bungarus cmndeus is, I believe, just as deadly, but ap¬ 
parently does not kill quite so quickly. The Bungarus fasciatus 
is less fatal, and kills less quickly than the Bungarus cceruleus. 
The Belas, if one may credit the reports from Sinde, and they 
are confirmed to a certain extent by Major MacMahon, Deputy 
Commissioner of Delhi, is also a very deadly snake. It destroys 
life rapidly in small animals, but, from its small size, it is 
perhaps less likely to be fatal to Man, though from what I have 
seen of the effects of its poison on Pigeons, Fowls, and Dogs, 1 
should regard it with peculiar dread. 
Of the IJydro'phidcB less is known, but the few experiments I 
have performed, and those by Mr. Stewart, prove that they are 
very fatal, and I should think human life would be in great 
danger from their bite. 
The Callophides and Crotalidce of Hindostan are certainly 
not so deadly as those I have mentioned, and though capable 
of inflicting a painful, and in some instances no doubt a 
dangerous bite, they are not so much dreaded as the other 
snakes. 
There are differences in the symptoms produced by the poi¬ 
sonous bites of the different Thanatophidia, but none of any 
great physiological or pathological import. In some cases con¬ 
vulsions are more marked, and in others death is preceded by a 
more decided appearance of lethargy. In some, as in those of 
bite by the Betas, the local symptoms are peculiarly severe, 
in others less so. But the differences are more of deo-ree 
than of kind. All the symptoms point to exhaustion and 
paralysis of the nerve centres—the sources of the origin of 
vital force—every function fails rapidly and vitality is soon 
extinct. 
Local paralysis of the bitten part, great depression, faintness, 
exhaustion, nausea, vomiting, haemorrhage, relaxation of the 
sphincters, involuntary evacuation, not unfrequently of a san¬ 
guineous or muco-sanguineous character, precede the complete 
loss of consciousness, and after this convulsions occur just before 
life ceases. 
The loss of consciousness is no doubt due not only to 
the circulation of imperfectly aerated blood, but also to the 
action of the virus on the cerebral ganglia. This is most 
noticeable in Man, in whom it appears in many cases to 
