AmiuJg°usrtj897rm'}        Heloderma  Suspectum,  Cope.  397 
water  and  was  again  precipitated  by  acetic  acid  and  brought  to  a 
tolerably  strong  sour  reaction.  In  this  precipitate  there  was  found 
phosphorus,  organically  bound ;  here  there  was,  therefore,  undoubt- 
edly, some  nucleiniferous  protein  substance  present. 
But  was  this  substance  poisonous  ?  From  another  quantity  of  the 
poisonous  secretion,  the  nuclein  substance  was  again  isolated,  dis- 
solved in  water  with  a  little  soda,  and  injected  into  a  frog.  The 
animal  soon  grew  weak,  bled  continually,  though  slowly,  from  a 
small  wound  on  one  of  its  lips,  and  died  after  three  days.  On  dis- 
section, I  found  a  great  number  of  small  extravasations  of  blood  in 
the  muscles  of  the  thorax  and  even  some  in  other  places.  We  see 
here  (at  least  partially)  the  characteristic  effects  of  nuclein  sub- 
stances on  the  blood  (diminished  coagulating  power,  extravasations). 
If  a  stage  of  increased  coagulating  power  had  preceded,  I  do  not 
know.  If  the  solution  of  heloderm  poison  is  directly  applied  to 
defibrinized  blood  (of  a  rabbit),  the  blood-corpuscles  seem  to  take  a 
spherical  form,  which  reminds  us  of  the  effect  of  the  snake-poison 
globulines12  of  Weir  Mitchell  and  Reichert. 
The  solution  from  which  the  above-named  poisonous  nuclein  sub- 
stance was  removed  by  precipitation  with  acetic  acid  did  not  contain 
any  albumin  which  coagulated  on  boiling.  On  the  other  hand, 
Millon's  reaction  showed  the  presence  of  some  protein  substance. 
With  sulphate  of  ammonium  in  substance,  a  considerable  downy 
precipitate  of  albumoses  was  obtained.  After  these  had  been  filtered 
off,  the  liquid  (the  filtrate)  gave  no  "  biuret-re action  consequently 
true  peptons  were  not  present.  In  the  liquid  from  which  the  nuclein 
substances  had  been  removed,  albumoses  could  still  be  displayed  by 
means  of  ordinary  culinary  salt  and  acetic  acid  ;  these  called  forth  a 
turbidness  which  disappeared  on  boiling  and  reappeared  when 
exposed  to  cold. 
From  another  sample,  the  albumoses  were  isolated  in  the  above- 
described  manner  with  neutral  sulphate  of  ammonium  in  substance, 
were  then  separated  as  much  as  possible  from  the  ammonium  salt, 
were  dissolved  in  water  and  precipitated  with  alcohol.  The  latter 
treatment  was  repeated  once  more,  and  at  last  the  new  alcohol  pre- 
cipitate was  dissolved  again  in  water.  This  solution  of  albumoses, 
which  still  contained  some  sulphate  of  ammonium,  was  injected  into 
12  Weir  Mitchell  and  Reichert :  "  Researches  upon  the  Venom  of  Poisonous 
Serpents,"  Washington,  1886. 
