EXPERIMENTS ON THE INFLUENCE OF SNAKE-POISON. 
127 
This Fowl did not exhibit the slightest symptom of poison¬ 
ing, nor was the eye affected. 
Experiment No. 15. 
Some poison taken from a Cobra (“ Tentuliah”) that had been 
in my possession for some time, was administered to a small 
Fowl at 3.28 p.m. No signs of poisoning were observed. 
September 1st, 1870. 
Experiment No. 16. 
12.30 p.m. —Some poison taken from a vigorous “ Gokurrah 
Kurrees” that had just bitten a Krait was administered to the 
Fowl used in Experiment No. 14 of the 30th August. 
12.33.—Tail drooping. 12.35.—Drowsy. 1.—Convulsed. 
1.30.—Dead—in one hour. 
I notice the fresher the snake the more amber-coloured the 
poison. 
The two following experiments were made :— 
August 30 th, 1870. 
Experiment No. 17. 
A small Krait was bitten by a larger one near the tail 
at 1 p.m. Great care was taken not to handle either too 
roughly. 
September 1st.—Found dead this morning. 
September 1st, 1870. 
Experiment No. 18. 
A full-grown, fresh, vigorous Cobra was made to bite a small 
Krait, measuring one foot ten inches in length. Great care 
was taken not to hurt the Krait; 12 noon. 
1 p.m. —Dead—in one hour. 
This Krait had been in the possession of the men who 
brought it three days, and was quite well and vigorous. 
This last experiment seems to he rather convincing that the 
Cobra can kill the Krait. 
Notwithstanding the result of the experiment with the two 
Kraits, I am not at all satisfied they can kill each other. I am 
quite satisfied the Cobra cannot kill another Cobra. 
Mr. Richards adds :—I have not heard of the OpMophagus 
being in this district, but will make inquiries. The Dungarus 
fasciatus appears to be very uncommon in this district. 
Yesterday morning I made a fine fresh “Grokurrah Kurrees” 
bite a Krait measuring two feet and a half in length. I took 
special care not to injure the Krait. The Krait up to the 
time, 6 p.m., 1 am writing, is perfectly well. 
On September 8tli, 1870, Mr. Richards writes:—A Daboia, 
full-sized, was brought to me some days since. I put it amongst 
the other snakes. On the 4tli instant, after being irritated, he 
attacked and hit a large “ Gokurrah Kurrees” very savagely, 
and it died on the 5th; possibly from injury done by the 
viper’s enormous fangs. 
September 'oth, 1870. 
Experiment No. 19. 
At 1 p.m. the Daboia was made to bite a Fowl in the thigh ; 
the Fowl was dead in less than a minute. The parts bitten 
were very much ecchymosed. 
The blood taken from the body of the Fowl was fluid and did 
not coagulate. 
Experiment No. 20. 
At 2.5 p.m. a middling-sized Krait was made to bite a very 
small Cobra that had been in my possession nine or ten days. 
The Cobra died at noon on the 6th. 
There appears to me to be no doubt, in this instance, the 
Krait killed the Cobra. Every care was taken not to injure the 
little Cobra while being bitten by the Krait. It was for some 
time after perfectly lively, proving it had not been injured. 
I have on three occasions set aside the blood taken from the 
bodies of persons dying from snake-bite, and in neither instance 
did it coagulate. One man was bitten by the Krait, the other 
two persons by snakes unknown. 
The Daboia, which appears to be pretty generally known 
here, is called the “ Seah-Chunder.” 
September 1th, 1870. 
Experiment No. 21. 
Some poison taken from a Daboia that had been kept 
in captivity for a few days was dropped into the eye of 
a Fowl at 1.54.30 p.m. 1.57.—Defecation. 2.25.—More 
poison applied to the conjunctiva. 2.27.—Very drowsy- 
2.29,—Squatting on the ground; the beak rests on the 
ground, and the head falls over to one side. 2.35.—Eye very 
much swollen. 3.22.—Head drooping constantly. 3.37. 
Endeavours to keep the beak on the ground, but the head rolls 
over to one side at once. 6.10.—Apparently in convulsions. 
10.30. —Same state. 
September 8th, 9 a.m.—T here is a marked improvement, the 
Fowl only appears drowsy, and the feathers are drooping. 
September 9th.—Recovered, but the eye is still much swollen. 
I was quite astonished on the morning of the 8th to find the 
Fowl not only alive, but considerably improved. 
The snake in this instance was not fresh ; hence, I believe, 
the recovery of the Fowl. 
Experiment No. 22. 
At 2.9 p.m. some poison extracted from a Cobra (“ Gokur. 
rah ”) that had been in my possession some time was applied to 
the conjunctiva of a Fowl. 2.17.—More poison put into the 
eye. 2.25.—Squatting on the ground ; head drooping. 2.29.— 
Attempted to get up but could not. 2.36.—Convulsed. 2.45.— 
The same. 2.59.—Dead—in fifty minutes from the first appli¬ 
cation of the poison. 
Experiment No. 23. 
At 2.3 p.m. some poison was squeezed out of the poison- 
gland of a Krait ( Dungarus cceruleus ) that had been in my 
possession some time (the fangs were broken)—-introduced into 
a Fowl’s eye. 2.20.—Drooping. 2.30.—Seems very sleepy. 
3.38.—Defecation; still drowsy. 4.—Seems better. 
This Fowl gradually recovered. The snake was by no means 
vigorous, and it died three days after. 
September 8 th, 1870. 
Experiment No. 24. 
Some poison was taken from a fine fresh Krait, thirty- 
nine inches and a half long, and applied to the conjunc¬ 
tiva of the Fowl used in No. 23 Experiment, at 12.28 p.m. 
12.30. —Drooping; rubs the eye with its claw; the eye is not 
much swollen. 1,35.—Beak resting on the ground; very 
drowsy. 2.—Convulsed. 2.25.—Occasional convulsive move¬ 
ments. 3.—Dead—in two hours and forty-two minutes. 
Mr. Richards continues :—The opinion you had formed—viz., 
that snake poison is absorbed through mucous membranes, 
appears to be beyond a doubt correct. I believe the poison 
if fresh, properly applied, and in a sufficient quantity, is as 
surely fatal by absorption through mucous membranes as by 
the direct application of the poison, only its fatal action of 
course is greatly retarded under the former condition. 
To-day two Kraits and one Daboia were brought to me. 
One of the Kraits measures forty-five inches and a quarter in 
length, and three inches in circumference, and is beautifully 
marked. 
September 10 th, 1870. 
Experiment No. 25. 
Two drops of poison taken from a vigorous Krait {Dungarus 
cceruleus ), measuring thirty-nine inches and a half, was ad- 
