EXPERIMENTS ON THE INFLUENCE OF SNAKE-POISON. 
83 
Passerita, which it killed in two minutes. 1.16.—Appears 
rather sluggish as it lies on the floor. At 1.35 it appears in 
its natural state; raises its head, expands the hood, and strikes 
when threatened. At 1.43 it was bitten severely in the body, 
about a foot from the head, by a Daboia, one of those that have 
been some time in confinement. At 1.47 it appeared to be 
affected; was sluggish, and lay with its hood shrunken and its 
skin shrivelled. It is possible that in presenting it to the 
Daboia to be bitten it may have been squeezed, but it did not 
appear so. It remained in this sluggish state, and was dead at 
4.10 p.m. 
Experiment No. 27. 
A Passerita mycterizans (Green Whip-snake) rather smaller 
than the former one, was bitten in the body at 1.40 by a Daboia. 
At 1.45 p.m. almost powerless. It gradually became more and 
more exhausted, gaped like the one bitten by the Cobra, and 
was dead at 2.2 p.m., or in seventeen minutes. The Daboia 
was one of those long in confinement, and had no doubt become 
exhausted. 
Experiment No. 28. 
A large black Cobra bitten in the body by a Daboia at 
1.52 p.m., at about a foot from the head. At 2.20 no change. 
o 
October 3rd, 6 a.m. —No change. 
Experiment No. 29. 
A full-grown Cobra bitten by a Daboia in the body at 
2.4 p.m. October 2nd. At 2.20 no change. 
Died at 10.30, October 4th. 
Experiment No. 30. 
A half-grown Fowl was bitten in the thigh by a Cobra at 
1.11 p.m. At 1.11.45 it crouched, drooped its wings, rose, 
staggered, and dropped down. At 1.13 drooped its wings; 
rested on its breast, with the point of its beak on the ground. 
1.14.—Convulsed and dying. 1.15.—Dead. Died in four 
minutes. 
The Cobra was not quite fresh; it had bitten the Passerita, 
and had itself been bitten by another Cobra before biting the 
Fowl. 
Experiment No. 31. 
At 1.25 about four drops of the blood of the above Fowl 
(Experiment No. 30) were injected into the hind-quarters of a 
Sorex ccerulescens (Musk Rat). At 1.35 eating a portion of 
the dead Fowl, apparently not affected, unless it may be 
perhaps rather sluggish. 
At 5.30 a.m. of October 3rd the Musk Rat was found 
dead; it appeared to have been dead two or three hours; no 
sign of any injury, but the syringe puncture in the thigh 
apparent. 
The evidence of Exjieriments Nos. 3, 4, 5, 13, 1G, 28, went to 
show that the Cobra and the Daboia are not affected by each 
other or by their own poison. 
The Experiments Nos. 26, 29, on the other hand, seemed to 
prove that the Cobra succumbs to the Daboia. The subject was 
still, therefore, not set at rest, and more experiments were re¬ 
quired to decide it. 
There is abundant evidence to prove that the innocuous are 
rapidly affected by the venomous snakes, and that this is the 
case may be considered as decided, though no doubt the poison 
tells less rapidly and fatally on them than on warm-blooded 
animals. 
That the venomous snakes themselves are affected* by 
other poisons, is proved by the rapidity with which they suc¬ 
cumb to strychnia and carbolic acid. The weight of evi¬ 
dence so far would show that the venomous snakes are, if 
not proof against, at least not readily affected by each other’s 
poison. 
NINTH SERIES. 
Experiments on the Influence of the Poison of the Cobra, Bungarus 
fasciatus, and Daboia on Warm-blooded, Cold-blooded, a?id 
Invertebrate Animals. 
October 15th, 1868. 
Present, Dr. Fayrer and Mr. Sceva. 
Experiment No. 1. 
A Fish ( Ophiocephalus marulius ), about ten inches in length, 
was bitten by a fresh Cobra at 11.20 a.m. in two places, on the 
dorsal and ventral surfaces. 11.22.—The Fish turned over on 
its side in the water. 11.23.—Struggling and plunging vio¬ 
lently in the water. 11.25.—Turned over on its side. 11.26._ 
On being roused plunges violently. 11.40.—Dead. Bitten at 
11.20. Died at 11.40. Dead in twenty minutes. 
Experiment No. 2. 
A large Snail {Achatina fulica) was bitten at 11.28 by a 
Cobra : it immediately withdrew itself within its shell. 11.45. 
—In order to examine its condition the shell was broken; it 
still continued to contract. 12.—No contraction; all irrita¬ 
bility seems extinct. Dead. 
Experiment No. 3. 
Two Snails of equal size—shells previously broken; one was 
bitten by a Cobra at 12.28. It immediately shrank and con¬ 
tracted itself. The other Snail was not bitten, and was kept 
for comparison. 12.40.—Irritability of the bitten Snail much 
diminished. The bitten Snail seemed to lose its vitality much 
sooner than the uninjured one; but the precise time when 
irritability ceased was not noted. 
These were the only invertebrate animals I could procure on 
this occasion. The experiments, though not very satisfactory, 
leave no doubt that the Mollusc was affected by the poison 
Experiment No. 4. 
A full-grown Cobra was bitten at 11.40 a.m. in two places 
near the tail by a Daboia russellii. 11.48.—No effect. 12.50._ 
No effect. 
October 16th, 8 p.m.— The snake was perhaps not so lively, 
but there was no marked effect, and it lived. 
Experiment No. 5. 
A full-grown Cobra was bitten in two places, on the ventral 
surface and the middle of the body, by a Daboia, at 11.58. 
12.50.—No effect. 
October 16th, 8 p.m.— No effect; the snake lived. 
Experiment No. 6. 
A half-grown Chicken was bitten by a fresh Cobra in the 
thigh at 12.2. 12.3.4o. It crouched; head drooping, beak 
resting on the ground. 12.4.30—Paralysed; head lying on 
the ground. 12.5.—Convulsed. 12.5.10.— Dead, in three 
minutes and ten seconds. 
Experiment No. 7. 
A second Chicken was bitten by the same Cobra at 12.9.30 
m the thigh. 12.10.—Leg partially paralysed. 12.13. 
Lying down, beak resting on the ground. 12.13.30._Para¬ 
lysed, beak resting its point on the ground. 12.14.—Con¬ 
vulsed ; dead in five minutes and thirty seconds. 
Experiment No. 8. 
A third Chicken was bitten by the same Cobra in the thigh 
at 12.17.30. 12.18.30.-—Fell over; rested the point of its 
beak on the ground. 12.19.—Convulsed. 12.21.—Dead, in 
four minutes and thirty seconds. 
