VENOMOUS ANIMALS
AlslO ANTI VENOMOUS
SERUM - THERAPEUTICS
A. CALiyiETTE, M.p,
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;.rpeutics. Transl. by E. A. Austin. W. 125
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VENOMS
VENOMOUS ANIMALS
AND ANTIVENOMOUS
SERUM - THERAPEUTICS
BY
A. CALMETTE, M.D.,
CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE FRENCH
INSTITUTE AND OF THE ACADEMY OF
MEDICINE, DIRECTOR OF THE PASTEUR
INSTITUTE, LILLE
TRANSLATED BY ERNEST E, AUSTEN, F.Z.S.
LONDON
JOHN BALE, SONS & DANIELSSON, LTD.
83-91, GREAT TITCHFIELD ST., OXFORD ST., W.
1908
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
PREFACE TO ENGLISH EDITION.
Mr. E. E. Austen, of the British Museum, has been
good enough to undertake the translation of my book on
"Venoms." For the presentation of my work to the
scientific pubhc in an Enghsh dress I could not have hoped
to find a more faithful interpreter. To him I express my
liveliest gratitude for the trouble that he has so kindly
taken, and I thank Messrs. John Bale, Sons and Danielsson
for the care they have bestowed upon the preparation of
this edition.
Institut Pasteur de Lille, A. Calmette, M.D.
June 17, 1908.
INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH EDITION.
In the month of October, 1891, during the rains, a village
in the vicinit}' of Bac-Lieu, in Lower Cochin-China, was
invaded by a swarm of poisonous snakes belonging to the
species known as Naja tripndians, or Cobra-di-Capello.
These creatures, which were forced by the deluge to enter
the native huts, bit four persons, who succumbed in a few
hours. An Annamese, a professional snake-charmer in the
district, succeeded in catching nineteen of these cobras and
shutting them up alive in a barrel. M. Seville, the admin-
istrator of the district, thereupon conceived the idea of
forwarding the snakes to the newly established Pasteur
Institute at Saigon, to which I had been appointed as
director.
At this period our knowledge of the physiological action
of venoms was extremel}^ limited. A few of their properties
alone had been brought to light by the works of Weir
Mitchell and Reichard in America, of Wall and Armstrong
in India and England, of A. Gautier and Kaufmann in
France, and especially by Sir Joseph Fayrer's splendidly
illustrated volume (" The Thanatophidia of India "), pub-
lished in London in 1(S72.
An excellent opportunity was thus afforded to me of
vi. INTliODlJCTION TO FBENCH EDITION
taking up a study which appeared to possess considerable
interest on the morrow of the discoveries of E. Roux and
Behring, w4th reference to the toxins of diphtheria and
tetanus, and I could not allow the chance to escape. For
the last fifteen years I have been occupied continuously
with this subject, and I have published, or caused to be
published by my students, in French, English, or German
scientific journals, a fairly large number of memoirs either
on venoms and the divers venomous animals, or on anti-
venomous serum-therapeutics. The collation ' of these
papers is now becoming a matter of some difficulty, and it
appeared to me that the time had arrived for the production
of a monograph, which ma}^, I hope, be of some service to
all who are engaged in biological research.
Antivenomo'us seruni-tlierapij, which my studies, sup-
plemented by those of Phisalix and Bertrand, Eraser,
George Lamb, F. Tidswell, McFarland, and Vital Brazil,
have enabled me to establish upon scientific bases, has
now entered into current medical practice. In each of the
countries in which venomous bites represent an important
cause of mortality in the case of human beings and domestic
animals, special laboratories have been officially organised
for the preparation of anti-venomous serum. All that
remains to be done is to teach its use to those who are
ignorant of it, especially to the indigenous inhabitants of
tropical countries, where snakes are more especially formid-
able and deadly. This book will not reach such people as
these, but the medical men, naturalists, travellers, and
explorers to whom it is addressed will know how to popu-
larise and apply the information that it will give them.
INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH EDITION vii.
I firmly believe also that physiologists will read the
book with profit. Its perusal will perhaps suggest to them
the task of investigating a host of questions, which are still
obscure, relating to toxins, their mode of action upon the
different organisms, and their relations to the antitoxins.
There is no doubt that in the study of venoms a multitude
of workers will, for a long time to come, find material for
the exercise of their powers of research.
At the moment of completing this work I would like to
be allowed to cast a backward glance upon the stage that
it marks in my scientific career, and to express my heart-
felt gratitude to my very dear master and friend. Dr. Emile
Roux, to whom I owe the extreme gratification of having
been able to dedicate my life to the study of experimental
science, and of having caused to germinate, grow, and
ripen a few^ of the ever fertile seeds that he sow^s broad-
cast around him.
I am especially grateful to those of my pupils, C. Guerin,
A. Delearde, F. Noc, L. Massol, Bernard, and A. Briot, who
have helped me in my work, while showering upon me the
marks of their confidence, esteem, and attachment ; to my
former chiefs, colleagues, and friends of the Colonial Medical
Staff, Drs. G. Treille, Kermorgant, Paul Gouzien, Pineau,
Camail, Angier, Lepinay, Lecorre, Gries, Lhomme, and
Mirville ; and to my numerous foreign or French corre-
spondents, George Lamb, Semple, C. J. Martin, Vital Brazil,
Arnold, de Castro, Simon Flexner, Noguchi, P. Kyes,
Morgenroth, J. Claine, Piotbey, and R. P. Travers, several
of wdiom have come to work in my laboratory, or have
obligingly procured for me venoms and venomous animals.
viii. INTBODUCTION TO FEENCH EDITION
I have experienced at the hands of a large number of
our ministers, consuls, or consular agents abroad the most
cordial reception on repeatedly addressing myself to them
in order to obtain the papers or information of which I was
in need. It is only right for me to thank them for it,
and to acknowledge the trouble that M. Masson has most
kindly taken in publishing this book.
Institut Pasteu7' de Lille, A. Calmette.
March 10,. 1907.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
PART I.
Page
Chap. I. — I. General notes on poisonous animals ... ... ... ... 1
II. General classification of poisonous snakes. Their anatomo-
physiological characters ... ... ... ... ... 3
Ch.\p. II. — Habits of poisonous snakes. Their capture ... ... ... 17
CH.A.P. III. — Desci-iption of the principal species of poisonous snakes. Their
geographical distribution ... ... ... ... ... 22
A. Etirope ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 22
B. Asia, Dutch Indies and Philippine Islands ... 30
C. Africa 57
D. Australia and adjacent large islands ... ... 81
E. America ... ••■ 100
F. Hydrophiidce {sea-snaTces) ... ... ... ... 131
G. Geographical distribution of the principal genera
of poiso7ious snakes in the five divisions of the
luorld ... ... ... ... ... ••• ••■ 142
PART II.
Chap. IV. — Secretion and collection of venom in snakes 147
Chap. V. — Chemical study of snake- venoms ... ... ... ••• ■•■ 1^9
Chap. YI. — Physiological action of snake- venoms ... ... ... ••- 168
A. Physiology of poisoning in man and in animals bitten
by the different species of poisonous snakes (Colii-
hridce, Viperida;, Hydrophiidte) ... ... ... 168
B. Physiology of experimental poisoning ... ... 170
C. Determination of the lethal doses of venom for dif-
ferent species of animals ... ... .-• •■• 173
D. Effects of venom in non-lethal doses 177
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Chap. VII. — Physiology of poisoning (continued). Effects of the various
venoms on the different tissues of the organism ... ... 179
(1) Action upon the hver ... ... ... ... ... 182
(2) Action upon the kidney ... ... ... ... 183
(3) Action upon the spleen, heart and lungs ... ... 183
(4) Action upon the striated miascles ... ... ... 184
(5) Action upon the nervous centres ... ... ... 185
Chap. VIII. — Physiology of poisoning {continued). Action of venoms on
the blood 188
A. Effects of venom on the coagulation of the blood ... 188
I. Coagulant venoms ... ... ... ... 190
II. Anticoagulant venoms ... ... ... ... 192
III. Mechanism of the anticoagulant action of
venoms on the blood ... ... ... 195
B. Effects of venom on the red corpuscles and on the
serum ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 196
(1) Haemolysis 196
(2) Precipitins of venoms ... ... ... ... 202
(3) Agglutinins of venoii.s ... ... ... ... 202
C. Effects of venom upon the white corpuscles : Leuco-
lysin 203
Chap. IX. — Physiology of poisoning {continued). Proteolytic, cytolytic,
bacteriolytic, and various diastasic actions of venoms :
diastasic and cellular actions on venoms ... ... ... 204
A. Proteolytic action... ... ... ... ... ... 204
B. Cytolytic action 206
C. Bacteriolytic action 206
D. Various diastasic actions of venoms ... ... ... 212
E. Action of various diastases upon venoms ... ... 214
Chap. X. — Toxicity of the blood of venomous snakes ... ... ... 217
Chap. XI. — Natural inununity of certain animals with respect to snake-
venoms ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 222
Chap. XII. — Snake-charmers 228
TABLE OF CONTENTS
XI.
PART III.
.\NTIVENOJIOUS SEKUM-THERAPEUTICS.
Chap. XIII. — Vaccination against snake-venom — Preparation of anti-
venomous serum — Its preventive properties as regards
intoxication by venom ... ... ... ... ... ... 241
Specificity and poly valence of antivenomous serums ... 248
Chap. XI Y. — Neutralisation of venom by antitoxin ...
253
Chap. XV. — Treatment of poisonous snake-bites in man and animals.
Objects of the treatment. Technique of antivenomous
serum-therapy ... ... ... ... ... ... .. 259
PART IV.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES.
Chap. XVI. — Venoms in the animal series.
1. — Invertebrates ...
A. Coclenterate^
B. EcJiinoderms
C. Arthropods : («) Araneids
— (b) Scorpions
— (c) Myriojyods
— If?) Insects
D. Molluscs
Chap. XYIL— Venoms in the animal series (continued}.
2. — Venomous fishes
269
269
273
274
276
280
281
286
288
A. Teleostei.
Acantlioptenicji
' .• 1. Triglidce ...
... 290
2. Trachinidce
... 297
—
3. Gobiidce ...
... 300
—
4. Teutliididcc
... 301
—
5. BatrachiidcB
... 302
—
6. Fediculati...
... 303
B. Teleostei.
Plectognathi...
...
... 305
C. Teleostei.
Physostomi :
...
... 307
— 1.
Siluridce
... 308
— 2.
Murcenidce
... 309
xii. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chap. XVIII. — Venoms in the animal series {coutinaed).
PAGE
3. — Batrachians ; Lizards; Mammals ... ... ... ... 312
A. Batrachians ... ... ... ... .•• ••• 312
B. Lizards ... ... ... ... ... ■•• ••• 321
C. Mammals {Ornithorhijnchus) 323
PART V.
DOCUMENTS.
I. — A few notes and observations relating to bites of j^oisonous snahes
treated by antivenomous serimi-therapetitics ... ... ... .:. 326
II. — ^4 few notes a7\d observations relating to domestic animals bitten by
poisonous snakes and treated with serum ... ... ... ... 356
III. — Note on the collection of cobra-venom and the treatment of poisonous
bites in the French Settlements in India (by Dr. Paul Gouzien) ... 859
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
i^lg.
o,
Fig.
4,
Fig.
5.
Fig.
6,
Fig.
1
Fig.
8.
Fig.
9.
Fig.
10.
Fig.
11,
Fig.
12,
Fig.
13,
PAOE
Fig. 1. — A. Skull of one of the non poisonous Coluhridce {Ptyas inucosus) 7
B. Skull of one of the poisonous Coluhridce (Naja tripudians) 7
c. Skull of one of the poisonous Coluhridce (Bunf/arus fasciatus) 7
D. Skull of one of the Viperidce (Vipera russellii) ... ... ... 7
E. Skull of one of the Viperidce Crotalince {Crotalus dwrissus) ... 7
F. Skull of one of the Coluhridce Hydrophiince {IIydrop}iisp>elamis) 7
Fig. 2. — A. Maxillary bone and fangs of one of the Viperidce {Vijjera
russellii) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8
B. Maxillary bone and fangs of one of the Coluhridce {Naja tripu-
dians) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8
c. Maxillary bone and fangs of one of the Coluhridce {Bungarus
fasciatus) ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .. y
D. Maxillary bone and teeth of one of the non- poisonous Colu-
hridce (Ptyas mucosus) ... ... ... ... ... ... 8
. — A. Fang oi one oi the Vip>eridce (VijJera russellii) ... ... ... 8
D. Transverse section of the fang ... ... ... ... ... 8
. — B. Fang of one of the Coluhridce (Naja' tripudians) ... ... 9
E. Transverse section ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 9
. — c. Fang of one of the Hydrophiince (Hydropiliis pelamis) ... ... 9
F. Transverse section ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 9
. — Three transverse sections of a poison-fang of one of the Coluhridce 9
. — Mai'ks produced on the skin by the bites of different species of
snakes ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 10
. — Poison-gland and fangs of a venomous snake {Naja tripudians)... 11
. — Muscular apparatus and poison-gland of Vipiera russellii ... 12
. — Muscular apparatus and poison-gland of Vipera russellii ... 12
. — Muscular apparatus and poison-gland of Naja tripudians ... 13
. — Muscular apparatus and poison-gland of Ncrja tripudians ... 13
. — Arrangement of the scales of the head in one of the non-poisonous
Coluhridce {Ptyas mucosus) ... ... ... ... ... 14
Fig. 14. — Arrangement of the scales of the head in one of the poisonous
Coluhridce {Naja tripudians) ... ... ... ... ... 15
Fig. 15. — Feeding a poisonous snake (first stage) ... --. ... ... 18
Fig. 16. — Feeding a poisonous snake (second stage) ... ... ... ... 18
XIV.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Fig. 17.
Fig. 18.
Fig. 19.
Fig. 20.
Fig. 21.
Fig. 22.
Fig. 23.
Fig. 24.
Fig. 25.
Fig. 26.
ve, prepariii;
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig. 31.—
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
F
Fig.
Fi
CHAPTER III.
DESCIUPTION OF THE FBI NCI PAL SPECIES OF
POISONOUS SNAKES. THE IF GEOGBAPHICAL
DISTRIBUTION.
Poisonous snakes are especially cominon in the tropical zones
of the Old and New Worlds. The species found in Europe are
but of small size and not very formidable. In hot countries, on
the other hand, they attain large dimensions, their venom is much
more active, and, although they hardly ever attack man, and in
most cases avoid hnn, they cause a considerable number of fatal
accidents.
It IS sometimes a rather difficult matter to recognise from the
mere appearance of a snake whether it is poisonous or not. Natu-
ralists themselves are occasionally deceived. It is therefore useful
to learn to distinguish the most dangerous species by their external
■characters, and to know in what countries there is a risk of their
being encountered.
A.—EUBOPE.
Oi the continents of the Old World, the poorest in poisonous
snakes is Europe. The only species found there are a Ccelopeltis
(belonging to the Sub-family Dipsadomorphi7i(C of the Opistho-
(jJijpha), and certam Viperin.e, which rarely exceed 75 centimetres
in length.
