on venom; on the contrary, locally or intravenously used, it seems to add to the virulence of the poison. Ammonia injected at the site of the puncture is worse than useless. Experiments from Fontana to Mitchell's time, together with the findings of leading physiologists, prove it; internally, as a stimulant, it is inferior to alcohol. Its radical defect is that in severe cases it increases arterial pressure, thus aiding venom to induce intense internal hemorrhages. The remedy meeting most effectually the systemic conditions present in serpent's bite, is strychnia. Mueller, of Australia, has become famous for his advocacy of strychnia in venom poison, and as a proof that it is a direct antithesis of snake poison in its action, he says: "While snake poison turns off the motor batteries, and reduces the volume and the force of motor nerve currents, strychnine when following it as an antidote, turns them on again, acting with the unerring certainty of a chemical test, if administered in sufficient quantities. Purely physiological in its action, it neutralizes the effects of the snake poison, and announces by unmistakable symptoms when it has accomplished its task, and would, if continued, become a poison itself. Previous to this announcement, its poisonous action is completely neutralized by the snake poison, and the later would therefore be equally as efficacious in strychnine poison as strychnine is in snake." He varies his dose according to the specie of snake inducing the accident. If a Cobra has induced the condition, he uses a larger dose than in meeting a condition induced by another specie; if the symptoms denote a large dose of poison to have been imparted, and that has been in the system for hours, he advocates nothing less than 16 minims of liquor strychnia B. P. in very urgent cases, 20 to 25 min. in a person 15 years of age. If the fangs have penetrated a vein, he states, use the strychnia intravenously in one-half grain dose. Mueller further warns physicians against allowing a patient to sleep much the first twenty-four hours. Yarrow advocates the suggestion of a French physician, Dr. Josso, the use of jaborandi or its alkaloid, pilocarpine. Yarrow reports cases, giving proof that it will stay the effects of a lethal dose of venom. Bancroft calls attention to strophanthus. Among other remedies used and recommended, are the following given by mouth:

Calomel, iodide of potash, nitrite of potash, tobacco ashes, tinct. iodine. Hypodermically: Caffein, and atropine. The natives of India, of Japan, the Redskins of America, the Indians of Choco and those of Ecuador, the Naturals of Martinique, the Negroes of Brazil and the primitive tribes of Columbia, try to combat the accidents of serpents' bites with the juice of plants belonging to the aristolochiae and piperasae families, sometimes pure, sometimes dissolved in larger or smaller quantities of alcohol. Besides these vegetable substances, they use vipers gall, spts. of ammonia, the curarinna, the serpents stone, Piedra de Serpiente, the East India Pambaobilio, Pe Haba del Cabellero (Gentleman's bean), the sprouts of sugar cane, lemon juice, and many other empirical remedies.

Artificial respiration is indicated, proven by a series of experiments carried out on animals by Fayrer and Brunton, who were able to keep the test alive for several hours by this mechanical means alone. Calmette's anti-venomous serum, an inducer of artificial immunity, was evolved by its discoverer from the experiments of Frazier in 1869, who induced immunity to the minimum lethal dose of Cobra venom by the repeated administration of small doses of the Cobra venom. Others proved the effects of other venom by similar experiments. Calmette then, using these experiments, and following the vaccinatory theory of Tizzona, Roux, Baring and Kitasato, the using of serum from vaccinated animals to induce protective and curative results, evolved his anti-venomous serum. There have been many successful cases. We have, through the methods of elimination of the toxic principles of venom from the body, practical suggestions as to the remedies to adopt in treating the accidents of venomous bites of serpents. Foektistow and Mueller have shown the kidneys eliminate a portion of the poison. Ault has shown the stomach eliminates a portion. Wooster has demonstrated the skin's action in eliminating. By the first we have suggested diuretics, by the second, stomach washing, by the third, pilocarpine and like agents, inducing perspiration. As to the benefit to be derived from stomach lavage, there is an experiment of one of our leading American therapeutists, Hare, I believe, upon the elimination of the opium alkaloid, morphine, which experiment showed that

when given subcutaneously or intravenously, nearly the entire amount of the pure drug could be recovered by frequently repeated lavage of the stomach. We are dealing with a poison analogous in many ways to the alkaloidal group, and the use of gastric washing is a practical indication in the handling of all cases suffering from snake, and no doubt other venomous, bites. We have, as the above mentioned therapal expert found, this peculiar physiological operation going on, that an alkaloid is borne by the general circulation, with varying degrees of rapidity, to the stomach, emptied by the secretory glands into the gastric cavity, and then reabsorbed in part, if not in toto. Through this there is an explanation for the clinical observation, made in poison cases, affected by subcutaneous administration of the various toxic agents, derived especially from the vegetable group, that an antidote given seems to overcome for a time only, and unless repeated at various intervals, there reappears the entire chain of symptoms of the original toxic substance. Lavage removing these principles or remedies employed by the mouth that will chemically neutralize them in situ, are indicated both in the alkaloid poisons and the venoms of the deadly Ophidia. Apropos to this point, comes the explanation of the seeming benefit derived from giving iodine, iodide of potash, nitrate of potash, tobacco ashes, calomel, and various vegetable and mineral agents used from antiquity to the present time, in all climes, in the treatment of the various classes of snake poisons. We have noted in the chemical study of venom, and the agents that would destroy them, also in describing its analogues, that the alkaline secretion, such as ptyaline, pancreatin, and the intestinal secretions, would neutralize; that pepsin is in many ways an analogous substance; further, that venom given on an empty stomach would produce toxic symptoms, showing that the gastric secretions and stomach mucous membrane would neither destroy nor fail to absorb, provided no other substance bulked the organ, mixing and thus neutralizing the quantity of the poison.

The various nations and tribes of Aborigines have used agents surrounded by and clothed with superstitious rites and ceremonies which, when investigated by the proper scientific mind, and stripped

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