EXPERIMENTS ON THE INFLUENCE OF SNAKE-POISON 
A smaller Cobra to which the same quantity, one drop, was 
administered, died in less than five minutes. 
Experiment No. 8. 
Two drops of carbolic acid were administered to a large Frog, 
Bana tigrina, at 4.15 p.m. 4.20 p.m.— Apparently not affected. 
4.22.—Began to be sluggish. 4.24.—Very sluggish; reflex 
the hind legs are irritated. 4.30.—No reflex 
movement ; lies almost paralysed ; respiratory movements 
going on slowly. 4.40.—Quite dead. 
When dead the body became quite collapsed and pinched, 
whilst the Frog killed by Cobra poison was much distended. 
The poison used for inoculating on this occasion had been 
taken from three Cobras the day before. There was altogether 
about forty or fifty drops. It is a slightly viscid, somewhat 
opalescent fluid; clear when pressed out of the poison-gland, 
but becoming slightly turbid afterwards, with a slightly acid 
reaction, and under the microscope presenting the appearance 
in the annexed sketch, which I observed after very careful 
examination. 
Appearance op Cobra Poison under Microscope. 
Sachet, | inch; eye-piece No. 3. Lamplight. June 10th, 1S68. 
This poison, used on the day after its abstraction, had lost 
very little of its virulence; for when injected through the 
hypodermic needle, it caused death very rapidly. Where it 
has appeared to fail, the apparent failure has probably been due 
to the mode of insertion. The hypodermic syringe is very 
like the poison fang, and it appeared to inject the poison just 
as efficaciously. 
I may note that the experiments with Cobras have been 
made with three varieties of the Naja tripudians. 
FIFTH SERIES. 
On the Influence of the Poison of Bungarus fasciatus, Cobra, 
and JDaboia. 
June 20th, 1868. 
Experiment No. 1. 
Ten drops of Cobra poison, removed from the Cobra on June 
9th, were injected, with the hypodermic syringe, under the 
mucous membrane of the mouth of a large Rat Snake. It 
did not appear to affect the snake in the least at the time, 
or afterwards; and several days later it was quite well. 
It is possible that the poison may have lost some of its 
power m the course of eleven days, but it had not altered in 
appearance, and had been kept carefully closed from access of 
air. The effect on other animals proves that it had not become 
altogether inert. 
Experiment No. 2. 
At 5.7 p.m., an Ardea leucoptera (Paddy-bird) was bitten 
by a Bungarus fasciatus in the thigh. 5.10.—Stretching the 
bitten leg; breathing hurriedly. 5.11.—Tries to fly. The 
leg very weak. 5.13.—Sluggish. The leg dragged; there is 
a peculiar twitching of the throat. The mouth wide open. 
5.15.—Tries to fly when roused; the leg is paralysed. 5.30.— 
Remains in much the same condition. 5.31.—Much weaker; 
staggers as it moves. The plumage has a disordered and 
diaggled appearance. The bird now crouches on its breast; 
leg apparently unable to support its weight. The mouth 
gaping. The claws are contracted, and it is unable to walk. 
There is a peculiar vibration of the feathers of the neck. The 
bitten thigh is discoloured and much congested. 5.53._ 
Drooping and crouching on the ground. 6.12.—Crouching on 
the ground; accelerated breathing; eyes quite bright. 6.21._- 
If roused, it tries to move, but it immediately falls over; the 
claws are contracted. 6.25.—Tries to rise when roused, and to 
attack with its beak, but droops immediately after the excite¬ 
ment. 6.30.—Brightness of the eyes diminished; lies prone, 
resting the head on the point of the beak. 6.38.—Lies helpless 
and motionless on the ground ; slow, feeble respiration. 6.40. 
—Dead. 
Aftei death. Dr. Stohczka remarked that the blood from the 
wound was very thin and watery. The bitten leg was disco¬ 
loured, and when pressed, a quantity of gas escaped in bubbles. 
Decomposition seemed to be setting in very rapidly. 
The bird was bitten at 5.7 p.m., and died at 6.40 p.m._ i.e., 
in one hour and thirty-three minutes. The dead bird was 
given to a Felis catus (Wild Cat) ; it was eaten with avidity, 
and no unfavourable result occurred to the Cat. 
This experiment, like others tried with the Bung arus fasciatus, 
seems to prove that its poison, though deadly, is neither so 
fatal nor so active as that of the Cobra. This may be due not 
only to some difference in the activity of the poison itself, but 
also to the nature of the instrument with which it is inoculated. 
The Bung arus fasciatus, though a large, powerful and very vicious 
snake, is armed with very small fangs, and penetration, even 
under the most favourable circumstances, must be much less 
than in the case of the Cobra, or of the viperine snakes, which 
have much longer fangs. The difference in this respect is very 
striking between the poisonous colubrine and the viperine 
snakes. The fangs of the Cobra, Bungarus, and other colubrine 
snakes are much smaller than those of the viperine snakes. 
Experiment No. 3. 
Another Paddy-bird, Ardea leucoptera, inoculated at 5.27 p.m. 
m the wing, with some of the same Cobra poison, eleven days 
old, that had been used for the Btgas, a short time before. 
The puncture bled freely. 5.29.—The bird is apparently un¬ 
affected. 5.32.—Inoculated again with a quill-pen into a 
puncture in the hind leg, as the first inoculation seems to have 
taken no effect. 5.35.—Walks sluggishly. Feathers have a 
draggled appearance; some are erect; the bird shakes himself 
frequently; seems very uneasy; vomited some shrimps recently 
eaten. 5.40.—Staggers in walking; very weak in inoculated 
leg. 5.42. Crouching; cannot balance itself when it tries to 
stand ; point of the beak resting on the ground. 5.44._When 
roused, tries to walk, but falls over. 5.46.—Eyes closed ; 
slight convulsions. 5.50.—Generally convulsed. 5.52._Dead. 
The dead bird was eaten by a Dog without producing any evil 
result to that animal. In this instance the poison was at first 
imperfectly inoculated into the wing, and apparently without 
any result after five minutes, when it was again inoculated in 
the wing at 5.32 p.m. ; death occurred at 5.52, or in twenty 
minutes. 
It is worthy of remark that this poison was eleven days old, 
