146 
THE THANATOPHIDIA OF INDIA. 
way. In about three minutes Mr. Higgins began to ad¬ 
minister bis antidote, and repeated it several times. The bird 
died in about twenty-five minutes with the usual symptoms. 
The longer interval between the injection and death was 
probably due to the poison, being highly diluted and in very 
small quantity, not having entered a vein, as apparently was 
the case with the first bird. 
Experiment No. 2. 
Two large Rabbits of equal size—one an albino—were next 
injected in the thigh with exactly equal quantities of the 
diluted poison, and the dose was very small. In a few minutes 
Mr. Higgins began to administer his antidote to the albino, 
which was probably the more sensitive of the two, as it showed 
symptoms of poisoning sooner than the other. The antidote 
was repeated several times, without any apparent effect, and 
the Rabbit died before the other which had no antidote. The 
second Rabbit, when on the point of death, quite unconscious, and 
with feeble convulsive movements commencing, had its trachea 
opened and artificial respiration was practised. There was 
no return of consciousness or of voluntary movement; the tail 
was observed to move when the animal was touched, long after 
the eyelids were irresponsive to stimuli, and the heart was kept 
beating vigorously for nearly two hours, when the experiment 
was concluded. In the other case (the antidotal one) the 
heart also continued to contract, and the peristaltic action of 
the intestines to go on for some minutes after apparent death. 
The blood removed from the body after death formed a firm 
coagulum. 
Experiment No. 3. 
Mr. Higgins then used a solution of some inspissated poison 
of a South American Snake, which he said was a viper, and 
called the “ bocca d’orada” (technical name unknown), very 
poisonous. A solution of it, of considerable strength, was 
made and injected into the thigh of two Rabbits, one to be 
left to nature, the other to have the antidote. No symptoms 
of poisoning resulted in either, and the poison was again in¬ 
jected, but without effect. Mr. Higgins said he thought the 
poison had become inactive from keeping. It is not, however, 
so old as the Cobra poison that was experimented with. 
The antidote is that previously described in Mr. Higgins’s 
letter at page 121—“ the gall of a poisonous snake.” 
The result of the experiments here was as conclusive as that of 
those in Calcutta, and must, I think, for the Cobra poison (and 
I should think for any other snake poison), be regarded as con¬ 
clusive. I fear Mr. Higgins has been deceived by appearances 
and imperfect evidence, as I have pointed out has been the case 
with others. There could be no doubt about his own belief; 
and the very kind and straightforward manner in which he 
aided and witnessed the experiments he sought for, is quite 
proof of his real and honest desire to make known what he 
believes to be a great discovery. 
The experiments were conducted by Dr. Lauder Brunton 
and myself, in deference to the expressed wish of Dr. Forbes 
Watson, of the India Office, to whom the subject of this anti¬ 
dote had been referred for report by the Foreign Office. 
Experiment No. 4. 
A large and powerful Rabbit had a drop and a half of the 
above Cobra poison, diluted with about ten or fifteen drops of 
water, injected into the jugular vein, which was carefully 
exposed by Dr. Brunton for that purpose. Immediately 
following it, were injected five drops of liquor ammonia; diluted 
with four parts of water. The Rabbit was dead in fifty 
seconds. 
The result of these experiments shows how essential it is 
that investigations of this nature should be carried on with the 
greatest care, and be repeated as frequently as possible. 
It is easy to see how errors may arise that might deceive 
any one. If, for example, we had not had the Cobra poison to 
test this antidote—the snake-bile, and it had been used in the 
treatment of the animal inoculated with the American snake- 
poison—the result would have been very different; and to the 
antidote might have been attributed what was really the con¬ 
sequence of the virus being perfectly inert. 
I was glad also that Dr. Forbes Watson and Dr. Lauder 
Brunton had an opportunity of testing the injection of liquor 
ammonia; into a vein in a case of snake-poisoning. I may add 
that the two Rabbits inoculated with Mr. Higgins’s poison 
were alive and well on the third day after the inoculation. 
THIRTY-FIRST SERIES. 
Experiments on Cobra poison, and on the Treatment of Snalce- 
poisoniny by Artificial Respiration. 
The following experiments were made by myself and Dr. 
Lauder Brunton with Cobra poison that I had sent to 
England from Calcutta nearly a year previously for analysis. 
The animals experimented on were Guinea-pigs and a large 
and powerful Fowl:— 
Experiment No. 1. 
A drop of the poison diluted with a quantity of water was 
injected into the jugular vein of a Guinea-pig, causing almost 
instant death. After death the heart was firmly contracted, 
and ceased to beat very rapidly. The irritability of the spinal 
cord, however, continued for several minutes. The lungs were 
much ecchymosed. The blood coagulated firmly. 
Experiment No. 2. 
A second Guinea-pig had a similar quantity of the poison 
injected hypodermically into the thigh, and died in a few 
minutes with the usual symptoms. After death, the electric 
points introduced into the spinal cord showed that its irrita¬ 
bility continued for many minutes, the limbs contracting under 
its stimulus. The heart also continued to beat for many 
minutes, and the blood coagulated firmly after death. 
July, 1872. 
Experiment No. 3. 
A drop or two of Cobra poison diluted with water was in¬ 
jected into the thigh of a strong Fowl. Shortly after it began 
to droop. It then seemed drowsy, and crouched down with the 
beak resting on the ground; it then fell over on its side. The 
comb and wattles lost their bright red colour and became dusky. 
Almost simultaneously convulsions occurred. A canula was 
quickly inserted into the trachea, and artificial respiration com¬ 
menced. The comb rapidly regained its bright colour and 
the convulsions ceased. On the artificial respiration being dis¬ 
continued the lividity of the comb reappeared, and convulsions 
again began. The experiment was repeated about ten times, and 
on each occasion the convulsions disappeared whenever the blood 
became arterial, as shown by the bright colour of the comb, and 
reappeared when the blood became venous. After discontinuing 
artificial respiration, the convulsions returned and the Fowl died. 
This appears to prove that the convulsions are due to the 
venosity of the blood ; and not to the direct action of the 
poison on the nerve centres. 
This seems to indicate the possibility of life being preserved, 
if respiration could be kept up long enough to allow of the 
elimination of the poison by natural, aided by artificial means. 
The question remains whether the injury done to the nerve- 
centres by the presence of the poison be of such a nature as to 
be irremediable (in severe bites I should fear it is) ; but 
evidently from this experiment benefit may be hoped for from 
artificial respiration. 