CcKLOPELTis, the cranial skeleton and head of which are repre-
sented in fig. 20, is characterised by a narrow, concave frontal shield,
THE nUXCTPAL SPEC FES OF POISONOUS SXAKHS
"^5»^
projecting siipuaciliaries, shout snout, large eyes, with round pupils,
two poison-fangs at the back of the upper niaxillaries, and a
cylindrical body. The scales of the back are finely grooved, and
ill the adult slightly concave.
The coloration, olivaceous-
brown, or deep red on the
back, becomes on the ventral
surface pale yellow with brown
streaks, and from five to seven
longitudinal series of small
spots, which are blackish and
edged with yellow on the sides.
The mean total length is
1,800 millimetres. The tail is
somewhat tapering, and about
850 millimetres long.
The only European species
is Coelopeltis monspessulana,
which is met with pretty com-
monly in France, in the
neighbourhood of Montpellier,
and Nice, near Valencia in
Spain, and in Dalmatia. It
is likewise found throughout
North Africa, and in Asia
Minor.
A second species, Coelopeltis
moilensis, occurs in Southern
Tunis, Egypt, and Arabia.
The European Viperin^
belong exclusively to the Genus Yipera, the principal zoological
characters of which are as follows : —
Head distinct from the neck, covered with small scales, with or
without frontal and parietal shields ; eyes small, with vertically
Fig. 20. — Maxill-^ry^ ^Iaxdible, and
Head op Calopeltis monspessulana.
24 VENOMS
elongate pupils, separated from the labials by scales ; nostrils
lateral. Body cylindrical. Scales keel-shaped, with an apical pit,
in from 19 — 31 rows ; ventral scales rounded. Tail short ; sub-
caudal scales in two rows.
The Genus Vipera is represented in Europe by several species,
which are likewise found in Western Asia and North Africa.
These species are : —
V. ursinii, V. herns, V. aspis, V. latastii, and V. ammodytes}
Yipera ursinii.
Snout obtuse, soft on its upper surface, with the frontal and
parietal shields distinct, the former about one and a half times
as long as broad, and almost always longer than the parietals.
A single series of scales between the eyes and the free margin of
the lips.
Teiuporal shields smooth. Body scales in from 19 to '21 rows,
strongly keeled on the back, less strongly on the sides.
Colour yellowish or pale brown above, grey or dark brown on the
sides, sometimes uniform brown ; spots more or less regular on the
vertebral column, oval, elliptic or rhomboidal, dark brown or flecked
with white, sometimes forming an undulous or zigzag band ; two or
three longitudinal series of dark brown or black spots on the sides ;
small dark dots running obliquely from the eye to the angle of the
mouth ; nose and lips white, and one or two dark angular streaks
on the head ; chin and throat yellowish ; belly black, with trans-
verse series of white or grey dots. No sexual differences in
coloration.
Total length from 420—500 millimetres; tail 50—55.
' As regards the distinctive characters of these various snakes, and of tlie
majority of those that we shall describe in this book, we ]ia\e followed the state-
ments in the "Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History),"
vol. iii., by George Albert Boulenger, F.R.S. (London : Printed by order of the
Trustees, i896.)
THE riUMU'AL Sl'I'AlKS OP' roISONOVS SXAKES
25
Habitat : South-east France (Basses-Alpes) ; Italy (Abruzzi) ;
Istria ; Mountains of Bosnia ; Plains of Lower Austria ; Hungary
(environs of Buda-Pesth).
Yipera berus [Covduoh Viper, or Adder).
Snout rounded, short and truncate ; pupil vertically elongate ;
vertical diameter of the eyes equal to or greater than the distance
separating" them from the mouth ; frontal and parietal shields dis-
FiG. 21. — (/) Ylpeni herns; {2) Vipera aspis ; (3, d) Vlpera ai)unodijtcs.
(Natural size.)
tinct, the former as long as broad, usually shorter than the space
separating it from the rostral shield ; (3 — ^13 scales round the eyes ;
one or rarely two series of scales between the eyes and the lips ;
nasal shield single, separated from the rostral by a naso-rostral
shield : temporal scales smooth. Body scales in 21 rows (excep-
tionally 19 or 23), strongly keeled ; 132 — 150 ventral shields ;
38 — 36 subcaudals.
Colour very variable, grey, yellowish, olive, brown, or red above.
26 VENOMS
generally with an undulating or zigzag band along the vertebral
column, and a series of lateral spots. A black spot shaped like
a V, an X, or a circumflex accent, on the head. The tip of the tail
is yellow or reddish. Some specimens are entirely black.
Total length from 350 to 700 millimetres ; tail 75 to 90.
Habitat: Northern Europe, and especially the mountains of
Central Europe ; irregularly distributed in Southern Europe ;
Northern Spain and Portugal, Northern Italy, Bosnia, Caucasus.
This viper, which is very common in France, ranges as far as
the Scandinavian Peninsula to about the 65th parallel of North
Latitude. It is sometimes met with among the mountains at an
altitude of about G,500 feet ("2,000 metres). It is found on heaths, in
grass-lands, vineyards, and forests. Certain parts of the sand}'
moors of North Germany are literally infested with it. It abounds
in the Jura, Isere, Ardeche, Auvergne, Brittanj^, Vendee, and the
Forest of Fontainebleau.
It seeks its prey by night, and feeds on voles, small birds, frogs,
lizards, and small fish. During the summer it shows a preference
for moist places, often even remaining in the water, in which it
swims with ease.
Light and fire attract it. It does not climb trees, but is
frequently found coiled up on boughs of dead wood scattered on
the ground.
AVhen on the defensive, and preparing to bite, it throws its
head back, and makes a sudden dart of from a foot to sixteen inches.
If irritated it makes a sort of hissing noise.
To pass the winter it retires into the crevices of rocks or into
old tree-trunks, where it entwines itself closely with a number of
its congeners. In this way ten or fifteen vipers are frequently
found together in the same hole.
In April, the whole company awakes, and copulation then takes
place. The eggs are laid in August and September, and the young
immediately crawl out of the shell, already prepared to bite, and
THE PIUNCIPAL SPECIES OF POISOXOUS SXAKES 27
capable of finding their own food. Their length at birth amounts
to 230 millimetres.
The two glands of an adult adder contain about 10 centigrannnes
of poison. This small quantity is sometimes sufficient to cause
death ; out of (510 persons bitten, Rollinger returns 59 deaths, or
about 10 per cent.
In the departments of Vendee and Loire-Inferieure alone, Viaud
Grand Marais has noted during a period of six years 821 cases of
bites from adders, 62 of which were followed by death. In
Auvergne, Dr. Fredet' (of Royat) returns 14 cases, which caused 0
deaths.
Yipera aspis ^Asj), or I^ed Viijer).
(Fig. 21, ^^ and fig. 22.)
Snout slightly turned up, soft and squarely truncate : vertical
diameter of the eyes equal to the space separating them from the
mouth ; upper surface of the head usually covered with small,
imbricate, smooth or feebly keeled scales, in 4 — 7 series, between
the supraocular shields, which are prominent. The frontal and
parietal shields are usually wanting ; sometimes they are distinct,
but small and irregular ; the former are separated from the supra-
oculars b}' two series of scales ; 8 — 13 scales round the eyes ; two
(rarely three) series of scales between the eyes and the labials ;
nasal shield single, separated from the rostral by a naso-rostral
shield. Body scales in 21 — 23 rows, strongly keeled ; 134 — 158
ventrals ; 32 — 49 subcaudals.
Coloration very variable, gre}^ yellowish, l)rown, or red above,
with a zigzag band as in T'. benis. Usually a black U-shaped
mark on the hinder part of the head, with a longitudinal black
streak behind the eyes ; upper lip white, or yellowish. Ventral
surface yellow, white, grey, or black, with lighter or darker markings.
Total length, 620 — 675 millimetres ; tail 75 — 95.
' Acad, dc nii'decine, March 19, 1S89.
28
VENOMS
Habitat: France (especially Vendee, the Forest of Fontaine-
bleau, and the South), Pyrenees, Alsace-Lorrame, the Black Forest,
Switzerland, Italy and Sicily, and the Tyrol.
This viper especially fre-
quents dry, rocky, and arid
hillsides, which are exposed
to the sun. Like the adder,
it hibernates in tree-trunks
and old walls. It lays from
6 to 15 eggs, from which
the living young immediately
issue, provided with poison.
It feeds upon small rodents,
worms, insects, and young
birds. Raptorial birds,
storks, and hedgehogs pursue
FiG.2-2.-Viperaaspis. (Natural size.) ^^ and deVOUr it in large
(Prom the Forest of Fontaineblean.) numbers.
yipera latastii.
Intermediate between T'. asj^is and V. aimnodytes. Snout less
turned up into a corneous appendage than in the latter. Head
covered with small, smooth, or feebly keeled, subimbricate scales,
among which an enlarged frontal shield may sometimes be dis-
tinguished ; 5 — 7 longitudinal series of scales between the supra-
ocular shields ; 9 — 18 scales round the eyes ; '2 or 3 series between
the eyes and the labials ; nasal shield entire, separated from the
rostral by a naso-rostral. Body scales in 21 rows, strongly keeled ;
125—147 ventrals ; 32—43 subcaudals.
Coloration grey or brown above, with a longitudinal zigzag
band, usually spotted with white ; head with or without spots on
THE FIUNCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 29
the vertex ; black streak behind the eyes ; ventral surface grey,
spotted with black and white ; tip of the tail usually yellow or
with yellow spots.
Total length, 550—610 millimetres ; tail 80—85.
Habitat : Spain and Portugal.
Yipera ammodytes.
(Fig. 21, 3 and 4).
Snout terminated in front by a horny appendage covered with
10 — 20 small scales ; vertical diameter of the eyes less than the
distance separating them from the mouth ; upper surface of the
head covered with small, smooth, or feebly keeled scales, among
w^hich an enlarged frontal and a pair of parietal shields are some-
times distinguishable ; 5 — 7 longitudinal series of scales between
the supraoculars ; 10 — 13 scales round the eyes ; two series between
the eyes and the labials ; nasal shield entire, separated from the
rostral by a naso-rostral. Body scales in 2] — 23 rows, strongly
keeled ; 133 — 162 ventrals ; 24 — 38 subcaudals.
Coloration grey, brown, or reddish above, with a zigzag dorsal
band, usually spotted with white ; black streak behind the eyes ;
belly grey or violaceous ; end of the tail yellow, orange, or coral-red.
Total length, 550—640 millimetres; tail 70—80.
Habitat : Southern Tyrol, Carinthia, Styria, Hungary, Danubian
principalities and kingdoms, Turkey. Does not pass beyond the
48th parallel of North Latitude.
This viper loves very sunny places, and hillsides planted wuth
vines. It rarely hibernates.
In districts in which it is plentiful, it is only necessary to light
a fire at night in order to attract this species in swarms ; this is
the best method of taking it.
Its food consists of small rodents, lizards, and birds.
30 VENOMS
B.—ASIA, DUTCH INDIES, AND PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
The species of snakes luost dangerous to man are found in the
warmer regions of Asia. India especially is infested by the famous
Cobra-di-Capello (Naja tripudians), which possesses the highly
remarkable faculty of dilating its neck in the form of a hood
when irritated, and whose sculptured image appears on almost
all the Hindu monuments.
We shall describe in a separate section (see below, F.) the
Hydrophiin^, or Sea-snakes, a large number of species of which
frequent the shores of the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Malacca,
the China Sea, the Moluccas, Celebes, and North Australia.
In the case of certain species the area of distribution includes
the whole of the tropical and sub-tropical zones of the Pacific
Ocean, as far as the West Coast of America. It is therefore
preferable to group them together for the purpose of comprehensive
study.
Besides the above, the continent of Asia harbours a multitude of
poisonous snakes belonging to the two Families Colubrid^ and
VlPERID^.
The genera and species belonging to these are so diverse, that
we must confine ourselves to mentioning the essential characters
of those that present most interest.
I. — Family Colubrid^.
( (a) Bu)if/(inis.
I (b) Naja.
Subfamily Elapin.?-: : Genera J (c) Hemihungaras.
(d) Callofhis.
\ (e) DoUopliis.
(a) Bungarus.
Head hardly distinct from the neck; eyes small, with round or
vertically elliptic pupils ; nostril between two nasal shields. Two
large poison-fangs followed by one or two small, slightly grooved
THE I'lilSCIFAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES
31
teeth (tig. 28). Scales smooth, obhque, in 18 — 17 rows, enlarged
and hexagonal in shape on the vertebral column ; ventral scales
round. Tail relatively short ; subcaudal scales in one or two rows.
Two very dangerous snakes found in India and Indo-China
belong to this genus, B. fai^ciatus and B. ca)ididns (var. ccendetis).
Both are fairly common. In Ceylon B. cctjlonicHH is met with,
Fig. 2.3. — Skull of Biuujarus. (After G. A. Bouleuger, op. cit.)
and in South China B. cancUdus (var. multicinctas) . The length
of these snakes is from 1,000 — 1,500 millimetres. The back is
compressed in the shape of a keel. The neck is not dilatable.
1. B. fasciatus {Banded Krait).
Colour bright yellow, ringed with black, with a black band
commencing between the eyes, and broadening behind upon the
nape and neck (fig. 24).
32
VENOMS
Especially abundant on the Corouiandel Coast, in Bengal, and in
Burma. In the North-west Provinces of India it is known as the
Koclia-Krait . Its bite is very serious, but does not cause nearly so
many fatalities as that of the Cobra, since its fangs are smaller.
Dogs bitten by B. fascia fiif; die in from four to five hours.
Fig. 24. — Buncjariis fasciahis (India). (After Sir Joseph Fay rer.)
2. B. candid lis.
Blackish-brown or bluish, with narrow transverse white streaks,
or small white spots, or alternate rings of yellow and dark brown ;
belly 'white. Smaller than the foregoing, scarcely exceeding 1,000
miUimetres in length. It is known as the " Krait " in India, where,
THE PBINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 83
after the Cobra, the variety aeruleus causes most deaths amon»
human beings. It is found in jungles and rice-fields, and commonly
secretes itself in old trees and old walls. It frequently penetrates
into houses, verandahs, bathrooms, and even beds. Sir Joseph
Fayrer relates the story of a lady, who, when travelling in
a palanquin, found on arriving at her destination a " Krait " coiled
up in her luggage, the snake having thus made the journey with
her throughout a whole night.
The Krait may easily be confused with Lycodon cmlicus,
a harmless snake which closely resembles it, though it can at
once be distinguished by examining its mouth.
(b) Naja.
(Fig. 25.)
Head scarcely distinct from the neck ; eyes with round pupils ;
nostril between two nasal shields and an internasal. A pair of solid
grooved poison-fangs. Body elongate, cylindrical, terminated by
a conical and pointed tail. Scales smooth, disposed obliquely, in
15 — 25 rows. Ventral scales round.
N. tyipudians (Cobra-di-CajJeUo). (Fig. 26.)
Head small, covered with large shields, a frontal as long as
broad, a supraocular, a praeocular, 3 postoculars, 2 -f- 3 or 3 -|- 3
temporals, 7 upper labials, 4 lower labials. Neck dilatable by the
separation of the first cervical ribs; 21 — 35 scales round the neck,
17—25 round the middle of the body : 163—205 ventrals ; 42—75
subcaudals.
Total length, 1,500—1,900 millimetres; tail 230.
