170 
APPENDIX 
“ Bungarus cceruleus appears to be India generally; it is found in 
the N.W., and also in Central Provinces. 
“ Callophis intestinalis occurs in Burrnah; and C. maculiceps also. 
“ Of Hydrophidce I got no information lately. The only species I 
got are Platurus laticaudatus and P. fischeri from the Nicobars, so 
there can be no doubt of their occurring at these islands. 
“ Trimeresurus graminevs is chiefly, I believe, a Malay fauna snake. 
I doubt whether it occurs in Ladak, as has been stated, if Ladak 
means the country north of the principal range of the N.W. Hima¬ 
layas, and this is what it should be taken for. 
" " Tlie differences of T. cantoris and porphyraceus (Blytli), I have 
pointed out in my paper. 
“ T. mutabilis from Nicobar and Andamans, and T. convictus from 
Penang, have to be added to Gunther’s list. 
“ Anderson has, I think, two new species from Burmali, but I did 
not publish his names in the journal, because he did not give a descrip¬ 
tion with the names. 
“ T. andersonii, with which obscurus of Theobald is undoubtedly 
identical, I have lately received from the Andamans, and this 
settles the locality of the species. I think I told you before that I 
suspect the species to be from Assam, its locality was unknown. 
Nearly all the Trimeresuri are characteristic of the Malay farrna. I 
did not hear of a single one west of the Sutlej valley, nor in Central 
India. In Southern India they only occur in the higher hills, which 
all possess Malay types. 
“ The Viperidce are, on the contrary, Indian (or say African type) 
fauna, which extends through Persia and Arabia to the Mediterranean. 
Daboia russellii was also obtained in Upper Burmab. 
“ You know probably that E. carinata was also got in Western 
Bengal (Singhboomb 
(Signed) “ F. S. Stoliczka.” 
No. YI. 
NOTE FROM DR. KING, BOTANIC GARDEN, ON THE 
JIIANSIE AND SINGAPORE ANTIDOTES. 
“ Botanic Garden, September 29th, 1871. 
“ My dear Fayrer,- —From its structure the root appears to belong 
to a plant of the Nat. Ord. Menispermacece, and is probably that of 
Cissampelos convolvulacea, a climbing plant common in the jungles in 
the Gwalior territory, and in Upper India generally during the rains. 
But I cannot say for certain. 
“ The nut I can make nothing of, nor can Kurz, who spent many 
years in Java and the Straits. It apparently is a seed that has been 
packed with many others in a big capsule with probably pulp between. 
I return all the specimens, as you may want them. If you can spare 
any, however, I should like to keep them beside me, and some day I 
may find a clue. A section of the nut, by the way, shows under the 
microscope a lovely specimen of regularly formed cells. 
“ Yours very truly, 
“J. King.” 
No. VII. 
ON THE CHEMICAL CONSTITUTION OF THE COBRA 
POISON. 
The following report on the chemical characters presented by 
specimens of Cobra poison has been furnished by Dr. Henry E. 
Armstrong:— 
“ London Institution, Finsbury Circus, E.C., November 14th, 1871. 
“ s IR; —I beg to submit to you the following account of the 
results I have obtained in the examination of the Cobra poison which 
you placed in my hands. 
“ On opening the small bottles containing the poison, which was in 
the form of a dirty-brown, somewhat syrupy fluid, a considerable 
quantity of gas escaped; this was recognised as carbonic anhydride, 
and is no doubt a product of partial decomposition of the poison; the 
liquid in the bottles, which smelt most horribly, had a faintly acid 
reaction. 
“ Inasmuch as it was highly probable that the amount of poisonous 
principle in the crude poison was small, and that unless large quantities 
of material could be operated upon it would be impossible to isolate 
it in the pure state, although the poison at my disposal was from a 
large number of Cobras, it was manifestly too small in quantity to 
afford much hope that the attempt would be successful, especially as I 
was obliged from the beginning to confine myself almost entirely to a 
micro-chemical examination. 
“ The following observations were made ;—On heating the liquid was 
partially coagulated ; mineral acids produced a gelatinous precipitate; 
absolute alcohol threw down a voluminous white gelatinous precipitate; 
a drop evaporated with a little sulphate of copper solution, and then 
treated with caustic potash solution, gave a violet coloration. From 
these observations it was evideut that the chief constituent of the 
liquid poison was an albuminoid body. 
