EXPERIMENTS ON THE INFLUENCE OF SNAKE-POISON. 
91 
hypodermic syringe. The Hog lay still for a moment, and 
was then raised ; he howled loudly and fell on his belly, the 
legs being unable to support his weight. Lay in that position 
in a general state of tremor, involuntary defecation and mictu¬ 
rition taking place. 2.50.—Lying on his side ; convulsed and 
twitching in every muscle of the body ; pupils widely dilated. 
2.52.—Lies on his side in a state of unusual muscular twitch¬ 
ing; unable to rise or to walk when raised. 2.55.—Starts up 
and tries to run ; falls down ; is unable to rise again ; the head 
fallen over on one side. 2.57.—Lying quiet, cannot stand 
when raised; no tremor now; breathing hurried and deep. 
3.4.—Seems to be recovering ; raises his head, and tries to get 
up; breathing still hurried and deep. 3.10.—Recovering; 
raises his head, makes efforts to get up; profuse salivation and 
frothing at the mouth. 3.13. — Sitting up; licking the 
puncture; refuses water when offered; great salivation. 
3.30.—Is apparently well again ; walks about as if nothing 
had occurred. The object of this experiment was to test the 
effect of the liquor ammonia; injected into the venous circulation 
in an animal uninfluenced by the poison. It was used of the 
sp. gr. *959 B. P., as directed by Professor Halford, and it was 
injected into the femoral vein in the manner suggested by him. 
The impression produced by this experiment was that the Dog 
had a very narrow escape from death, and that the effects of the 
ammonia had nearly proved rapidly fatal. 
Experiment No. 2. 
A large and powerful Dog had the right femoral vein ex¬ 
posed, and was then bitten by a fresh and full-grown Spectacled 
Cobra (“ Gokurrah” of the snake-men) in the integumentary 
fold of the left thigh at 3.6 p.m. 
3.8.-—Began to show signs of the effect of the poison; 
staggers; is slightly convulsed; micturated. Forty minims 
of the liquor ammoniae, sp. gr. '959, B. P., were now carefully 
injected into the femoral vein already exposed, with the hypo¬ 
dermic syringe. 3.9.—Violently convulsed; but raising the 
head and trying to rise. There could be no doubt that what¬ 
ever the latter effects might be, the immediate consequence of 
the ammonia injection was to make the animal much worse. 
3.10.—Stood up ; breathing very rapidly; salivation profuse. 
3.12.—Breathing hurried ; sitting up and looking more intelli¬ 
gent. 3.13.—Is able to stand alone. 3.15.—Lies down ; sali¬ 
vation very profuse. 3.20.—Is certainly better ; walks, but 
drags the injected legs ; is sluggish. Remained in this condition, 
very restless; lying down and rising ; drowsy at 3.30; thirty 
drops more of the ammonia injected. 3.31.—Lying down, is 
drowsy. 3.40.—Is lying down ; being sluggish with hurried 
breathing. 3.43.—Worse; hypodermic injection of the ammonia, 
forty drops, under integument of fore-leg. 3.44.—No apparent 
effect; twenty drops more injected in the same place. 3.50.—Is 
worse; convulsed. 3.53.—Involuntary defecation; breathing 
catching, and rather slow; seems quite exhausted; pupils 
widely dilated; lips pallid. 3.54.—Dead. Bitten at 3.6 p.m., 
dead at 3.54, in forty-eight minutes. 
The results of this experiment are not favourable to the 
ammonia theory. Death took place in about the usual time in 
which it occurs in a Dog after a bite from a vigorous Cobra. 
The effect of the first injection impressed one with the idea 
that for a time the influence of the snake-poison was in 
abeyance, but the later symptoms were rather unfavourable than 
favourable to the ammonia. 
Experiment No. 3. 
A Fowl was bitten by a Cobra in the wing at 3.36 p.m. 