Coloration very variable, usually cinereous grey or almost black
with a bluish sheen ; belly lighter, sometimes tinted with red. The
head is frequently tinged with golden-yellow ; it is spotted with
yellowish- white above, and is pure white underneath.
3
34
VENOMS
This species is distributed throughout the whole of Southern
Asia, from the south of the Caspian Sea to South China and the
Malay Archipelago.
Several varieties occur, and of these the principal are : —
Pig. 25.— Skull of Naja trlpadiam. (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)
(1) Var. Tijpica (fig. 27), with a black-and-white spectacle-
shaped mark on the middle of the dorsal surface of the most
dilatable portion of the neck, and one or more dark transverse
bands on the ventral surface, behind the head.
Habitat : India, Ceylon.
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES
35
(2) Var. Cceca. — Colour, pale brown or unifonii dark grey,
without mark on the neck, and with one or more dark transverse
bands on the anterior part of the belly.
Habitat : Transcaspian region, India, Java.
(3) A^ar. Fasciata.
— Colour, brown, olive,
or black, with more or
less distinct light trans-
verse bands. White
spot edged with black
in the shape of a ring
or of a U on the neck,
behind ; a black spot
on each side in front.
Habitat : India,
Indo-China and South
China, Hainan, Cam-
bodia, Siam, Malay
Peninsula.
(4) Var. Sputatrix.
— Black or dark brown,
with yellow or orange-
coloured spots on the
sides of the head and
neck. The young have
a pale spot in the
shape of a U or an 0
on the middle of the
Fig. 26. — Naja tripudians {Cobra-di-Capello) on the
Defensive, preparing to Strike.
dorsal surface of the neck, and the throat is whitish.
Habitat : Chusan Islands and South China, Burma, Malay
Peninsula, Sumatra, Java.
(5) Var. Leucodira. — Brown or black, without mark on the neck.
Throat yellowish-white, followed by a black transverse band.
Habitat : Sumatra, Malay Peninsula.
36
VENOMS
(6) Var. Miolepis. — Brown or black; sides of the head and
throat yellowish, no mark on the neck. Young with white rings
completely encircling the body and tail.
Habitat : Sarawak, Labuan, Borneo.
Fig. 27 .— Naja tripudians (Cobra-di-Capello). (After Sir Joseph Fayrer. )
Naja samarensis.
Internasal shields shorter than the prsefrontals, and in contact
with the praeoculars ; 1 — 3 large occipital shields behind the
THE Ph'IXClI'AL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 37
parietals ; 1 pL'cTCOCuhir and 8 postoculars ; 2 + "J or '2 + 3 tem-
porals ; 7 supralabials, 4 infralabials ; 21 — '28 scales across the neck,
17 — 19 across the middle of the body ; 159 — 175 ventrals ; 45 — 50
subcaudals.
Coloration black or sometimes yellowish above ; pale brown or
yellowish on the belly ; neck black.
Total length, 1,000 nnllimetres ; tail 160.
Habitat: Philippine Islands.
Naja hiuKjanis {Ophiophagus or Hcnnadryas elaps).
(King Cobra or Hamadryad.)
A pair of large occipital shields ; 1 prasocular ; 3 postociilars ;
2 + 2 temporals ; 7 supralabials, 4 infralabials ; 19 — 21 scales across
the neck, 15 across the middle of the body ; 215 — 262 ventral scales,
80 — 117 subcaudals. Neck dilatable.
Coloration very variable, yellowish, brown, olive, or black, with
or without dark transverse bands.
Total length, 3,900 millimetres ; tail 630.
Habitat : India, Burma, Indo-China, Siam, Southern China,
Malay Peninsula and Archipelago.
The species of Naja are oviparous, and usually lay some twenty
eggs, elliptical in shape and as large as those of a pigeon, with a
soft shell.
These snakes do not fear the proximity of man, and feed upon
rats, mice, and birds ; they seek their prey chiefly in the evening,
after sunset.
They swim extremely well, and frequent the neighbourhood of
vsrater-courses.
Indian legends relate that Brahma, having descended on earth
and fallen asleep one day at high noon, a Naja placed itself in
front of him and, dilating its broad neck, procured for him kindly
shade. In order to repay it for the service rendered, Brahma gave
38 VENOMS
Naja the marks that it bears on its neck, intended to frighten the
kites and other birds of prey, which are implacable enemies of
this snake.
When a native of the Malabar Coast finds a Naja in his dwelling,
he begs it in a friendly way to depart ; if the request be without
avail, he offers it food in order to attract it outside ; if the snake
still does not move, the Hindu goes in search of the pious servitors
of one of his divinities, who, procuring an offering, address the most
touching supplications to it (Brehm).
The mortality due to the bite of this snake, which is by far
the most common in India, is considerable. In the course of a
period of eight years, from 1880 to 1887, it amounted on the
average to 19,880 human beings and 2,100 head of cattle every
year.
In 1889, 22,480 persons and 3,793 head of cattle perished from
snake-bite. Since then, the annual tale of fatalities always
fluctuates between 16,000 and 22,000, in spite of the rewards for
the destruction of snakes which the Indian Government has been
obliged to institute, which represent an expenditure of about
£10,000 per annum.
For every 100 persons bitten, it is estimated that on an average
from 25 to 30 die, and in most cases death supervenes in from two
to twelve hours after the bite.
Naja bimgarus, or the Hamadryad, is the largest and most
formidable of poisonous snakes. It is very vigorous and very
aggressive, but is more rarely met with than Naja^ tripudians. It
loves the vicinity of rivers and streams, lives in forests and jungles,
and climbs trees with facility. It feeds upon other snakes (whence
its name Ophiophagus), and also on birds, fish, and small mammals.
Hindu snake-charmers assert that it is very difficult to capture,
and dangerous owing to its strength ; they handle it only after
having extracted its poison-fangs.
A very intelligent Hindu told Torrens how he had seen the way
in which the Hamadryad procures the snakes that form its favourite
THE PlilNCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 39
food. The Hindu in question liappened to be on the fiat roof of
his house, when a young Hamadryad appeared quite close to him.
The snake raised its head, expanded its neck, and emitted a shrill
hissing noise. Thereupon a dozen snakes came crawling up from
all directions and assembled round the Hamadryad, when the
latter made a dart at one of them and hastened to devour it
{Faijrer).
The Hamadryad is dreaded with good reason, for not only is
it aggressive, and hurls itself boldly upon its adversary, but it also
pursues him, a trait exhibited by no other poisonous snake.
Cantor relates that in Assam an officer met with several young
Hamadryads which were bemg watched over by their mother. The
latter turned towards its enemy, who took to his heels with all
speed, pursued by the terrible reptile. The course taken led to a
river, which the fugitive did not hesitate to swim in order to gain
the opposite bank, hoping thus to make good his escape ; all,
however, to no purpose. The snake still pursued him, and the
officer saved himself only by a stratagenj. He dashed his turban
on the ground ; the snake threw itself upon it and savagely bit
it several times, thus giving the officer time to reach a place of
safety.
Cantor's experiments show' that the venom of the Hamadryad
is extremely rapid in its action. A dog usually dies a quarter of an
hour after being bitten, and Nicholson states that he has seen an
elephant bitten by a snake of this species die in three hours.
(c) Hemibungarus.
This genus includes several species of snakes of somewhat small
size, rarely exceeding 700 millimetres in length, with an elongate,
cylindrical body ; the head is scarcely distinct from the neck, the
pupil round, and the tail short, while the nostril is situate between
two nasal shields. The temporal shields are arranged in a single
row. The poison-glands sometimes extend into the abdominal
40 • VENOMS
cavity. Scales m 13 or 15 rows ; 190 — 260 ventrals, 12 — 44 sub-
gaudals in 2 rows.
Four species belonging to this genus are known : —
(1) H. caUigaster. — 2 + 3 temporal scales, 6 supralabials.
Colour purple, with black transverse bands separated by narrow
white bars ; belly and end of tail red ; snout yellow, with a black
band on the upper lip below the eyes.
Total length, 520 millimetres ; tail 30.
Habitat : PhilijDpine Islands.
(2) H. collaris. — No anterior temporal scales.
Colour black on the back, with black and red bands on the belly ;
a yellow collar on the occiput.
Total length, 430 millimetres ; tail 15.
Habitat : Philippine Islands.
(3) H. nigrcscens. — Scales in 13 rows. A single temporal scale ;
218 — 251 ventrals ; 33 — 44 subcaudals.
Belly uniformly red ; upper lip yellow in front of and behind
the eyes.
Total length, 1,100 millimetres ; tail 115.
Habitat : Hills of Western India, from Bombay to Travancore.
(4) H.jajwtiicus. — Scales in 13 rows ; 190 — 216 ventrals ; 28 — 29
subcaudals ; temporals 1 + 1.
Colour red on the back, with 1 — 5 black bands crossed by other
black bands edged with yellow. Snout and sides of head black.
Belly yellow, with large black spots alternating with black trans-
verse bands.
Total length, 520 millimetres ; tail 40.
Habitat : Loo Choo Islands.
(d) Callophis.
This genus is characterised by the maxillary bones extending
forwards beyond the palatines, with a pair of large poison-fangs,
but without other teeth. Head and eyes small, pupils round;
THE FBI NCI PAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 41
nostril between two nasal shields. Body cylindrical, greatl)^
elongate. Scales smooth, in 13 rows; ventrals rounded; sub-
caudal s in '2 rows.
Five species are known : —
(1) C. gracilis. — Red or pale brown, with three longitudinal
black lines passing through brown, or black spots ; the lateral spots
alternating with the vertebrae. Black and yellow bands under the
tail and on the belly.
Total length, 740 millimetres ; tail 35.
Habitat : Malav Peninsula, Sumatra.
(2) C. trimaculatus. — Head and nape black, with a yellow spot
on each side of the occiput ; belly uniform red ; tail with two black
rings.
Total length, 335 millimetres ; tail 21,
Habitat : India and Burma.
(3) C. maculiceps. — Head and nape black, with one or two
yellow bands on each side. Belly red, two black rings on the tail.
Diameter of the eyes equal to two-thirds of the space separating
them from the mouth.
Total length, 485 millimetres ; tail 30.
Habitat : Burma, Indo-China, Malay Peninsula.
(4) C. macclellandii. — Head and neck black, with a yellow
transverse band behind the eyes. The space separating the eyes
equal to that separating them from the mouth. Colour reddish-
brown on the back, with regular and equi-distant black streaks ;
belly yellow, with black bands or quadrangular spots. The head
exhibits two black transverse bands separated by a yellow band.
Total length, 620 millimetres ; tail 55.
Habitat : Nepal, Sikkim, Assam, Burma, Southern China.
(5) C. bibronii. — Met with by Beddome in the forests of Malabar,
at an altitude of 3,280 feet. Back purplish-brown, with a pearly
lustre, and about forty irregular black transverse bands, extending
to the tip of the tail. Head black m front, cherry-red on the
occiput.
42 VENOMS
Total length, 640 millimetres ; tail 50.
Habitat : Malabar.
All the snakes belonging to the genus Callophis are remarkable
for their bright and varied colours, whence the generic name, which
signifies " beautiful snakes."
They feed exclusively on other snakes belonging to the Family
Galamaridoi ; consequently they are not found in regions where
Calamaridfe do not occur, as, for instance, in Ceylon.
They are essentially terrestrial, and live in old tree-trunks, or
clefts in rocks. They are sluggish, slow-moving, and chiefly
nocturnal.
As a rule they do not seek either to defend themselves or to bite;
consequently fatal accidents caused by them are scarcely known in
the case of human beings. Their venom, however, is very toxic
to animals.
(e) Doliophis.
This genus exhibits the same characters as Callophis, except
that the poison-glands, instead of being confined to the temporal
region, extend a very long way on each side of the body, to about
one-third of its length, gradually growing thicker and terminating
at the base of the heart.
It includes four species : —
(1) D. bivirgatns. — Colour reddish-purple or black on the back,
red on the head, tail, and belly.
Total length, 1,610 millimetres; tail 190.
Habitat : Burma, Indo-China, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java,
and Borneo.
(2) D. intestinalis. — Brown or black on the back, with darker
or lighter longitudinal streaks ; tail red beneath ; belly red, crossed
with black streaks.
Total length, 580 millimetres ; tail 45.
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 43
Habitat: Burma, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo,
Celebes.
(3) D. hilineatus. — Black on the back, with two white streaks
along the whole length of the body. Snout white ; belly striped
with black and white bands. Tail orange, with two or three black
rings or spots.
Total length, 710 millimetres ; tail 45.
Habitat: Philippine Islands.
(4) D. philippinus. — Back with dark brown cross-bands, merging
into black transverse ventral streaks, which are separated by yellow
or red interspaces. Head brown, with small yellow spots.
Total length, 430 millimetres ; tail 35.
Habitat : Philippine Islands.
II. — Family Vipekid^.
The Family Viperid.e is represented in Asia by a considerable
number of snakes belonging to the two Subfamilies "Viperin^
and Crotalin^.
The Asiatic? Viperin^ belong to the genera : —
(a) Vipera.
(b) Pseuclocerastes.
(c) Cerastes.
(d) Echis.
The CROTALiN.i; consist of only two genera : —
(e) A)icistrodon.
(f) LacJiesis.
1.— VIPERIN.E.
(a) Yipera.
We shall not recapitulate here the characters of the Genus
Vipera, which we described in dealing with the vipers of Europe.
The genus is represented by several species, the geographical range
of which is chiefly confined to Eastern and Central Asia.
44 VENOMS
(1) Vipera foiardi. — Eesembles V. berus, but the snout is
pointed and soft, with a turned-up tip ; a single series of scales
between the eyes and the lips ; nostril pierced in the lower half
of a single nasal shield ; 8 — 9 supralabial shields ; 4 infralabials.
Body scales in '21 rows ; 130 — 15Cr ventrals ; 24 — 37 subcaudals.
Coloration the same as in the European V. ursinii, but the
snout and lips are spotted with black or brown.
Total length, 395—620 millimetres ; tail 40—75.
Habitat : Central Asia, Turkestan.
0
(2) V. racldii. — Snout rounded ; supraocular shields erectile ;
eyes surrounded by a complete circle of 14 — 17 scales ; 9 — 10
supralabials ; body scales in 23 rows ; 150^180 ventrals ; 23 — 32
subcaudals.
Coloration pale brown or grey on the back, with a dorsal series
of small reddish spots arranged in alternating" pairs. A black mark
like a circumflex accent on the occiput, and a black band behind
the eyes. Belly yellow, speckled with black and white.
Total length, 740 millimetres ; tail 50.
Habitat : Armenia.
(3) V. lebetina. — Snout rounded and obtuse, with a well-marked
prominence ; 7 — 12 longitudinal series of scales between the eyes ;
supraocular shields well developed or narrow, or broken up into
several small portions ; 12 — 18 scales round the eyes ; 9 — 12 supra-
labials ; 4 — 5 infralabials; body scales in 23 — 27 rows; 147 — 180
ventrals ; 29 — 51 subcaudals.
Coloration variable, grey or pale brown on the back, with a
series of large dark spots. Large brown mark like a circumflex
accent on the crown of the head and another on the occiput. Belly
whitish, speckled with grey-brown; end of tail yellow.
Total length, 960 millimetres; tail 120. The female may attain
the length of 1,350 millimetres.
