II. On the nature and physiological action of the poison of <i>Naja tripudians</i> and other Indian venomous snakes.—Part I

Abstract The destruction of life in India by snake-bites is so great, that, with the hope of preventing or diminishing the mortality, in 1867 Dr. Fayrer began, and has recently completed, a protracted and systematic series of investigations on the subject in all its aspects; and, in a work entitled the 'Thanatophidia of India,’ has published a description of the venomous snakes found in British India, with an account of a series of experiments on the lower animals, conducted for the purpose of studying the nature of the poison, its modus operandi, and the value of the numerous remedies that have been from time to time reputed as antidotes—that is, as having the power of neutralizing the lethal effects of the virus, and of saving life.