A number of experiments with various solvents, alcohol, ether, 
bisulphide of carbon, both in acid and alkaline solution, and careful 
examination by the microscope of the residues left on evaporation of 
the various solutions having shown the impossibility of isolating any 
crystalline body, I determined on analysing A, the crude poison; 
B, the precipitate thrown down on the addition of alcohol; C, the 
residue left on evaporation of the alcoholic filtrate from B. 
“ A. The crude poison evaporated over sulphuric acid in vacuo left a 
grey friable mass, -which on analysis was found to contain 43'55 per 
cent, of carbon and 13-43 per cent, of nitrogen. 
“ B. The liquid poison was first carefully filtered to remove traces of 
sediment and suspended matter, and then mixed with a considerable 
quantity of anhydrous alcohol, the white precipitate so produced 
filtered off, washed with alcohol, and dried over sulphuric acid in vacuo. 
A pale brown brittle mass was thus obtained, which could be readily 
powdered. On igniting a small portion on platinum foil a slight 
mineral residue remained. 
“ Exp. I.—The carbon and nitrogen were determined simultaneously 
by combustion with oxide of copper and analysis of the gases obtained. 
This gave 45’3 per cent, of carbon, and 14-7 per cent, of nitrogen. 
“ Exp. II.—Duplicate of I., but with substance of a different prepara¬ 
tion. This gave 460 per cent, of carbon, and 13'9 per cent, of nitrogen. 
“ Exp. III.—A determination of carbon and hydrogen in the ordinary 
manner by combustion with oxide of copper, &c. This gave 46'0 per 
cent, of carbon, and 6'6 per cent, of hydrogen. 
“ Exp. IV.—A determination of sulphur by heating with a small 
quantity of pure nitric acid in a sealed tube to 200° C., and precipitation 
as baric sulphate. This gave 2'5 per cent, of sulphur. 
“ C. The alcoholic filtrate from B, left on evaporation over sulphuric 
acid in vacuo a pale brown friable mass, which was found to contain 
43-04 per cent, of carbon, 12 - 45 per cent, of nitrogen, and 7'0 per 
cent, of hydrogen. 
A. 
B* 
C. 
Albumen .f 
Carbon . . . . 
43-55 
45-76 
43-04 
53-5 
Nitrogen. . . . 
13-30 
14-30 
12-45 
15-7 
Hydrogen . . . 
— 
6-60 
7-00 
7-1 
Sulphur .... 
Ash constituents 
2-5 
“ It is to be noted that A was not poison 
from the 
same bottles as 
B and C. With the exception of B III., the analyses were all made 
by combustion in vacuo with help of the Sprengel pump, which is the 
only method which allows the simultaneous determination of carbon 
and hydrogen, and on quantities of about thirty milligrammes. The 
ordinary methods were not available on account of the small quantity 
of material. When it is considered that an error in weighing of 
one-tenth of a milligramme on the small quantities that were used in 
the determinations would give rise to an error of from one to two per 
cent, in the final result, I believe the above results tend to show 
that there is little difference in composition between the crude poison, 
the precipitate thrown down by alcohol, and the portion soluble 
in alcohol. The very fact, however, that B and C are respectively 
insoluble and soluble in alcohol, proves they are of different nature, 
and renders it necessary that these two products should be carefully 
examined as to their physiological action. 
“ I am. Sir, yours obediently, 
“ Henry E. Armstrong. 
“ Dr. Fayrer, M.D., &c.” 
No. VIII. 
EXPERIMENTS ON THE ACTIVITY OF THE COBRA POISON 
AND ITS ALCOHOLIC EXTRACT. 
By T. Lauder Brunton, M.D., D.Sc., Joint Lecturer on Materia 
Medica and Therapeutics, and Casualty Physician at St. Bartho¬ 
lomew’s Hospital. 
These experiments were made in order to test the activity of the 
Cobra poison sent to this country, and of the alcoholic extract obtained 
from it. 
They show, 1st. That the poison retained its activity although it 
had been kept for some time. 2nd. That its activity is not destroyed 
by drying. 3rd. That the alcoholic extract resembles the poison itself 
in its activity, and in the symptoms it produces. 
Beyond drawing attention to the extravasations of blood observed 
at the point where the poison was injected, and to the long continuance 
of the cardiac pulsations after the death of the animal, I will say 
nothing regarding the mode of action of the poison, as it is of great 
importance that this be ascertained with the utmost exactitude, and 
* Mean of I., II., III. 
f The numbers under this heading are about the mean of various analyses of 
albumen .—Watts Dictionary of Chemistry, i. 67. 