Habitat : Cyprus, Galilee, Syria, Asia Minor, Transcaspia,
Persia, Mesopotamia, Afghanistan, Baluchistan, Cashmir.
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES
45
(4) V. russeUii (Daho'ia, or liiisselVs Viper). (Fig. '28.) — This
viper, which may attain a length of as much as 2,000 niilHmetres,
is magnificently coloured. Its dorsal surface is brownish-yellow,
^^^^^LJ^
Fig. 28. — Vipera russellii {Syn. Vipera elegans. Daboia, or Russell's Viper). India.
(After Sir Joseph Fayrer.)
marked with large oval spots of blackish-brown, edged with yellow
or white. The belly is covered with transverse bands, wuth beautiful
triangular black spots, bordered with white. The head, w'hich is
long, ends in front in a thick, rounded snout ; it is covered above
46 VENOMS
with small keeled scales. The nostril, which is large and laterally
placed, is surrounded by three shields and soft smooth skin.
The species is found throughout India, from Bombay to Bengal,
in Ceylon, Burma, and Siam. It is particularly common in Burma,
around Kangoon. For walking in the jungle and rice-fields, the
natives of this region encase their feet and legs in a special kind of
jack-boots made of coarse jute-cloth, in order to protect themselves
from the bites of this snake, which cause a large number of fatal
accidents.
The Daboia ascends the Himalayas to an altitude of 5,250 feet.
It lives in thickets, under stones, and in the clefts of rocks. When
disturbed it makes a terrible hissing, but bites only when attacked
or irritated.
It feeds upon small vertebrates, such as mice, rats, birds, and
frogs, and often enters houses in pursuit of rats.
" Schrott had the opportunity of observing" a Daboia on the
defensive. A lady carrying a child on her arm was returning home
towards evening ; she had almost reached her house when a bull-
dog accompanying her began to bark furiously. Although the lady
saw nothing, she was, nevertheless, frightened and called for help.
Schrott, who was not far away, ran to the spot, and saw a Daboia
lying across the path by which the lady had to proceed. The
reptile had its neck thrown back and its head in a horizontal
position ; its bright eyes followed all the movements of the dog, to
whose barks it replied by shrill hisses. It was only waiting for an
opportunity to strike. Schrott called off the dog, and the snake
at once disappeared among the high grass close by. Next day it
was killed at the same spot " {Brehm).
The venom of this viper is terribly potent. According to Kussell,
a large dog exhibited symptoms of poisoning five minutes after
being bitten. At the end of a quarter of an hour it lay down, uttering
heartrending cries, began to breathe with difficulty and noisily, was
seized with spasms of the jaws and cramps, and died in frightful
agony less than half an hour after the wound was inflicted. Fowls
THE FBINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 47
ill most cases die in less than two minutes. A horse succumhed
in half an hour, and another in eleven hours.
It appears that in India many cattle are killed by Daboias while
grazing {Fayrer).
(b) Pseudocerastes.
(Fig. 29.)
This genus is represented by a single species {Pseudocerastes
pcrsicus), which appears to be exclusively confined to Persia.
The head is very distinct from the neck, and covered with small
imbricate scales ; the eyes, which are small, have vertical pupils ;
they are separated from the lips by
small scales. The nostrils are
directed upwards and outwards.
The snout is very short and rounded.
The cylindrical body has '23 — 25
rows of scales ; 151 — 156 ventrals
13 — 49 subcaudals.
The coloration is gray or brown,
with four series of large black spots,
and the head exhibits two longitu-
dinal black streaks behind the eyes,
with black.
Total length, 890 millimetres; tail 110,
Fig. 29. — Pseudocerastes -persicus.
(After Dumeril and Bibron.)
The belly is whitish, dotted
(c) Cerastes.
The vipers belonging to this genus are much more common
in North Africa, and we shall therefore study them in conjunction
with the African snakes. Cerastes cornutiis alone, the special
habitat of which is Egypt, is sometimes met with in Ara.bia and
on the eastern bank of the Suez Canal.
48
VENOMS
(d) Echis.
Echis cariiiatus (the Phoorsa). (Fig. 30). — This viper is charac-
terised by the subcaudal shields being arranged in a single row.
It is savage and very aggressive, being always ready to attack. Its
length does not exceed 600 millimetres at the most. The colour
of the body is grey, more or less dark and adorned with streaks,
spots, and dots of blackish-brown. The back displays yellowish-
FiG. 30. — Ecliis carinatns. India. (After Sir Joseph Fayrer.)
white wavy lines, forming X-shaped markings. The upper side
of the head exhibits a yellow spot surrounded by brown, and other
small black spots, the whole arrangement forming a fairly good
representation of a cross.
This species is found in India, Persia, Baluchistan, Arabia, and
Palestine ; while, as we shall see, it also occurs in Africa. It is
fairly common in the environs of Aden.
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 49
In moving over the ground a peculiar sound is produced by the
friction of its scales. It is capable of springing with great agility
a fairly long distance on to its prey. When it believes itself in
danger it coils up, doubling its body twice in the shape of a
crescent, in the middle of which it places its head, ready to
strike. Its venom is very rapid in taking effect.
2.— CEOTALIN.E.
(e) Ancistrodon.
The snakes belonging to this genus of CroialincB are found in
Central and Eastern Asia, but three important species occur in the
New World, in the United States and Central America. The head
is covered with nine large symmetrical shields, but the internasals
and prsefrontals are sometimes broken up into scales. The body
is cylindrical ; the tail rather short ; the subcaudal scales are
arranged in one or two rows.
A. acutus. — The snout of this snake is prolonged into an append-
age directed forwards. The head-shields are finely granulate. Body
scales arranged in 21 rows ; 162 — 166 ventrals ; 58 — 60 subcaudals.
Coloration brown on the back, with blackish-brown X-shaped
spots ; head dark brown, yellow on the cheeks, with a black band
running from the eye to the angle of the jaw ; belly yellowish,
spotted with brown, with a series of large black transverse blotches.
Total length, 1,500 milHmetres ; tail 200.
Habitat : Upper Yang-tse, China.
A. halys. — Snout prolonged into an upturned appendage, blunt
at the tip ; 7 — 8 supralabial scales, the third of which forms part
of the margin of the eye ; body scales in 23 rows ; 149 — 174
ventrals ; 31 — 44 subcaudals.
Coloration yellowish, grey, red, or pale brown above, with darker
spots or cross-bars. A black spot on the snout ; two black spots
4
50
VENOMS
Fig. 31. — Ancistrodon hypnalc.
(The Carawalla of Ceylon.)
(After Sir Joseph Fayrer.)
on the vertex ; a dark, light-edged band
on the temple ; belly whitish, more or
less speckled with grey or brown.
Totallength, 490 millimetres ; tail 65.
Habitat : From the borders of the
Caspian Sea and the Ural Eiver to the
U])per Yenisei ; Turkestan.
A. intermedins. — Resembles the fore-
going very closely, but the snout is not
turned up at the end.
Total length, 750 millimetres ; tail 85.
Habitat : Central Asia, Eastern
Siberia, Mongolia, and Japan.
A. blomhoffii. — Similar to A. halys,
but the snout is not turned up at the
end, and the body scales are in 21 i-ows ;
137—166 ventral scales; 29—55 sub-
caudals.
Coloration very variable ; grey, brown,
or red above, with large black-edged spots
arranged in pairs ; black, light-edged
band on the temple ; upper lip uniformly
yellow or red ; belly yellow or reddish,
more or less spotted with black, or almost
entirely black.
Total length, 720 millimetres; tail
100.
Habitat : Eastern Siberia, Mongolia,
China, Japan, Siam.
A. himalaijanus. — Snout scarcely
turned up, with a hard tip ; 5 — 7 supra-
labial shields. Body scales in 21 (rarely
23) rows ; 144 — 166 ventrals ; sub-
caudals in 35 — 51 pairs.
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OE POISONOUS SNAKES 51
Coloration brown, with black spots or transverse bands ; black,
light-edged band from the eye to the angle of the mouth ; belly
dark brown, or more or less whitish.
Total length, 590 millimetres ; tail 90.
Habitat: Himalayas (5,000 to 10,000 feet), especially in the
North-west ; Khasi Hills.
This snake feeds chiefly on mice.
A. rhodostoma. — Snout pointed, somewhat tm-ned up at the
tip: 7 — 9 supralabial shields; body scales in 21 rows; 138 — 157
ventrals ; 34 — 54 subcaudal pairs.
Coloration reddish, grey, or pale brown above, with large
angular, dark brown, black-edged spots arranged in pairs or alter-
nating. A^ertebral line almost black ; lips yellow, speckled with
brown ; brown, black-edged band, running from the eye to the
angle of the mouth. Belly yellowish, spotted with greyish -brown.
Total length, 810 milHmetres ; tail 90.
Habitat : Java.
A. lujpnale (fig. 31). — Snout more or less turned up, with
a hard, pointed end ; 7 — 8 supralabial shields ; body scales in
17 rows ; 125 — 155 ventrals ; 28 — 45 subcaudal pairs.
Coloration very variable ; brown, yellowish, or greyish above,
sometimes with dark brown spots or transverse bands. Cheeks
brown, with a longitudinal, white, black-edged streak on each side
of the neck. Belly more or less speckled with dark brown.
Total length, 480 millimetres ; tail 65.
Habitat : Ceylon, and Western Ghats of India as far north as
Bombay.
In Ceylon this snake is known as the Carawalla. It is much
dreaded, but its bite is not rapidly fatal.
(f) Lachesis.
This genus has many representatives in Asia and the New
World. The American species are for the most part of larger
size and more formidable.
52
VENOMS
They are characterised by a triangular head, covered with small
scales or small shields, and by a cylindrical or compressed body.
The Asiatic species have the subcaudal scales in two rows and the
tail short, and often prehensile, which enables them to clnnb trees
or bushes, where they lie in wait for their prey.
Their classification is based upon the followmg characters : —
A. First infralabial scale in contact with its fellow.
I. Scales in '21—25 (rarely 27) rows ; 129—158 ventrals ; 21—
57 subcaudals ; 5 — 9 series of scales between the supraocular
shields; tail non ■prehensile.
Fig. 32. — LacJiesis okinavcnsis. (After G. A. Boulenger, oji. cit.)
(1) L. monticola. — Supraocular shields large, separated by 5 — 8
scales ; snout obtuse.
Colour brown or yellowish above, brown or pale yellow on the
sides, with a brown temporal streak. Belly white, spotted with
brown.
Total length, 740 millimetres; tail 115.
Habitat : Tibet, Himalayas (2,000 to 8,000 feet), Hills of Assam,
Burma, Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Sumatra.
(2) L. okinavcnsis (fig. 32). — Supraocular shields large, separ-
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 53
ated by a transverse series of 6 — 9 scales ; end of snout pointed
and turned up.
Colour brown above, with dark transverse bands and a light
temporal streak. Belly brown, spotted with black, especially on
the sides.
Total length, 350 millimetres ; tail 60.
Habitat : Okinawa, Loo Choo Islands.
(3) L. sfrigatus. — Supraocular shields small, sometimes broken
up, separated by 8 — 11 convex scales in juxtaposition.
Colour brown above, with black spots often forming a median
zigzag band ; temporal band black ; belly whitish, spotted with
grey or black ; end of tail yellow or reddish.
Total length, 480 millimetres ; tail 55.
Habitat : Hills near Bombay, Deccan, Anamallays and Nil-
gherries.
II. Scales in '27 — 37 rows; 174 — 231 ventrals ; 54 — 90 sub-
caudals : tail non-prehensile.
(4) L. fiavoviridis. — Scales in 33— 37 rows; •2'22 — 231 ventrals;
75 — 90 subcaudals ; 8 — 9 supralabials.
Coloration pale brown or greenish-yellow above, marbled with
black ; longitudinal black streaks symmetrically disposed on the
head ; belly yellow or greenish, with darker spots.
Total length, 1,215 millimetres ; tail 220.
Habitat : Loo Choo Islands.
This snake is not infrequently termed by naturalists Trimeres-
urus riiikianus.
(5) L. cantoris. — Scales in 27 — 31 rows; 174 — 184 ventrals;
55 — 76 subcaudals ; 13 supralabials.
Coloration pale brown or dull green, with small black spots ;
a whitish streak along the sides of the body ; belly white or
greenish.
Total length, 1,020 millimetres ; tail 140.
Habitat : Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
54 VENOMS
III. Scales in 21—27 rows; 160—218 ventrals ; 54—92 sub
caudals ; tail not or scarcely prehensile.
(6) L. jcrdonii. — 7 — 9 scales in a line between the supraocular
shields ; scales in 21 or 23 rows ; 164 — 188 ventrals ; 54 — 67
subcaudals.
Coloration greenish-yellow or olive above, mixed with black,
a dorsal series of reddish-brown transverse rhomboidal spots ;
upper lip yellow, with one or two black spots ; belly yellow, more
or less marbled with black.
Total length, 930 millimetres ; tail 145.
Habitat : Assam, Tibet, Upper Yang-tse.
(7) L. imicrosqiiamatns. — 10 — 15 scales in a line between the
supraocular shields ; scales in 25 — 27 rows ; 183 — 218 ventrals ;
72 — 92 subcaudals. Colour brownish-grey above, with a series
of large black median spots and smaller ones on the sides ; a black
streak from the eye to the angle of the mouth; belly brownish,
spotted with white.
Total length, 1,050 millimetres ; tail 210.
Habitat: Formosa, Assam.
(8) L. luteus. — 12 or 13 scales in a line between the supraocular
shields ; scales in 23 — 25 rows ; 182 — 186 ventrals ; 72 — 74 sub-
caudals ; supraocular shields large.
Colour yellow above, with a series of dark rhomboidal spots,
and a dorsal, black-spotted zigzag band ; a black streak on each
side of the head behind the eyes ; belly yellowish, spotted with grey.
Total length, 945 millimetres ; tail 164.
Habitat : Loo Choo Islands.
(9) L. jmrpiireomaculatus. — 12 — 15 scales in a line between the
supraocular shields ; scales in 25 — 27 rows ; ventrals 160 — 182 ;
subcaudals 55 — 76 ; supraocular shield very narrow, sometimes
broken up.
Coloration purplish-black above, sometimes variegated with pale
green ; flanks pale green ; belly olive or greenish-white, uniform
or spotted with black. Some specimens are entirely green.
THE PEINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES
55
Total length, 980 millimetres ; tail 150.
Habitat : Himalayas, Bengal, Assam, Burma, Malay Peninsula,
Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Pulo-Pinang, Sumatra.
IV. Scales in 21 rows (rarely
19 or 23) ; 7 — 13 series of scales
between the supraoculars ; tail
more or less prehensile.
(10) L. gramineus (Syn. Tri-
meresurus gramineus. The Green
Pit Viper).— 145 — 175 ventral
scales ; 53 — 75 subcaudals ; snout
slightly projecting ; supraocular
shield narrow.
Colour bright green, rarely
olive or yellowish, with or with-
out darker transverse bands ; end
of tail yellow or red ; belly green,
yellow, or white.
Total length, 870 millimetres ;
tail 150.
Habitat : South-eastern Asia,
Darjeeling, Himalayas, Ganges
Delta, Siam, Southern China,
Hong Kong, Formosa, Java,
Sumatra, Timor.
(11) L. fiavomaculatus (fig.