Half a minute later I injected twenty minims of the liquor am¬ 
moniac into the femoral vein which had been previously exposed. 
3.38.—Violently convulsed; the convulsions passing rapidly 
into a state of general tremor and death. The Fowl was 
bitten in the wing, where the parts were not very vascular, 
that the poison might not be absorbed so rapidly as if bitten in 
the fleshy part. The poison had no time to manifest its effects, 
for the injection of the liquor ammoniae was followed by imme¬ 
diate convulsions and death. 
Experiment No. 4. 
A Fowl had ten minims of the same liquor ammoniae diluted 
with twenty minims of water, injected with the hypodermic 
syringe under the skin of the thigh. 3.44.—Apparently not 
affected. 9 p.m. —No change. 
30th, 6 a.m. —No change. 
31st, 8 a.m. —The Fowl keeps the leg drawn up, but is not 
otherwise affected. 
Apparently beyond slight local inflammation no effect pro¬ 
duced. 
Experiment No. 5. 
The Dog of Experiment No. 1 having perfectly recovered, 
had the left external jugular vein exposed at 3.55 p.m. of May 
29th. He was then bitten in the right fore-leg by a fresh full- 
grown Spectacled Cobra. 
3.56 p.m. — Sits down, lies down, rises and walks about, limping 
on the bitten leg. 3.58.-—Sits down, but roused, walks about. 
4.—Sluggish, lies down, walks unwillingly, ears drooping. 
4.2.—Rises and walks about with uncertain gait. 4.3.— 
Lies down, with the head on the ground, apparently in a 
partially exhausted state. 4.6.—Stands but is unsteady, head 
hanging down, and with salivation. 4.11.—Staggers in his 
walk. 
The Dog had only one bite, and the poison is now evidently 
taking effect; so forty minims of the liquor ammonia; were 
carefully injected with the hypodermic syringe into the jugular 
vein, the greatest care being taken not to admit any air with 
the fluid. The Dog was immediately convulsed violently, fell 
over, was quite unable to stand; the convulsion passed into 
rapid jactitations of all the muscles. 4.15.—Perfect muscular 
exhaustion, hurried breathing. 4.18.—Injected twenty minims 
more of the liquor ammoniae into the vein. Convulsive move¬ 
ments again became universal, pupils dilated, involuntary mic¬ 
turition, twitching of the mouth, lips drawn up, exposing the 
teeth, lips pallid, breathing catching and slow. 4.20.—Dead. 
In this instance unusual care was taken to perform the ex¬ 
periment with exactness. No air was allowed to enter the 
vein, and the ammonia was most carefully injected with the 
hypodermic syringe. The steps of the operation were most 
carefully carried out by Dr. Ewart and myself. 
The Dog was bitten only once in the fore-leg. The poison 
did not manifest its effects so quickly, or in so marked a 
manner as in Dogs bitten twice or thrice in the muscular part 
of the thigh, and this was purposely done that we might watch 
the progress of the action of the poison, and inject the ammonia 
at the right time. The ammonia was injected at 4.13 p.m., or 
in eighteen minutes after the bite. Convulsions came on im¬ 
mediately, and these were followed by complete muscular pros¬ 
tration ; at 4.18, or five minutes later, twenty more minims of 
the ammonia were injected into the jugular vein ; a repetition 
of the same phenomena followed, and the Dog died, completely 
exhausted, at 4.20 — that is, two minutes after the second 
injection, or seven minutes after the first, or in twenty-five 
minutes after the bite. 
There can be no reasonable doubt that the injection of liquor 
ammonise into the external jugular vein in this case hastened, 
if it did not cause death ; and whatever other deduction may 
be drawn from the experiment, this is inevitable, that the pro¬ 
ceeding is a dangerous one. In this case death occurred, in 
the first experiment the animal’s life was in peril. The result 
is very different from that obtained by Professor Halford in 
his experiments, where he injected liquor ammonise not only 
