Ill 
EXPERIMENTS ON THE INFLUENCE OF SNAICE-POISON. 
already nearly paralysed. 4.5.—Another dose of thirty drops 
administered. Drags tire partially paralysed leg as he walks. 
4.8. Another dose of thirty drops administered. 4.9._ The 
Dog staggers as he walks ; frothing at the mouth ; looks much 
depressed. 4.12.—-Lies down; retching. 4.13. — Convulsed; 
another dose administered. He lies paralysed, and cannot 
mo\e; the heart still heats; no respiratory movements. 4.14._ 
Convulsive gasping. 4.15.—Dead—in thirteen minutes. Two 
hours after death the rigor mortis was complete. 
I fear the eau de luce must be classed with other “ antidotes.” 
Experiment No. 6. 
. Poison taken from a fresh Cobra (“ Gfokurrah”), and a drop 
inserted between the lids of a Fowl’s left eye, at 4.20 p.m. 
The eye closed immediately. 
4.25. — The eyelids already much swollen, 4.37. — So much 
swollen that the eye cannot be seen. 4.38.—No constitutional 
indication of the poison. Another drop inserted ; conjunctiva 
deeply injected and cliemosed. 5 p.m.— The Fowl crouches, 
hut is easily roused; it seems slightly affected by the poison. 
5.10. Crouching. 9 p.m. — Is drowsy ; crouching, with 
wings drooping, and the point of the beak resting on the 
ground. 
September 26th, 7 a.m. — Lying on the ground with one 
wing extended ; unable to walk. 1.30 p.m. — Lying down on 
one side ; gasping; on being roused staggers and falls down. 
Has spasmodic movements ; shivering ; feathers ruffled. 6.9 
-fn the same state. September 27th, 6 a.m. — Lying on 
one side, with the legs extended ; frequent defecation. 9 a.m.— 
Appears to be improving ; able to crouch on its feet. 4 p.m. __ 
Is much better ; takes food and water. 9 p.m. — Still improving. 
September 28th, 6 a.m.— Sits naturally on its feet; eats well; 
the swelling of the eye much reduced; is able to stand, but 
cannot walk much; the legs appear to be benumbed, or to have 
locomotor ataxy ; steps in an awkward manner. 7 p.m.— The 
bird seems to have recovered. 
The Fowl had a very narrow escape; it clearly proves that 
the poison acts by absorption through the conjunctiva. 
Experiment No. 7. 
A drop of fresh Cobra poison was put into a Dog’s eye at 
4.27 p.m. The lachrymation was immediately profuse ; rubbed 
the eye with his fore-paw. 
4.30.—Conjunctiva much injected; he is very uneasy, rub¬ 
bing the eye with his foot. 4.38.—Lies curled up with his 
head between his fore-legs. Another drop inserted into the 
same eye. 4.40.—Appears sluggish, but is not constitutionally 
affected beyond this. 5 p.m.— The Dog is lethargic; lies with 
his head between the legs; eyelids and conjunctiva intensely 
swollen. 5.10.—No change. 9 p.m.— Eyelids closed, and 
greatly swollen. 
September 26tli, 7 a.m. —Appears lively and free from pain ; 
swelling of the eyelids much reduced. 
27th, 9 a.m.— Eats well, and does not appear to suffer any 
pain. 9 p.m.— The same. 
28th, 6 a.m. —Eyelids slightly swollen. 7 p.m.— Nearly 
recovered. 
It is to be noted that although most flagrant imflammation 
was excited in the eye, it had not, as in the most ordinary form 
of conjunctivitis, a tendency to suppurate. The eye, although 
temporarily damaged, the cornea being rendered opaque, was 
not destroyed, as is so frequently the case in the specific form 
of ophthalmia. 
This experiment, like the last, proves that the poison is not 
only absorbed through the conjunctiva, but that it is a local 
irritant. The inflammation is intense, but it subsides without 
treatment; and although the cornea is rendered opaque with 
cloudy opacity, it would evidently soon recover. It seems quite 
clear from these experiments, that the notion that the poison is 
not operative, unless introduced directly into the blood, is not 
tenable, and that it is capable of endosmosis. 
The following incident is interesting, as it shows how one 
may be mistaken about a snake-bite, although the evidence of 
its infliction seems complete. 
A short time ago, my friend Dr. -wrote to me, saying 
that a person had been to him, to inform him that he had been 
bitten by a Cobra, and that he had prevented any evil effects 
by the timely use of measures known to himself. He offered 
to bring the sufferer with the snake for inspection. Accord¬ 
ingly my friend, accompanied by the patient, who brought with 
him a gurrah containing a full-grown and vigorous Cobra 
( Keautiah ) made their appearance the following morning, 
and I had the fullest opportunity of inquiring into the case. 
He informed me that he was fond of snakes, and was in the 
habit of handling them, having no fear of their bites. The 
Cobra that had bitten him the day before had been only 
recently caught in his presence, by a professional snake-catcher. 
He had purchased and had been playing with it, when it bit 
him, through some inadvertence on his own part, on the back 
of the middle finger of the right hand. He immediately 
knocked the snake off; the punctures bled freely, and he 
vigorously sucked the wounds for some time, having also, I 
think he said, tied a ligature tightly about the wound. He 
felt no ill effects from the bites. There were two recent marks 
on the finger which just corresponded to the position of a 
Cobra’s fangs. They looked healthy, and free from any irrita¬ 
tion or mischief. 
He took the snake out of the gurrah, putting his hand in 
among its coils fearlessly, although it hissed and tried to strike. 
He placed it on the ground, where it deported itself after the 
fashion of Cobras, erecting its head and hood, and striking at 
whatever came near it. He sat on the ground and allowed it 
to crawl under his legs, caressing it at the same time. This, 
I confess, aroused my suspicions, but I warned him of the 
extreme danger he was probably incurring, and I asked him if 
he was sure the snake had its fangs ; he said he had no reason 
to doubt it, for it had been caught wild in his presence, and he 
had never lost sight of it since. As there was not the slightest 
reason to doubt his statement, I was, I confess, somewhat 
astonished at his power of handling thus fearlessly so deadly 
an animal, and I again warned him of the great risk he in¬ 
curred. He said he had often done the same with other snakes, 
and nothing had happened to him until on this occasion. 
I have no doubt whatever that he fully believed all he said, 
and that he imagined he had prevented mischief by his treat¬ 
ment of the bite. To attest it, he had put himself to some 
inconvenience to show me the bites and the snake that inflicted 
them, and there was no apparent reason for mistrusting his 
account of the matter. 
He was about to take his leave when, being still sceptical, 
I asked to be allowed to examine the Cobra’s fangs. He made 
no objection, but seemed rather to dislike opening the snake’s 
mouth. We, however, effected this between us, and it proved 
that there were no fangs at all. They had long been removed, 
and the partially exposed roots of the broken teeth were barely 
visible above the sheath, leaving just rough surface enough to 
scratch whatever they came in contact with. He seemed more 
astonished than I was, and assured me, what I did not doubt 
in the least, that he had fully believed in the existence of the 
fangs, for, as he said, the snake had been freshly caug'ht in his 
presence, and he had had it ever since. 
I advised him to be more careful in his future dealings with 
the Oplndia, as the next pet Cobra might prove to have fangs, 
and the disposition to use them. 
Had this gentleman gone away without examination of the 
snake’s mouth, what other conclusion could have been drawn 