33). — 170 — 187 ventral scales ;
53 — 73 subcaudals ; snout pro-
jecting, obliquely truncate; supraocular shield narrow.
Colour bright green or olive, sometimes barred with reddish-
brown ; belly green, olive, or greenish-yellow ; end of tail sometimes
red.
Total length, 1,060 millimetres; tail IGO.
Habitat : Philippine Islands.
Pig. 33. — Lachesis flavomaculatus.
(After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)
56 VENOMS
(12) L. suniatranm. — 180 — 191 ventral scales; 58 — 82 sub-
caudals ; supraocular shield large.
Coloration bright green, with or without black transverse
bands ; yellowish band on each side ; belly yellow or green, with
or without black speckles ; end of tail red.
Total length, 1,100 millimetres ; tail 180.
Habitat : Singapore, Sumatra, Borneo, Palawan.
(13) L. (utamallensis. — 138 — 158 ventral scales; 44 — 58 sub-
caudals.
Colour green, olive, yellowish, or reddish-brown ; a black
temporal band ; belly pale green, olive, or yellow ; tail usually
black and yellow.
Total length, 730 mihimetres ; tail 110.
Habitat : Anamallay and Nilgherry Hills, South India.
(14) L. trigonocephalus. — Scales in 17 — 19 rows, 145 — 170
ventrals ; 53 — 67 subcaudals.
Coloration green, v/ith or witliout black transverse bands or
spots ; a black temporal streak ; belly green or yellow ; end of tail
usually black.
Total length, 790 millimetres ; tail 130.
Habitat: Ceylon.
(15) L. macrolepis. — Scales in 13 — 15 rows ; 134 — 143 ventrals ;
48 — 56 subcaudals.
Colour bright green or olive ; belly pale green.
Total length, 680 millimetres; tail 120.
Habitat : Southern India.
B. First lower labial shield divided ; the portion separated off
forms a pair of small supplementary dental sbields ; 144- — 176
ventral scales ; 38 — 57 subcaudals ; i?i\\ prehensile.
(16) L. puniccus. — Scales in 21 — 23 rows : 12 — 14 series of
scales between the supraocular shields.
Colour grey, brown, or red ; belly spotted with brown ; end of
tail red.
Total length, 640 millimetres ; tail 90.
THE PBINCIPAL SPECIES OE POISONOUS SNAKES :>!
Habitat : Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Natuna Islands.
(17) L. borneensis. — Scales in 19 — 21 rows ; 10 — 11 series of
scales between the supraocular shields ; 152 — 168 ventrals ; 43 — 65
subcaudals.
Total length, 770 millimetres ; tail 105.
Habitat: Borneo, Sumatra.
C. (18) L. wagleri.— Scales in 19 — 27 rows, 127 — 154 ventrals ;
45 — 55 subcaudals ; tail prehensile.
Colour green, with darker or lighter markings, black and yellow,
or nearly entirely black.
Total length, 980 millimetres ; tail 150.
Habitat: Malay Peninsula and Archipelago.
C.—AFBICA.
In Africa, poisonous snakes abound throughout the whole of the
tropical and sub-tropical zones. The fatal accidents to human
beings caused by them in this continent are fewer than in India,
since the population of Africa is less dense, but several species
occur, the venom of which is especially dangerous to life.
These species belong in nearly equal numbers to the Families
CoLUBRiD^ and Viperidj3.
I. — COLUBRID^.
The poisonous Colubrid^ of Africa are all included in the
Subfamily Elapince, of which the following are the eight principal
genera : —
(a) Bouloigerina.
(b) Elapecliis.
(c) Naja.
(d) Sepedon.
(e) Aspidelapa.
(f) Walter iimesia.
(g) Homorelaps.
(h) Dendraspis.
58 VENOMS
(a) Boulengerina.
A small snake 240 millimetres in length, the principal characters
of which are as follows : —
Maxillary bones equal to the palatines in length, with a pair of
relatively large poison-fangs, followed by three or four small teeth.
Head hardly distinct from the neck. Eye small, with round
pupil ; nostril between two nasal shields. Body cylindrical ; scales
smooth, in 21 rows ; ventrals rounded. Tail moderate ; subcaudal
scales in 2 rows.
The only known species, B. stormsi, is brown, with black
transverse bars on the neck ; tail black ; belly white in front,
brown behind, with a black border to the scales.
It is found m the region of Lake Tanganyika.
(b) Elapechis.
This genus is characterised by the size of the maxillary bones,
which is equal to that of the palatines ; a pair of large poison-fangs
followed by two to four small teeth ; head not distinct from the
neck ; eye small with round pupil ; nostril between two nasal
shields. Body cylindrical; scales oblique, smooth, in 18 or 15
rows ; ventrals rounded. Tail very short, subcaudal shields in 2
rows.
Six species are known : —
(1) E. giientheri. — Scales in 13 rows. Snout short, rounded ; first
lower labial shield in contact with its neighbour behind the
symphysis. Internasal shorter than the prsefrontals ; length of
frontal three-fourths of that of the parietals.
Coloration whitish or grey above, with black, white-edged cross-
bands. Belly dirty white, brownish, or grey.
Total length, 520 millimetres ; tail 50.
Habitat : Gaboon, Congo, Angola, Central Africa.
(2) E. niger. — Snout and arrangement of scales as before.
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 59
Iiiternasal shields three-fourths of the length of the proefrontals ;
frontal two-thirds of the length of the parietals.
Colour, black all over.
Total length, 4i20 millimetres ; tail 80.
Habitat : Zanzibar.
(3) E. hessil. — Snout as in foregoing. Symphysial shield of the
lower lip in contact with the anterior chin shields.
Colour grey, with black cross-bars ; a series of black spots on
the sides, between the bars; large black blotch on nape; belly
white.
Total length, 160 millimetres ; tail 12.
Habitat : Congo.
(4) E. decosteri. — Snout obtusely pointed.
Colour, dark grey, each scale edged with black ; belly white.
Total length, 380 millimetres ; tail 38.
Habitat : Delagoa Bay.
(.5) E. sundevallii. — Snout obtusely pointed.
Colour reddish-brown, with yellow transverse bands, the scales
in which are edged with reddish-brown ; upper lip and belly yellow.
Total length, .510 millimetres ; tail 43.
Habitat : Caffraria.
(6) E. boulengeri. — Scales in 15 rows.
Colour black on the back, with narrow white transverse bands ;
head white, with a black streak along the parietal suture ; belly
blackish-grey.
Total length, 170 millimetres ; tail 14.
Habitat : Zambesi.
(c) Naja.
(For the characters of this genus, see Asia, p, 33.)
Six species of Naja are found in Africa : —
(1) N. haje or haie. — Scales in '21 — '23 rows on the neck, which
is dilatable, although slightly less so than that of N. tripudians,
the Cobra-di-Capello of India.
60 VENOMS
Six or seven large supralabial shields, sixth or seventh in con-
tact with the lower postocular. Eyes separated from the labial
shields by the suboculars. 191 — 214 ventral scales ; 53 — 64 sub-
caudal s.
Colour yellowish, olive, or uniform black ; belly yellowish ; black
or brown band on the neck ; head sometimes blackish.
Total length, 1,180 millimetres; tail 290.
Habitat : Borders of the Sahara, Egypt, Southern Palestine,
East Africa as far south as Mozambique.
Naj\i haje (the Egyptian Cobra) is common throughout the Nile
Basin, the Sudan and Central Africa. Livingstone mentions it
several times. In Egypt it is met with in the vicinity of ruined
monuments, under the large blocks of stone or among brushwood.
The Egyptians are greatly in dread of it, and hunt it down as
often as possible. When pursued, N. haje turns bravely and faces
its adversary, raising itself upon its tail, puffing out its neck and
hissing fiercely. If too hard pressed it strikes at its enemy.
" A friend of mine," writes Anderson, " had great difficulty in
escaping from one of these snakes. While botanising one day a
Naja passed quite close to him. My friend darted backwards with
all speed, but the Naja pursued and was about to attack him, when
he stumbled against an ant-hill and fell flat on his back. This, no
doubt, frightened the snake, which disappeared in a twinkling."
Another case of the same kind is narrated by Waller, who
writes : "A young girl met with her death in a truly dramatic
fashion. She was walking behind some porters on a narrow path,
when suddenly an Aspic came out of a thick bush, attacked and bit
her in the thigh ; in spite of all efforts to save her the unfortunate
girl died in less than ten minutes." This instance, which is abso-
lutely authentic, proves the truth of the statements made by various
travellers. Natives assert that a full-grown Naja invariably pursues
either a man or an animal, however large, when either passes
within its range (Brehm).
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 61
Snake-chauiners, of whom there are many in Egypt, always
employ Naja haje for their performances. They know how to
capture it, and tear out its fangs by making it bite a bundle of rags.
This species rarely lives more than six or eight months in
captivity, and is quite untamable. It is fond of bathing, and
remains in the water for hours together.
" The Ancient Egyptians," write Dumeril and Bibron,' " are
known to have worshipped the Naja, which they regarded as the
protector of their crops. They allowed it to live and multiply
among the cultivated lands, which they apparently entrusted to
the care of their tutelary gaardian, recognising that this snake freed
thein from the ravages of the rats, the immense number of which
otherwise caused terrible destruction and even actual famine. It was,
therefore, from motives of gratitude that the Egyptian Cobra was
venerated in this way ; that its image was hung up in the temples ;
that its skin was embalmed ; and that its efligy, so easy to recognise
and to reproduce roughly, was graven or sculptured on the stones
of their monuments. This is the explanation of the fact that paint-
ings representing N. haje are frequently reproduced in hieroglyphics
and on Egyptian sarcophagi."
The Naja was the tutelary deity of the temples, whose duty was
to prevent the profane from entering. Thus, in one of the crypts
of Denderah we find represented Serpent-genie, figures with a head
like that of a Naja supported by the body of a man, with the hands
armed with enormous cutlasses (Mariette, Denderah. p. 91, 1875).
(2) N. Jiava. — Same arrangement of scales. Neck dilatable.
200 — 227 ventrals ; 50—67 subcaudals.
Colour very variable, yellowish, reddish, brown, or black, uniform
or with light spots ; sometimes a black transverse band on the neck.
Total length, 1,470 millimetres ; tail 280.
Habitat : South Africa.
^ Erprtologie generale, t. vii.
62 VENOMS
(3) N. melanoleuca. — Coloration very variable. Sides of the
head yellow or whitish ; labial shields tinged with black on the
posterior edge.
Total length, 2,400 millimetres ; tail 400.
Habitat : Tropical Africa.
(4) N. nigricolUs. — Third supralabial shield the deepest, sixth
and seventh not in contact with the postocnlars ; 183 — 228 ventral
scales ; 55 — 68 subcaudals.
Coloration very variable ; lower surface of the neck with a black
transverse bar.
Total length, 2,000 millimetres ; tail 300.
Habitat: From Senegambia and Upper Egypt to Angola and
the Transvaal.
(5) N. ancliietce. — Scales in 17 rows on the neck and on the
body ; 181 — 192 ventrals ; 52 — G2 subcaudals.
Colour blackish or brown above ; end of snout and cheeks
yellow ; belly yellow or pale brown, with or without black cross-bar
under the neck.
Total length, 1,800 millimetres ; tail 340.
Habitat : Angola and Ovamboland.
(6) N. goldii. — Eyes large, two-thirds the length of the snout
in adults. Scales in 15 rows on the neck and on the body ;
194 — 195 ventrals ; 88 subcaudals.
Colour black, uniform, or with transverse series of small whitish
spots ; cheeks and end of snout white, with a black border at the
margin of the shields ; belly white in front, black behind ; sub-
caudal scales black.
Total length, 1,750 millimetres.
Habitat : Lower Niger.
(d) Sepedon.
Maxillary bones projecting considerably beyond the palatines,
with a pair of large poison-fangs ; no other maxillary teeth. Head
not distinct from neck ; eyes of moderate size, with round pupils ;
THE FlUNCIPAL SPECIES OE POISONOUS SNAKES 63
nostril between two nasal shields and an internasal. Body cylin-
drical ; scales oblique, keeled, in 19 rows ; ventrals rounded. Tail
moderate ; subcaudal scales in 2 rows.
S. Jucmachates (The Spitting Snake, or Ring Hals Slang). — This
snake, which is about 7(X) millimetres in length, is of a bluish-
brown colour, with numerous narrow, undulating and denticulate
cross-bands of yellow or yellowish-white. The throat is black or
dark red ; the belly grey.
It is met with throughout West, East, and South Africa, as far
as the Cape of Good Hope, where it is very common. It lives
among bushes in sandy places, where the ground is full of the holes
of rats, moles, and small rodents, upon which it feeds. It is very
active and exhibits great ferocity.
Natives at the Cape declare that this snake is able to project its
venom to a distance of more than a yard, especially if the wind is
blowing in the same direction, and that, if the poison happens to
enter the eye, the inflammation that results therefrom often leads
to loss of sight (Smith).
As to this, a very definite statement is given by Bavay,^ on the
authority of Le Naour : —
"While hunting in Dahomey," wrote Le Naour to Bavay,
" I thrice met with the snake called the Spitter. On two occa-
sions my dog was struck in both eyes by the liquid projected
by the reptile. Immediately (less than two minutes afterwards),
symptoms of conjunctivitis manifested themselves, with consider-
able swelling of the pupils ; the conjunctivitis seemed as though
it were going to be very serious, and yielded only after twelve
' " Le serpent cracheur de la cote occidentale d'Afrique," Societe Zool.
de France, 1895, p. 210. Bavay thinks that the Spittinj^ Snake is a Naja haje,
but the description that he gives of the head of the reptile, which was sent
to him by Le Naour, certainly agrees with the characters of Sepedon. Moreover,
I have satisfied myself that the many specimens of Naja haje that I have kept
Ib captivity in my laboratory never possessed the faculty of spitting their poison
to a distance.
64 VENOMS
days' treatment with boracic lotion, aided by a few cauterisations
with sulphate of copper.
" During my sojourn at Porto-Novo, a store-keeper at the Dogba
trading station was a victim of the Spitter. While working at his
store he received in his eye a jet of liquid, which produced violent
conjunctivitis."
(e) Aspidelaps.
Maxillary bones extending forwards beyond the palatines, as in
Sepedon, with a pair of large poison-fangs ; no other maxillary
teeth. Head slightly distinct from the neck. Eyes of moderate
size, with round or vertically elliptic pupils. Rostral shield very
large, detached on the sides. Body cylindrical ; scales oblique,
smooth or keeled, in 19 — 23 rows ; ventrals rounded. Tail short,
obtuse ; subcaudal scales in 2 rows.
(1) A. hihricus. — 146 — 107 ventral scales; 20 — 28 subcaudals.
Colour orange or red, with black rings ; a black bar below the
eyes ; upper surface of head sometimes entirely black.
Total length, 590 millimetres ; tail 55.
Habitat: Cape Colony and Namaqualand.
(2) A. scutatus (Fula-fula of Mozambique). — 115 — 135 ventrals ;
24 — 88 subcaudals.
Colour pale grey, with black spots or cross-bars, and a black
mark shaped like a circumflex accent on the head. A black collar
encircling the neck, and a black vertical streak below the eye.
Belly whitish.
The total length may be as much as 520 millimetres.
Habitat : Natal, Delagoa Bay, Mozambique.
