EXPERIMENTS ON THE INFLUENCE OF SNAKE-POISON. 
131 
could not bite voluntarily. 9.—Lame, crouched. 3 p.m. —Eye¬ 
lids half closed ; head drooping ; respiration gasping, during 
which beak opens, and a crowing sound occurs; feathers ruffled; 
purged frequently. 
June 30th.—Lying half dead; refuses food ; mark of bite of 
a bluish colour. 
July 1st.—Recovered and able to move about; it remained 
well. 
June 30/A 1870. 
Experiment No. 6. 
A Pelamis bicolor, caught fresh in a hand net. It was quite 
lively and able to bite. A small Fowl was bitten by it at 6.26 
a.m., the wound scarcely a scratch. 7.—Crouching, drooping. 
8.—Beak rising and falling. 9.—Insensible. 9.50.—Quite dead. 
Blood fluid after death. 
July 5 th, 1870. 
Experiment No. 7. 
A Sea-snake,* a new species allied to U. hardwichii, bit a full- 
sized Fowl in the thigh at 8.30 a.m. The marks of the bite 
were distinct. 8.34.—Fowl seated. 8.35.—Drooping; eyes 
closing ; rotating the head on the beak in a sitting posture. 
8.38.—Convulsed; head resting on ground. 8.42.—Continued 
convulsions. 8.47.—Legs thrown backwards in final spasm; 
tail spread out; quite dead in seventeen minutes. 
Blood coagulated after death. 
July 22nd, IS70. 
Experiment No. 8. 
The same snake was tried on a Dog, but it was too feeble to 
bite; its jaws were pressed firmly on the inner part of the 
thigh. No evil result to the Dog. 
Experiment No. 9. 
Uydroplns cyanocincta, four feet long, bit a half-grown Fowl 
voluntarily in the thigh, twice or thrice, drawing blood, and 
leaving slight ecchymosis, at 9.37. 9.40.—Fowl drooping; 
eyes closing ; head resting on beak. 9.41.—Fell over on its 
side. 9.4.2.—Convulsed. 9.46.—Dead—in nine minutes. 
Experiment No. 10. 
The same snake bit a Pariah Dog twice on the thigh at 4.40 
p.m. 5.20.—Dog restive, salivated, burrowing its muzzle in the 
sand. 5.25.—Seated, body thrown forwards, head down, parti¬ 
ally convulsed, salivation increasing. 5.30.—Spasms; defecated- 
5.35.—Involuntary evacuations ; respiration sIoav ; tongue 
hanging out of mouth ; salivation very profuse. 5.40.—Dead 
—in one hour. 
July 23 rd, 1870. 
Experiment No. 11. 
The same snake, kept alive in a hole in the wet sand, bit a 
full-grown Fowl at 7.35 a.m. This was not a fair bite, and 
took no effect. Bit again at 7.45 effectively. Fowl sat down 
after the bite. 8.11.—Laydown; head resting on beak; be¬ 
came convulsed. 8.25.—Convulsions. 8.35.—Dead. 
The Uydrophis of four feet in length is evidently a very 
dangerous creature. 
For the following notes on the action of the poison of certain 
of these snakes I am also indebted to Mr. Stewart:— 
Unitydrina Vcdahadyen. On September 17th bit a Dog, which 
was rendered prostrate in an hour, and appeared as if likely to 
die; but eventually recovered. On the 18th another large Dog 
was bitten twice; the fangs being carefully pressed into the 
skin. The Dog died in three hours after, though it was affected 
in a quarter of an hour after the bite. The fangs appear to be 
brittle— i.e., falling oft’ from their articulation. 
IT. gracilis. Fangs minute ; could not be made to pierce the 
skin of a Dog on which the jaws were forcibly closed. 
* IT. chloris. Fangs very minute. This species has killed 
several Fowls, but the poison was slow in operation. Its very 
small mouth and fangs render wounding by forcible closure 
very difficult. It very soon expires after removal from its 
native element, particularly if thrown on the shore by the surf. 
A fisherman who brought the snake said it was plentiful in the 
Chilka Lake. He said he was an eye-witness to a fatal case, 
that of a lad who was bitten two months ago at Ancoodah, while 
fishing. The boy died in two hours. 
IT jerdonii. Lived for eight days. Two dogs were experi¬ 
mented on, but the snake could inflict no wound. Famrs 
small. 
II. stewartii. A very poisonous snake. Killed a Fowl in 
eight minutes : a Dog in an hour. The coagulated blood of 
the Fowl inoculated into another, killed it in twelve hours. 
H. nigra. Killed a Fowl in fifteen minutes. 
The following Experiments on various species of Hydro- 
pnidte were made by myself. I am indebted to Mr. Gubfi'e, 
Collector and Supervisor of Calcutta Canals, for fine spe¬ 
cimens of Uydroplns coronata and Enhydrina bengalensis from 
Dhappa. 
August 11 th. 
Experiment No. 12. 
A Fowl was bitten in the thigh by Enhydrina bengalensis, 
about forty-three inches long, at 5.48 p.m. 
The snake was sluggish, and could only be made to bite bv 
forcibly closing the jaws on the Fowl’s thigh. The fangs were 
small, and barely drew blood. 
5.51.—Crouched, and became convulsed almost immediately. 
Died at 5.55, or in seven minutes. 
The blood formed a firm coagulum when removed from the 
body after death. 
August 12 th. _ 
Experiment No. 13. 
The above snake died at 10 p.m. yesterday. Its jaws were 
closed with pressure on a Fowl’s thigh this morning at 7.34 a.m. 
8.5.—The Fowl limps. 8.12.—Crouching; feathers staring; 
wings expanded. 8.20.—Head drooping, resting point of the 
beak on the ground. 9.5.—Remains in the same condition. 
9.50.—Convulsed. 11.35.—Remained in much the same con¬ 
dition until death after four hours. 
The poison of this snake when vigorous and fresh in its own 
element, the salt water, must be very deadly. 
August 9th. 
Experiment No. 14. 
A Uydroplns coronata was made, with much difficulty and 
only by pressure, to close its very small jaws on the comb, and 
then on the thigh of a half-grown Chicken. At 3.30 p.m. the 
Chicken was excited, but apparently not in pain after the bite. 
4 p.m. —Pecked some grains of rice. 4.11.—Crouching. 
4.16.—Head falls over; starts when its beak touches the 
ground. 4.30.—Drowsy; beak resting on the ground; wings 
drooping. 4.53.—Eyes closed, beak resting on the ground; 
starts at intervals, any noise makes it rise with a jerk. 5.15.— 
Cannot be roused by noise, but starts when touched ; falls over 
on its side. 5.33.—Apparently dead, lying on its side; slight 
convulsions when raised by the wings. 5.55.—Dead—in two 
hours and twenty-five minutes. 
* In the collection II. lindsayi, II. cantoris, and S. chloris seem to have been 
considered by Mr. Stewart as the same species. It is not clear, therefore, to which 
the experiment under H. chloris should be referred. Most probably the effects of 
the poison of each of these species are very similar. 
* Named by Dr. Anderson H. fayreriana. 
