113 
EXPERIMENTS ON THE INFLUENCE OF SNAKE-POISON. 
Another syringeful, twenty drops of the poison solution, in¬ 
jected. 4.45.—The Dog appeared sluggish, but it may be fright; 
not otherwise affected. The jugular vein was now exposed, 
and one drachm of liquor potass* in two drachms of water was 
injected. No apparent effect produced by this injection into 
the jugular vein. The Dog on being released moved about in 
the usual way. 
4.o0. Half a drachm of liquor potass* in two ounces of 
water was poured down the throat. 5 p.m.— The dose was 
repeated. The Dog seemed inclined to vomit, but did not do 
so ; not otherwise in the least affected. 6.15 p.m. —No change. 
9 p.m. Appears restless, changing position frequently. 9.30 
p.m. —The same. 
April 24th, 9 a.m. —Looks well, not lethargic. 1 p.m. —The 
same. Midnight.—The same. 
April 25th, 8 a.m. —Seems well and unaffected. 1 p.m. —No 
change, forty-six hours after the experiment. 
The poison used in these experiments was necessarily weak. 
I11 the first it was taken from a Cobra that had lost its fang's 
and when squeezed out in a small quantity it was probably 
mingled with mucus. It produced the usual effects, however, 
m a Dog, and death occurred in an hour and a half. 
The liquor potass* was administered by injection into the 
jugular vein, and into the stomach ; no apparent result followed, 
and the Dog died in ninety minutes, with the usual symptoms 
of Cobra poisoning' ; the blood coagulated firmly when removed 
from the heart and large vessels after death. 
In the three other experiments, old and decomposed poison, 
removed from the snake four months previously, and which 
had coagulated into an exceedingly offensive white paste, very 
insoluble in water, was used, and in small quantities. In the 
case of the full-grown Dog no symptom was produced by the 
second day. To test the effect of the liquor potass* it was in¬ 
jected into the jugular vein, and administered by the mouth. 
No change occurred, and forty hours after the experiment the 
animal was unaffected. In the cases of the two Fowls, one 
died in three hours and forty minutes, the other in twenty-two 
hours; and in them the symptoms were somewhat different 
from those usually produced on Fowls by the Cobra poison. 
One of the earliest symptoms in ordinary cases of Cobra 
poisoning of Fowls is drooping of the head, which is supported 
by the point of the beak resting on the ground. The bird 
frequently raises its head with a sudden start, until at last, 
overwhelmed by the action of the poison, it falls over and dies, 
frequently in convulsions. This drooping of the head was not 
observed ; the eye was bright, and the head erect almost to the 
last, whilst the legs were quickly paralysed. 
In those cases the liquor potass* was also given by hypo¬ 
dermic injection, but with no apparent result, except in one case, 
when slight convulsions occurred, though I am not at all sure 
they were caused by it. Death in both cases was protracted, in 
one excessively so; but this I attributed to the weakened and 
diluted state of the poison. Is it possible that the difference in 
its action may have been due to the changes that had taken 
place during decomposition ? At all events, though much 
weakened, and probably altered in its action, it still preserved, 
to some extent, its lethal properties ; for, although the strong 
and full-grown Dog was not apparently affected, the smaller 
and more sensitive birds were. 
The conclusions I draw from these experiments are:— 
1st. That the poison of the Cobra retains its activity even 
when the fangs have been destroyed, and the gland perhaps for 
a time inactive. 
2nd. That keeping and decomposition of the poison does not 
destroy, though it weakens or alters, its poisonous properties. 
3rd. That the injection of diluted liquor potass* is not 
necessarily attended with any danger, or even bad symptoms 
when it is injected into the jugular vein or hypodermically; and 
that the result of these four experiments, which are not by any 
means conclusive, does not show that it has any antidotal effect 
on the action of the poison. 
Experiment No. 5. 
April 25th.—Two young Fowls were injected in the thigh 
with the same old Cobra poison as in the last experiments. 
April 23rd; the poison was inserted with the hypodermic 
syringe, at 3.55 p.m. 5.10 p.m. —No change. 7 p.m. —No 
change. 9.15 p.m. —The legs which were injected are lame 
and stiff in both Fowls. 
26th, 5 a.m. —No symptoms of poisoning. 1.20 p.m. —One 
Fowl walking about quite well. The other appears dull and 
drooping. 
27tli, 6 a.m. —No change. 1 p.m. —Both Fowls walking 
about in the cage. 29th.—They are quite well. 
The effects of the poison on both were most feebly manifested. 
The liquor potass* was not used. 
April 30 th, 1870. 
Present, Drs. Fayrer and Ewart, and Mr. Sceva. 
Experiment No. 6. 
A solution of liquor potass* one part, water three parts, was 
prepared. 
2.55 a.m. —One drachm of the above solution was injected 
into the external jugular vein of a small Dog. 
The Dog seemed rather sluggish after the injection, but at 
3.7 p.m. was as usual, and seemed quite well at 3.9 p.m. He 
was bitten on the fold of the thigh by a young Cobra about 
one-third grown. 
It was made to close its jaws very reluctantly, and its bite 
was very doubtful; no marks of blood were visible. 
3.15 p.m. —The Dog seemed rather sluggish, apparently 
frightened; twenty drops of the liquor potass* solution were 
hypodermically injected into the thigh. This seemed to cause 
sharp pain; the place where the Cobra was supposed to have 
bitten was washed with liquor potass*. 3.24.—Sluggish; lies 
down again when it has been made to stand. Twenty drops more 
of the liquor potass* solution injected into the thigh. 3.27.— 
Stretching out the hind-legs. 3.29.—Eises and sits down again. 
Thoracic muscles seem contracted. 3.34.—Seems to walk with 
difficulty when roused ; abdomen seems distended. 3.43.—Lies 
quite quiet. 4.6.—In the same condition. Hind-legs seem 
weak. Lies with the limbs extended. 4.15.—Walks about, 
when roused sits up, but seems giddy, head moves from side to 
side. 4.21.—Twenty-nine drops of the solution injected seems 
to give, as before, considerable pain; it licks the puncture. 
4.50.—Another twenty drops injected. 8.30.—No change. 
9.30. —Lying down, breathing naturally; no symptoms of 
poisoning now present. 
May 1st.—The Dog is living, is not in any way affected. 
May 3rd.—The Dog remained quite well. 
Experiment No. 7. 
A large Dog had the jugular exposed, and one drachm of 
liquor potass* in three drachms of water was injected at once 
into the vein. 
3.10.—The same young Cobra was made to close its jaws in 
the Dog’s thigh, but there was no evidence of its biting. 
3.30. —Twenty drops of the solution were injected into the 
thigh. The Dog was not in any way affected, and remains, on 
the 2nd May, quite well. 
These two experiments are very instructive, for they show in 
the first experiment that the Dog was, though bitten, so slightly 
poisoned that no evil results followed. In the second no effect 
was produced at all. The Cobra was very young and small, 
its fangs were small, and the poison small in quantity, and not 
active. This no doubt is the way in which recoveries take 
place when there is no doubt as to the person having been 
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