(f) Walterinnesia.
Maxillary bones prolonged forwards beyond the palatines, with
a pair of large poison-fangs; no other maxillary teeth. Head
distinct from the neck ; eyes rather small, with round pupils ;
THE PlilNCIPAL SPECIES OE POISONOUS SNAKES
65
nostril between two or three nasal shields and the internasal.
Body cylindrical; scales smooth or feebly keeled, in 28 rows;
ventrals rounded. Tail rather short ; subcaudal scales for the most
part in '1 rows.
W. (cgyptia. — Colour blackish-brown on the back, paler on the
belly.
Total length, 1,170 millimetres ; tail 170.
Habitat : Egypt.
Fig. 34. — Skull, of Dendraspis viridls (Poisonous West African Colubriue)
(After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)
(g) Dendraspis.
(Fig. 34.)
Maxillary bone curved upwards, bearing a [)air of powerful
poison- fangs, not fissured, and not followed by other teeth ; a
5
66 VENOMS
long tooth at the end of each ramus of the mandible. Head
narrow, elongate ; eye moderate, with round pupil ; nostril between
two shields. Body slightly compressed ; scales smooth, narrow,
very oblique, in 13 — 28 rows ; ventrals rounded. Tail long ; sub-
caudals in 2 rows.
(1) D. viridis. — 211 — 225 ventral scales ; 107 — 119 subcaudals.
Colour uniform olive-green. Shields on the head edged with
hlaek ; lips yellow ; belly and tail yellow, with scales and shields
bordered with black.
Total length, 1,830 milhmetres ; tail 460.
Habitat : AVest Africa, from the Senegal to the Niger ; St.
Thome Island.
(2) 1). jamesonii. — Coloration as before. Scales in 1.5 — 19 rows
(19—21 on the neck); 210—235 ventrals; 99—121 subcaudals.
Tail sometimes black.
Total length, 2,100 millimetres; tail 560.
Habitat : West Africa, from the Niger to Angola ; Central
Africa.
(3) D. angusticeps (The Mamba). — 202 — 270 ventral scales ;
99 — 121 subcaudals.
Colour green, olive, or blackish, uniform ; belly yellowish or pale
green ; caudal scales and shields not bordered with black.
Total length, 2,000 millimetres ; tail 430.
Habitat : West Africa, south of the Congo ; Central Africa,
East Africa, Transvaal, Natal.
(4) D. antinorii.- — Scales in 21 — 23 rows ; 248 ventrals ; 117
subcaudals. Colour olive on the back, yellowish on the belly.
Total length, 2,690 millimetres ; tail 545.
Habitat : Khj^^mvA.
II. — VlPERID^.
The African Viperidce all belong to the Subfamily Viperina>, of
which the following are tbe seven principal genera : —
THF. FBIXCIPAL SPECIES OF FOTSOXOT^S SXAKES 67
(a) Causus.
(b) Vipera.
(c) Bifis.
(d) Cerastes.
(e) EcJiis.
(f) At her is.
(g) Atractaspis.
(a) Causus.
(Fig- 35.)
Head distinct from the neck, covered with symmetrical shields ;
nostril between two nasal shields, and the internasal ; eyes
moderate, with round pupils, separated from the lips by subocular
shields. Body cylindrical ; scales smooth or keeled, oblique on
the sides, in 15 — 2'2 rows ; ventral scales rounded. Tail short ;
subcaudals in 2 rows or single.
Four species : —
(1) C. rliomheatus. — Snout obtuse, moderately prominent.
Scales in 17 — 21 rows ; 120 — 155 ventrals ; 15 — 29 subcaudals.
Colour olive or pale brown, usually with a series of V-shaped
brown spots bordered with white, and a large spot in the form
of a circumflex accent at the back of the head ; lips bordered with
black ; belly yellowish or grey.
Total length, 700 millimetres ; tail 75.
Habitat : Tropical and South Africa, from the Gambia to the
Cape.
(2) C. resimus. — -Snout prominent, more or less turned up;
scales in 19 — 22 rows ; 134 — 152 ventrals ; 17 — 25 subcaudals.
Colour greyish-olive on the back ; uniform white on the belly.
Total length, 470 millimetres ; tail 40.
Habitat : Central and East Africa, Angola.
(8) C. defilipii. — Snout prominent, more or less turned up.
Scales in 17 rows ; 113 — 125 ventrals ; 10 — 18 subcaudals.
68
VENOMS
Colour grey or pale brown above, with a series of large rhom-
boidal or V-shaped blackish-brown spots; a large A-shaped dark
brown mark on the occiput ; an oblique dark streak behind the
eye ; supralabial shields edged wdth black ; belly yellowish.
Total length, 400 millimetres ; tail 2±
Habitat : Central and East Africa, Transvaal.
Fig. 35. — Skull of Coksus rhoinbcaln^. (After G. A. Boulenger, o]>. cit.
(4) C. Uchtenstelnii. — Snout obtuse; scales in 15 rows; 14'2 —
144 ventrals ; snbcaudals 15 — 21, single.
Colour greyish, w^ith rather indistinct darker chevron-shaped
cross-bands.
Total length, 413 millimetres ; tail 35.
Habitat : West Africa (Gold Coast), Congo.
THE PBIXCTl'AL SPECIES OE POISONOUS SNAKES 69
(1)) Vipera.
(For the characters of this genus, see p. 23, — Europe.)
In North At'ricPv ;ire found Vipera latastii, V. ammodytcs, and
especial!}' T^ lebetina, the range of which extends from Morocco to
Northern India. Vipera superciliaris, which occurs on the coast
of ^lozambique, has the snout rounded, and the head covered with
small, imbricate, keeled scales, with a large supraocular shield ;
nostril very large, between two nasal shields ; scales on the body
strongly keeled, in 27 row^s ; 142 ventrals ; 40 subcaudals.
The colour is pale reddish-brown or orange, with blackish trans-
verse bars broken by a longitudinal yellow band on each side ; the
belly is white, spotted with black.
Total length, 570 millimetres ; tail 77.
(c) Bitis.
(Fig. 30.)
The Viperid(e belonging to this genus have the head very
distinct from the neck, covered with small imbricate scales ; the
eyes rather small, with vertical pupils, separated from the lips
by small scales ; the nostrils directed upwards and outwards,
usually pierced in a single nasal shield, with a rather deep pit
above, closed by a valvular supranasal. The postfrontal bones
are very large, in contact with the ectopterygoids. Scales keeled,
with apical pits, in 22 — 41 rows ; ventrals rounded. Tail very
short ; subcaudal scales in 2 rows.
(1) B. arietans (the Puff Adder ; fig. 87). — This viper has
the nostrils on the upper surface of the snout, and two series of
scales between the supranasal shields ; 12 — 16 supralabials ; 8 — 5
lower labials. The scales on the bod}^ are in 29 — 41 rows, and
strongly keeled ; ventrals 181 — 145 ; subcaudals 16 — 34.
The body is thick, the head large and triangular, and the tail
very short. The colour is dirty yellow or orange, with large,
70
VENOMS
transverse or oblique, chevron-shaped black bands ; an oblique
black band extends behind the eye. The belly is dirty yellow,
uniform, or marked with small black spots.
Total length, 1,350 milhmetres, sometimes more ; tail IGO.
Fig. 36. — Skull of Bitis arietans (the Puff Adder).
(After G. A. Boulenger, ojh cit.)
Habitat : This snake is met with throughout Africa, from
Southern Morocco, Kordofan, and Somaliland, to the Cape of Good
Hope, and also in Southern Arabia. It is especially common near
the Niger and on the Congo.
When irritated, it puffs itself out to such an extent that its
THE PBINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES
71
body becomes twice the oudiuary size. It then doubles back its
head and neck in the shape of an S, and emits a loud and
prolonged hiss. Before biting, it first strikes a blow with its head
Fig. 37. — Bitis arietans (the Puff Adder). (After^^Dumeril and Bibron.
as with a battering-ram, thus justifying its French name, vipere
heurtante (Striking Viper).
The natives of South Africa assert that this Viper is able to
72 VENOMS
spring high enough to strike a rider on horseback. It feeds upon
rats and mice, in search of which it often approaches habitations.
The Hottentots hunt it in order to obtain its venom; they
pound its head between stones, and mix the pulp with the juice
of certain plants for the purpose of poisoning their arrows.
It lives for a fairly long time in captivity. At the Pasteur
Institute at Lille I have succeeded in keeping one of these snakes
for two years, feeding it by forcing milk and eggs down its throat.
(2) B. peringueyi. — Nostrils opening upwards and outwards.
Head covered with small, strongly keeled scales, which are smallest
on the vertex; 11 scales round the eye; 8 series of scales between
the eye and the lip; 11 — 14 supralabials. Scales on the body
in 25—27 rows, strongly keeled ; 130—132 ventrals ; 19—28 sub-
caudals.
Colour greyish-olive, with 3 longitudinal series of grey or
blackish spots ; head sometimes with a trident-shaped dark mark,
followed by a cross ; under surface whitish, with small dark spots.
Total length, 325 millimetres ; tail 26.
Habitat: Angola and Damaraland.
(3) B. atropos. — -Nostrils opening upwards and outwards, 13 — 16
scales round the eye ; 2 — 5 series of scales between the supra-
nasals ; 10 — 12 supralabials ; 3 — 4 infralabials. Scales on the body
in 29—31 rows, all strongly keeled ; 124—145 ventrals ; 18—29
subcaudals.
Colour brown or grey-brown, with 4 longitudinal series of dark
spots, edged with black and white ; two large l)lack mai'ks on the
head ; belly grey or brown, with darker spots.
Total length, 350 millimetres ; tail 25.
Habitat: Cape of Good Hope.
(4) B. inornata. — Eyes smaller than in B. atropios, and separated
from the lips by 4 series of scales ; supraorbital region raised,
but without erect horn-like scales ; 15 — 17 scales across the head ;
18 — 14 supralabials ; 3 lower labials. Scales on the body in 27 — 29
rows, all keeled ; 126 — 140 ventrals ; 19 — 26 subcaudals.
THE nnXCTPAL SPECIES ()E I'OISONOUS SNAKES TM
Total length, 850 milliiiietres ; tail 30.
Habitat : Cape of Good Hope.
(5) B. cornuta (fig. 38). — Nostrils opening upwards and out-
wards. Head covered with small, imbricate, strongly keeled scales ;
2 — 5 raised scales, like horns, above each eye ; 12 — 14 scales round
the eye ; 12 — 15 supralabials ; 2 — 3 infralabials. Scales on the body
keeled, in 25—29 rows ; 120—152
ventrals ; 18 — 36 subcaudals.
Colour grey or reddish - brown,
with black spots> edged with white
and arranged in 3 or 4 longitudinal
series ; a dark, oblique streak from
the eye to the mouth ; belly yellow
or brown, uniform or spotted. ,n ^ oq t,-,- ,
' i Fig. 38. — Bitis cornuta.
Total length, 510 millimetres; (After Dumeril and Bibron.)
tail 35.
Habitat : Cape Colony, Namaqualand, Damaraland.
(0) B. caudalis. — Nostrils opening upwards and outwards.
12 — 16 scales from one eye to the other across the head ; above
each eye a single, erect, horn-like scale ; 10 — 16 scales round the
eye ; 10 — 13 supralabials ; 2 — 3 infralabials. Scales on the body
in 22 — 29 rows, strongly keeled; 112 — 153 ventrals; 18 — 33 sub-
caudals.
Colour reddish or sandy-grey, with 2 series of brown spots with
light centres, and frequently a vertebral series of narrow spots ;
belly dull yellow, uniform, or with small black spots on the sides.
Total length, 360 millimetres ; tail 25.
Habitat : South-west Africa, from Angola to Namaqualand.
(7) B. gabonica (Gaboon Viper, or Eiver Jack Viper). — Nostrils
directed upwards and outwards. Head covered with small,
moderately keeled scales, smallest on the vertex, 13 — 16 from eye
to eye ; 15 — 19 scales round the eye ; a pair of erectile, triangular,
nasal " horns," consisting of sometimes tricuspid shields, between
the supranasals ; 13 — 16 supralabials ; 4 — 5 infralabials. Scales
74
VENOMS
on the body in 33 — 41 rows, strongly keeled ; lateral scales slightly
oblique ; 125 — 140 ventrals ; 17 — 33 subcaudals.
This viper, which often attains a length of 1,200 millimetres, is
brown, with a vertebral series of quadrangular, yellowish, or light
brown spots connected by black markings ; the belly is dull yellow,
with small brown or blackish spots.
Habitat : Tropical Africa (West Africa, from Liberia to Damara-
land ; Zanzibar, Mozambique).
This species, which is nocturnal, is often met with on the
Gaboon, and in the forests near the banks of the Ogowai. Its
head is enormous, triangular in shape, and wider above ; it has
a bulky body, and a very short tail, terminating abruptly in a
point.
The Gaboon Viper is a savage snake, with very active venom,
and its poison-glands are of the size of large almonds. It lives
in virgin forests, among dead wood and rocks. I have several
times met with it in manioc plantations on the edge of the woods.
In broad daylight it is sluggish, moves somewhat slowly, and never
attacks man. It bites only when surprised.
(8) B. nasicornis (fig. 39).
— Nostrils opening upwards
and outwards. Head covered
with small strongly keeled
scales, smaller on the vertex,
14 — 16 from one eye to the
other ; 2 or 3 pan-s of com-
pressed, erectile, horn - like
shields between the supra-
nasals, usually separated in
the middle by 1 or 2 series of
small scales ; 15 — 18 supra-
labials ; 4 — 6 infralabials. Scales on the body in 35 — 41 rows,
strongly keeled ; 124 — 140 ventrals ; 1(3 — 32 subcaudals.
Colour purple or reddish-brown above, with pale olive or dark
Fig. 39. — Bitis nasicornis.
(After Dumeril and Bibron.)
THE PBINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 75
brown spots ; a vertebral series of brown, black-edged spots, which
assume a rhomboidal form ; sides of head dark brown, with a
trianguhxr hght mark in front of the eye, and an obhque hght
streak from behind the eye to the mouth ; belly pale olive, spotted
with black or vellow.
Total length, 1,250 millimetres; tail 125.
Habitat : West Africa, from Liberia to the Gaboon.
(d) Cerastes.
Head very distinct from the neck, covered with small juxta-
posed or slightly imbricate scales ; eyes small, with vertical pupils,
separated from the lips by small scales ; nostrils opening upwards
and outwards. Bod}- cylindrical ; scales keeled, with apical pits,
in 23 — 35 rows. Tail short ; subcaudals in 2 rows.
(1) C. cornutiis (fig. 40). — Snout very short and broad ; two
erectile horns above the eyes, which are separated by 15 — 21 scales
and surrounded by 14 — 18 ; 4 — 5 series
of scales between the eyes and the lips ;
12 — 15 supralabials ; 3 infralabials ;
scales on the body in 27 — 35 rows ;
130 — 165 ventrals ; 25 — 42 subcaudals.
Colour yellowish-brown or grey,
with or without brown spots, forming ^^^^ iO.-Cerastcs comutus.
4 — 6 regular series, the two middle ones (After Dumerii and Bibrou.)
sometimes forming cross-bars ; an ob-
lique dark streak behind the eye ; belly white ; end of tail some-
times black.
Total length, 720 millimetres ; tail 90.
Habitat : Northern border of the Sahara, Egypt, Nubia, Arabia,
and Southern Palestine.
(2) C. vipera. — Snout very short and broad ; head covered with
small, tubercularly keeled scales, to the number of 9 — 13 from eye
to eye ; no " horns "; 9 — 14 scales round the eye ; nostril between
76 VENOMS
two small shields, separated from their neighbours by 5 — (> series
of scales ; 10 — 12 supralabials ; 8 mfralabials. Scales on the bodk-
in 23 — 27 rows ; 102 — 122 ventrals, rather strongl}'' keeled at the
sides ; 18 — 26 subcaudals. Colour dull yellow, pale brown or red-
dish, with or without black spots ; end of tail often black above ;
ventral surface white.
Total length, 310 millimetres ; tail 30.
Habitat: Northern border of the Sahara, from Algeria to Egypt.
The snakes belonging to this genus live constantly hidden in the
sand, lying in wait for small birds, which alight beside them with-
out suspicion, mistaking their horns for insects or larva^ ; they also
feed upon mice. Their poison-fangs are of relatively large size.
These small and exceedingly active vipers, whose colour har-
monises marvellously with their surroundings, are very dangerous
to the Arabs and blacks, who walk barefooted ; they frequently
cause fatal accidents.
They are able to exist for a very long time without drinking.
They are attracted by the fires which are lighted at night round
caravan encampments.
(e) Echis.
(See Asia, p. 48.)
(1) E. carinatus (Efa, Viper of the Pyramids). — The same as
met with in Persia, Arabia, and India. Very common in the
environs of Cairo, and throughout Egypt and Abyssinia. It often
makes its way into towns and villages. Brehm records that he
more than once found an Efa in his house at Khartoum, and that
on one occasion he discovered one of these vipers coiled up beneath
the covering of his bed. At another time, getting up in the night,
he put his foot on one of these animals and was not bitten, the
reptile being very fortunately just at that moment in the act of
devouring a tame bird which it had seized.
It hardly ever happens that a native of Egypt can bring
THI-: PlUMirAL SPECIES OF VUlSU^OUS SNAKES
(I
himself to destroy an Efa, of which he has the greatest dread.
If, as often occurs, lie finds one of these reptiles in his house, he
addresses himself to the Hani or juggler, in order that, hy liis
magic art, he may expel the dangerous visitor. From this custom
the juggler evidently derives no small advantage, for, as is only
right, he does not ply his craft for nothing. In many cases,
indeed, the juggler releases a snake in a house, and then goes and
informs the owner that he knows that a reptile is concealed in his
dwelling, and that, in consideration of a stipulated reward, he will
rid him of it (Brehm).
Fig. 41. — Echls colorafus. (After G. A. Boulenger, 02> cit.)
('2) E. colo'atu.s (fig. 41). — Scales on the snout and vertex
convex, smooth or bluntly keeled, 13 — 15 from eye to eye ; no
supraocular shield ; 17 — 22 scales round the eye ; 12 — 15 supra-
labials ; scales on the body in 31 — 35 rows; 174 — 205 ventrals ;
42 — 52 subcaudals. No cruciform mark on the head.
Total length, 750 millimetres ; tail 80.
Habitat : Palestine, Arabia, Socotra.
78 VENOMS
(f) Atheris.
Head very distinct from neck, covered v^^ith imbricate scales ;
eyes large, with vertical pupils, usually separated from the labial
shields by small scales; nostrils lateral. Body slightly compressed ;
scales keeled, with apical pits. Tail moderate, prehenfiile ; sub-
caudal scales in a single row.
(1) A. clilorcchis. — No supraciliary horn-like scales; 9 — 11 scales
from eye to eye ; 25 — 36 rows of scales in the middle of the body,
strongly keeled ; 154 — 165 ventrals ; 53 — (52 subcaudals.
Colour green, uniform or with small yellow spots ; end of tail
yellowish or blackish.
Total length, 520 millimetres ; tail 85.
Habitat : West Africa, from Liberia to the Ogowai.
(2) A. squamiger. — No supraciliary horn-like scales ; 7 — 8 scales
from eye to eye ; 15 — 25 rows of scales in the middle of the bod}^
strongly keeled; 153 — 173 ventrals; 51 — 95 subcaudals.
Colour olive, uniform or with more or less regular, narrow
yellow cross-bands, or yellow with green spots ; belly pale olive,
marbled with black or yellow, or uniform yellow.
Total length, 550 millimetres ; tail 100.
Habitat : West Africa, from the Cameroons to Angola.
(3) A. ccratophoriis. — Several erect, supraciliary horn-like scales ;
9 — 10 scales from eye to eye ; 25 rows of scales in the middle of
the body, strongly keeled ; 142 ventrals ; 55 subcaudals.
Colour dark olive, with black spots forming cross-bands ; belly
pale olive, speckled with black.
Total length, 210 millimetres ; tail 65.
Habitat: East Africa.
(g) Atractaspis.
(Fig. 4-J.)
This genus is characterised by enormous poison-fangs, a few
teeth on the palatines, and none on the pterygoids. The mandible,
which is edentulous in front, has only two or three small teeth in
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 79
the middle of the dentary bone. Head small, not distinct from the
neck, covered with large symmetrical shields ; nostril between
two nasal shields ; eyes minute, with round pupils ; postfrontal
bone absent. Body cylindrical; scales smooth, in 17—37 row's ;
ventrals rounded. Tail short ; subcaudals in 1 or '2 rows.
(1) A. liildebrandtii. — Six supralabials ; no praeocular shields;
frontal shorter than the parietals ; scales on the body in 17 rows ;
ventrals 167—174.
Colour uniform
dark brown.
Total length, 450
millimetres ; tail 53.
Habitat : East
Africa.
(2) A. congica. —
Five supralabials, of
which the fourth is
the larger ; postocu-
lar in contact with a
large temporal ; one
praeocular ; frontal
as long as or slightly
shorter than the
parietals. Scales on
the body in 19—21
rows ; 209 — 230 ven-
trals ; 19 — 23 sub-caudals.
Colour uniform dark brown or black.
Total length, 450 millimetres ; tail 35.
Habitat : Congo, Angola.
(3) A. irregularis. — Characters as before, but scales on the
body in 2.5 — 27 rows ; 220—257 ventrals , subcaudals 22 — 28 pairs.
Colour uniform black or dark brown.
Total length, 560 millimetres; tail 35.
Fig. 42. — Skull of Atractcnpis aterrbm (African
Yiperine). (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cit.)
so VENOMS
Habitat: West Africa, from the Gold Coast to the Congo;
Central Africa.
(4) A. corpuleiita. — Postocular shield in contact with a large
temporal ; second lower labial very large, fused with the chin-
shields. Scales on the body in 23 — '11 rows ; 178^198 ventrals ;
"I'd — 27 subcandals.
Colour uniform blackish -brown ; tail sometimes white.
Total length, 345 millimetres ; tail 33.
Habitat : West Africa, from Liberia to the Gaboon.
(5) A. rustrata. — Snout very prominent, cuneiform. Third
lower labial very large ; first lower labial in contact with its fellow,
behind the symphysial. Scales on the body in lU — 23 rows ; ven-
trals 227—248.
Colour uniform dark brown, or blackish.
Total length, 600 millimetres; tail 37.
Habitat : East and Central Africa.
(6) A. bibronii. — Characters as before. Snout prominent, sub-
cuneiform. Ventral scales, 221 — 260.
Colour dark purplish-brown above, dull yellow or pale brown
on the belly.
Total length, 600 millimetres ; tail 25.
Habitat: Eastern districts of Cape Colony, Natal, Namaqua-
land, Angola.
(7) A. aterrima. — Characters as before. Snout rounded;
251 — 300 ventral scales.
Colour uniform dark brown or black.
Total length, 650 millimetres ; tail 30.'
Habitat : West and Central Africa.
(8) A. dahomeyensis. — Characters as before. Symphysial shield
in contact with the chin-shields. Scales on the body in 31 rows ;
240 ventrals ; 24 subcaudals.
Colour black above, brown on the belly.
Total length, 490 millimetres.; tail 32.
Habitat: Dahomey.
Tifi-: rniscii'AL si'i-:cii-:s of roisoxors sxakfs hi
(9) A. inicropliolis.— Temporal shields small, 2 + ."} or 4; Iburtli
or tifth iiifralabial larger; scales on the body in '2o rows; "JlO — •21.>
ventrals ; lil) — oO subcaudals. Frontal shield slightly longer than
broad, niiu-li longer than the parietals.
Colour uniform dark brown.
Total length, 330 millimetres ; tail '28.
Habitat: Cape Yerd.
(10) A. leiicomelas. — Characters as before. Frontal one and
two-fifths as long as broad, as long as the parietals.
Colour black, with a vertebral white line, occupying one row
and two half rows of scales ; ventrals and subcaudals white ;
neck black, head white, with a lilack spot covering the nasals and
upper head- shields.
Total length, 575 millimetres; tail 40.
Habitat : Somaliland.
(11) A. microlepidota. — Characters as before. Scales on the
body in 29 — 37 rows; 212 — 245 ventrals ; 2() — 37 subcaudals.
Colour uniform dark brown.
Total length, 540 millimetres ; tail 45.
Habitat : Central and East Africa.
I).— AUSTRALIA AND THE LARGE ADJACENT ISLANDS.
The Sunda Islands and the whole of Malaysia are rich in
poisonous snakes. Those that are found there belong for the most
part to species that we have already met with in India or the
Malay Peninsula. We shall therefore not describe them again
here.
All those that inhabit Australia are included in the great Family
CoLUBRiD.E and the Subfamily Elapin^. There are no ViperiD/E ;
but certain genera of poisonous Colubrid^ are peculiar to this
continent.
These reptiles have been particularly well studied by Gerard
6
H2 VENOMS
Krefffc, formerly Director of the Australian Museain at Sydney,
from whose work^ we shall borrow a considerable portion of the
following" notes, and the figures accompanying them.
The genera represented in Australia are : —
(a) Ognwdoii.
(b) Glyphodon.
(c) Psendelaps.
(d) Diemenia.
(e) PseudecJiis.
(f) Denisonia.
(g) Micropechis.
(h) Hoplocephalus.
(i) Tropidccliif^.
(j) No tec] I is.
(k) BhinhoplocephaJns.
(1) Brachyaspis.
(m) Acantliophis.
(n) Elapognathiis.
(o) lihijnchelaps.
(p) Furina.
(a) Ogmodon.
This genus is characterised by the maxillary l)ones extending
forwards as far as the palatines, and bearing, in addition to the
poison-fangs, (j — 7 grooved teeth. The head is not distinct from
•the neck ; the eyes are very small. The body is cylindrical, and
covered with smooth scales in 17 rows. Tail short ; subcaudal
scales in 2 rows.
0. vitianus. — Snout elongate, pointed; 139— l-Vi ventral scales;
27 — 38 subcaudals.
' " The Snakes of Australia," Sydney, 1869.
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES
83
Colour dark brown, lighter on the sides; belly brown or white,
more or less spotted with black; tail black.
Total length, 360 millimetres ; tail 45.
Habitat : Fiji Islands.
Fig. 43. — Skull of Glyphodon tristis (Australian Colubrino).
(After G. A. Bouleuger, op. cit.)
(b) Glyphodon.
General (characters tlie same ; snout rounded ; poison-fangs
followed, after a wide interspace, by () small grooved teeth ;
anterior mandibular teeth strongly developed (fig. 43). Head and
H4 VENOMS
eyes small ; pupils round or vertically subelliptic ; nostrils pierced
between 2 nasal shields. Body cylindrical ; scales smooth, in 17
rows ; tail short ; subcaudals in 2 rows.
G. tristis. — Ventral scales 165 — 179 ; subcaudals 38 — 52.
Colour dark brown; occiput often yellowish, or pale reddish-
brown ; bell}^ yellow.
Total length, 900 millimetres; tail 125.
Habitat : North-eastern Australia and South-eastern New
Guinea.
(c) Pseudelaps.
Maxillaries extending forwards as far as the palatines, with a
pair of large grooved poison-fangs, and, after a wide interval,
iS — 12 small grooved teeth. The anterior niandibular teeth are
of large size, almost like fangs. Head hardly distinct from the
neck ; eyes small, with vertically elliptic pupils. Body cylindrical ;
scales smooth, in 15 — 17 rows. Tail moderate or short ; sub-
caudal scales in 2 rows.
(1) P. inueUeri. — Scales in 15 rows. Nasal shield divided, in
contact with the praeocular ; 2 -|- 2 temporals ; 189 — 17(5 ventral
scales ; 21 — H5 subcaudals.
Colour brown, with a light vertebral line ; a more or less distinct
dark, light-edged streak on each side of the head, passing through
the eye ; belly yellowish or coral-red, uniform or spotted with
black.
Total length, 500 millimetres ; tail 70.
Habitat : Moluccas, New Guinea, New Britain.
(2) P. sqnainnJoiius. — Scales in 15 rows. Nasal shield divided,
in contact with the prseocular ; 1 -f 2 temporals ; 170 — 183 ventrals ;
34 — 52 subcaudals.
Colour brown, with a yellowish streak round the snout and
through the eyes to the nape ; belly whitish, with confluent black
spots forming lines on each side.
THE rh'IXCIl'AL SPKCIKS OF I'OISOXOUS SXAKKS
S.)
Fig. 44. — Pseudelaps hrefftii.
Total length, ST.") iiiillinu'tres ; tail 55.
Habitat : New South Wales.
(8) P. kreftii (i\g. 44). — Nasal shield entire, in contact with the
prreocular ; 1 + "J temporals ; 14(3 — 156 ventrals ; 26 — 38 subcaudals.
Colour dark brown, with a light longitudinal line on each scale;
a yellowish cross-band on the occiput, connected with another
yellow band which encircles the snout.
Belly yeliowisli in front, black
behind ; subcandals white, witli a
longitudinal black band running be-
tween them.
Total length, 255 millimetres ;
tail 88.
Habitat : Queensland.
(4) P. harriettcp. (tig. 45). — Nasal
shield entire, in contact with or
narrowly separated from the pra?-
ocular; 1 -f 2 temporals : 176—198
ventrals ; 29 — 85 subcaudals.
Colour dark brown, with a light
longitudinal line on each scale ; a
long yellow blotch on the nape, and,
connected with this, a yellow ring
round the snout ; ventrals and sub-
caudals brown or black, edged with white.
Total length, 415 millimetres ; tail 45.
Ha bitat : Queen slan d .
(5) P. diadema (fig. 46). — Nasal shield entire, widely separated
from the praeocular ; 2-1-2 temporals : third and fourth upper labials
entering the eye : 164 — 208 ventrals ; 40 — 62 subcaudals. Colour
pale brown or reddish, with a brown edging to each scale forming
a reticulate pattern ; a yellow cross-band on the occiput ; belly
uniformly white.
Total length, 600 millimetres; tail 80.
Fig. 45. — Pseudelaps havricttu'.
Fig. 4G. — Pseudelaps diadema.
86
VENOMS
Fig. 47. — Dicinenia psainmophis.
Habitat: Eastern, Korthern, and Western Australia.
(6) P. warro. — Characters the same as in the previous species ;
143 ventrals. Colour brown ; a broad lunate black collar on the
nape; head black above, but paler than the collar.
Habitat: Port Curtis, Queensland.
(7) P. siitherlandi. — Characters as before. Scales on the body
in 17 rows ; 1(50 ventrals : 40 subcaudals. Colour red-brown on
the back, yellow on the belly ; a broad lunate black collar on the
nape, with a lighter edging ; light bars across the head, body, and
tail.
Habitat : Norman Eiver, Queensland.
(d) Diemenia.
Maxillary bones extending
forwards as far as the pala-
tines, with a pair of large
grooved poison-fangs, followed,
after an interspace, by 7 — 15
small grooved teeth ; anterior
mandibular teeth much elon-
gated, resembling poison-fangs-
Head scarcely distinct from the
neck ; eyes rather large, with
round pupils ; nasal shield entire
or divided ; frontal elongate.
Body cylindrical; scales smooth,
in 15 — li) rows (more on the
neck). Tail moderate or long ;
subcaudals all or for the most
part in '1 rows.
Coloration very variable,
orange-yellow, olive, red-brown,
or pale brown.
Average length, 1,000 — 1,700 millimetres.
Habitat : South-eastern New Guinea, and Australia.
Fig. 48. — Dicinenia olivacca (Northern
Australia and New Guinea).
(After Krefft.)
Fig. 49. — Diemenia tc.vtilis.
Tirr. j'lnxcTiwL si'kctks oi' roisoNOUS snakes
S7
Seven species of this genus are known, divided into two groups
us follows : —
(1) Scales on the body in 15 rows.
J). psKiiDiioplns (fig. 47). — Internasal shields at least half as
long as the pra?frontals.
1). toniudtd. — Internasals
more than lialf as long as the
prapfrontals.
D. oUvacea (fig. 48). — In-
ternasals not more than half
as long as the pripfrontals ;
snout broad.
(2) Scales in 17 or 19 rows.
D. niodesta. — 154 — 165 ventrals.
1). textills (Brown Snake, fig. 49). — 190 — •232 ventrals.
1). iinchalis (fig. 50).— 184— 224 ventrals.
Fig. 50.^ — Dicinenid nuclialis.
(e) Pseudechis.
Maxillary bones extending forwards as far as the palatines,
with a pan* of large grooved poison-fangs followed by 2 — 5 small
solid teeth ; anterior mandibular teeth long. Head distinct from
the neck : eyes rather small,
with round pupils ; nostril be-
tween two nasal shields. Body
cylindrical. Scales smooth, in
17 — 23 rows (more on the
neck). Tail moderate ; sub-
caudals in 2 rows, or partly
single, partly in 2 rows.
Total length, 1,500—2,000
millimetres, sometimes more.
Habitat : Australia and New Guinea
This genus includes eight species.
Fig. 51. — Pscudcch is ijorphyriacus.
fS8 Vl^NOMS
(1) P. porplnjriaeus (Black Snake; fig. 51). — Frontal shield
longer than broad ; 180 — *200 ventral s ; 50 — 60 siibcaiidals.
Colour black on the back ; outer row of scales red at the base ;
ventrals red, edged with black.
(2) P. cupyen!^. — 199 — '210 ventrals ; 57 — I'l siibcaudals.
Colour coppery above, brown or orange below, all the scales and
shields edged with brown.
(3) P. aiistraUs.—im—'l'-lQ ventrals ; 57—70 subcaudals ; frontal
shield once and two-thirds to twice as long as broad.
Colour pale brown on the back, yellowish on the bell}'.
(4) P. daric'uiiotsis. — Frontal as broad as long; 212 ventrals;
54 — (54 subcaudals.
Colour reddish-brown ; head pale brown ; l)elly yellowish-white.
(5) P. papucDins. — Scales in 19 — 21 rows (2() or 27 on the
neck) ; 221 — 224 ventrals ; 49 — 55 subcaudals.
Colour uniform black ; chin white.
(6) P. scuteUatns. — Subcaudal shields in 2 rows : scales on
the body in 23 rows (25 — 30 on the neck) ; 230 — 233 ventrals ;
()1 — 78 subcaudals.
Colour pale brown or dark brown ; snout and cheeks pale brown
■or yellowish ; belly yellow.
(7) P. ))iicr()lepidotus. — 30 — 36 scales across the neck, 23 across
the middle of the body; 232 — 237 ventrals; 61 — (JO pairs of sub-
caudals.
Colour dark brown on the back, yellowish-grey on the belly ;
head sometimes blackish.
(8) P.fcrox. — Snout very broadly rounded. Scales on the body
in 23 rows ; 235 ventrals ; (50 pairs of subcaudals.
Colour black above, yellowish beneath.
(f) Denisonia.
Maxillary bones prolonged as far as the palatines, with a pair of
large grooved poison-fangs, followed by 3 — 5 small solid teeth;
THli rinXCIl'AL Sl'EClKS OF I'UlSOXUiS SXAKES
m
Fig. 52. — Denisonin snpcrba (The Copper-
head).
anterior mandibular teeth greatly developed. Head fairly distinct
from the body ; eyes small, with round or vertically elliptic pupils ;
nasal shield entire or divided. Body cylindrical ; scales smooth, in
15 — 19 rows ; tail moderate or short ; subcaudals in a single row,
except in one species.
According to the British
]\Iuseum Catalogue, the genus
Denisonia includes twenty-
one species, the principal
characters of which are as
follows : —
(1) D. superha (The Cop-
perhead. Fig. 5'2). — Scales in
15 — 17 rows; nasal shield
entire, in contact with the
prneocular ; ventral scales 145 — 160 ; subcaudals 41 — 50.
Colour brownish to dark olive on the Imck, often yellow or
salmon-red on the sides ; belly yellowish or greyish-olive.
Total length, 1,010 millimetres ; tail 1(30.
Habitat : Xew South Wales, Southern Austraha, Tasmania.
("2) D. coronata. — Scales in 15 rows ; 188 — 151 ventrals ; 88 —
51 subcaudals.
Colour olive, with a black streak on
each side of the head ; belly yellowish
or pale olive.
Total length, 480 millimetres ;
tail 95.
Habitat: Western Australia and
New South Wales.
(8) D. coronoides (fig. 58). — Scales in 15 rows ; 186 — 151
ventrals ; 89 — 57 subcaudals.
Colour brown, lips yellow ; belly salmon-red to dark olive-grey ;
end of tail salmon-red.
Total length, 440 millimetres; tail SU.
Fig. 58. — Denisonia coronoides.
9U
VENOMS
Habitat : Southern Australia and Tasmania.
(4) D. iiiucUeri. — Scales ui 17 rows ; IIS ventrals ; 38 sub-
caudals.
Colour grey-brown ; lips and chin with 3'ellow spots ; belly grej'.
Total length, 29'2 millimetres; tail 52.
Habitat : Queensland.
(5) D. froiata. — -Scales in 10 rows; 167 ventrals; 85 sub-
caudals.
Colour olive-brown ; upper lip yellow ; belly white.
Total length, 890 millimetres ; tail 54.
Habitat : Lake Elphinstone, Queensland.
(()) D. ya)iisa//i (fig. 54). — Scales in
15 rows ; 1(34 ventrals ; 51 subcaudals.
Colour dark olive -green above,
yellow beneath ; subcaudals nearly
black.
Total length, '2(jo millimetres ;
tail 50.
Habitat: New South Wales.
(7) I), signata (fig. 55). — Scales in
17 rows; 158 — 170 ventrals; 41 — 5(5
subcaudals.
Colour dark olive or black, head
brown ; belly dark grey or l)lack.
Total length, ()40 millimetres ; tail 120.
Habitat : (Queensland, New South Wales.
(8) D. daemelii. — Scales in 17 rows ; 147 — 1()8 ventrals ; 33 —
45 subcaudals.
Colour olive, head darker ; belly yellowish-white.
Total length, 880 millimetres ; tail (30.
Habitat : Queensland.
(9) D. .s//^a.— Scales in 19 rows ; 157—164 ventrals ; 25—30
subcaudals.
Colour pale olive-brown, head dark brown, nape black ; upper
lip and belly yellow.
Fig. 54. — Dcnisonia rainsidji.
Fig. 55. — Dcnisonia signata.
THE riuxcu'AL !Si'Ecii:s OF r()isi).\o[:s sxakks
91
Total length, i2()0 millimetres ; tail 'i-'-i.
Habitat : Southern Australia.
(10) /). frontalis. — Scales in lU rows; lo4 ventrals ; 30 sub-
caudals.
Colour light brow n, with a vertebral black line ; belly pearly-
white, with a median bronze-coloured band.
Total length, 400 millimetres ; tail r)0.
Habitat : New South Wales.
(11) D. jfai/<'Ili(/ii. — Scales in 17 rows; l'V2 — 138 ventrals ; 25
— 27 subcaudals.
Colour pale brown ; vertex, occiput, and nape black ; upper
lip and belly white.
Total length, 380 millimetres ; tail 40.
Habitat : Victoria.
(1'2) I), macula ta (tig. •")()). — Scales
in 17 rows: 121— 13(3 ventrals ; 20—30
subcaudals.
Colour dark grey-l)rown, or brown :
a large dai"k olive-green or brown blotcli
on the head, with two or three unequal
light grey spots ; belly white.
Total length, 400 millimetres ;
tail •').";.
Habitat : (Queensland.
(13) 7). piDictata. — Scales in 15
rows ; 1(30 ventrals ; 25 subcaudals.
Colour pale brown : head and nape
orange ; upper lip and belly yellow.
Total length, 350 millimetres ; tail 3G.
Habitat : North-Western Australia.
(14) D. gouldii (tig. 57). — Scales in 15 rows ; 140 — 170 ventrals ;
22 — 23 subcaudals.
Colour brownish-yellow ; nape black ; head covered with a broad
greenish-blue blotch, extending from the nose to the neck; Upper
lip and bellv vellow.
Fig. 56. — Dcnisonia maculata.
Fig. 57. — Dcnisonia gouldii.
92 VENOMS
Total length, 43rj millimetres ; tail 50.
Habitat : Western and Southern Australia.
(15) I), nigrescent. — Scales in 15 rows; 170 — "200 ventrals ;
80 — 4() subcandals.
Colour dark olive ; head black ; belly yellow.
Total length, 545 millimetres ; tail 75.
Habitat : New South AVales and Queensland.
(16) D. ni(/r()striata. — Scales in 15 I'ows ; IMO — 184 ventrals;
50 — 64 subcaudals.
Colour yellow, streaked with black : head dark brown ; upper
lip and belly yellowish-white.
Total length, 8(S0 millimetres ; tail 52.
Habitat : Queensland.
(17) i). carpe)itari(e. — Scales in 15 rows; 1()6 — 183 ventrals;
81 — 48 subcaudals.
Colour brown ; upper lip and belly yellowish-white.
Total length, '285 millimetres ; tail 47.
Habitat : Northern Queensland.
(18) J). paUidiceps. — Scales in 15 rows ; 170 — 178 ventrals ;
37 — 38 subcaudals.
Colour dark olive-brown ; head somewhat paler ; l)el]y yellowish.
Total length, 590 millimetres ; tail SO.
Habitat : Northern Australia.
(19) D. melanura. — Scales in 15 or 17 rows ; 1(')5 — 171 ventrals;
88 — 48 subcaudals.
Colour dark l)rown ; head and sides usually reddish ; belly
yellow ; tail l^lack.
Total length, 1,000 millimetres ; tail 140.
Habitat : Solomon Islands.
(20) D. par.— Scales in 16 rows; 164— 1(56 ventrals; 40—49
subcaudals.
Colour reddish-brown, in broad bands with white intervals ;
head blackish-brown ; belly white ; tail with red rings.
Total length, 750 millimetres ; tail 110.
THK pinscii'AL srr.ciKs (It' I'oisuNors sxakI'Js m
Habitat : Fauo jliuI Hovvla Islands, Boiigaiiivillc Straits,
Solomon Islands.
(•21) D. woodfordii. — Scales in 17 rows; 1()G — 17'2 ventrals ;
■41 — 45 subcaudal pairs.
Colour brownish-white, with a refcicalate pattern ; lifiul dark
brown ; belly white.
Total length, 070 millimetres ; tail 100.
Habitat : New Georgia, Solomon Islands.
(g) Micropechis.
Maxillary bones extending forward as far as the palatines, with
a pair of large grooved poison-fangs, followed by three small solid
teeth ; mandibular teeth longer m front. Head distinct from the
neck; eyes very small, with round pupils; nostril between two
nasal shields. Body cylindrical ; scales smooth, in I-") or 17 rows.
Tail short ; subcaudals in "2 rows.
(1) M. ikahfla. — Scales in 15 rows; 180 — 223 ventrals; 39 —
55 subcaudals.
Colour yellow and black, in irregular cross-bars ; head and tail
black above ; belly yellow.
Total length, 1,550 millimetres ; tail I'SO.
Habitat : New Guinea.
(2) M. elapoides. — Scales in 17 rows ; 208 ventrals ; 35 sub-
caudals.
Colour cream, with 22 black bands, broader than the inter-
spaces between them ; snout and ocular region black.
Total length, 750 millimetres ; tail 75.
Habitat : Florida Island, Solomon Group.
(h) Hoplocephalus.
Characters the same as in Micropechis. Scales in 21 rows;
ventrals angulate and notched laterally. Tail moderate ; sub-
caudals in a single row.
94
VENOMS
(1) H. hungaroidcs (Syn. H. vKfiegatus. The Broad-headed
Snake). — 204 — 221 ventrals ; 40 — 50 subcaudals.
Colour black on the back, with yellow spots forming more or
less regular cross-bands on the body ; upper lip yellow, margined
with black ; belly blackish, yellow on the sides.
Total length, 1,020 millimetres ; tail 210.
Habitat : New South Wales.
(2) H. hitorquatus (fig. 58). — Ventral scales strongly angulate
laterally, 191 — 227 ; subcaudals 44 — 50.
Colour olive-green ; head pale
olive, with a bright yellow occipital
blotch, and a large black blotch on
each side of the nape ; a pair of
small spots in front of and between
the eyes ; three black transverse
blotches on the vertex ; bell}' greyish-
olive or brown.
Total length, 510 millimetres ; tail 95.
Habitat: Queensland, New South Wales.
(3) H, stepliensii. — 230 ventrals ; 00 subcaudals.
Body barred alternately with black and white ; the black bars
are twice as bi'oad as the white ones ; head dark, spotted with
yellow ; a W-shaped yellow mark on the back of the head.
Total length, 700 millimetres.
Habitat : Port Macquarie, New South Wales.
Fig. bH. —Hoploccplinlits hitorquatus.
(i) Tropidechis.
Same general characters ; nasal shield entire ; scales on the
body strongly keeled, in 23 rows. Tail moderate ; subcaudals in
a single row.
T. carinatiLs. — Colour dark olive, with darker cross-bands ;
belly yellow, more or less tinged with olive-green.
Total length, 730 millimetres ; tail 120.
Habitat : New South Wales, Queensland.
THE PL'TXCIPAL SPECIES OF POISOXOUS SNAKES
95
(j) Notechis.
Same general charactei-s ; papil round ; nasal shield entire.
Body cylindrical ; scales smooth, disposed obliquely, in 15 — 19
rows, the lateral scales shorter than the dorsals. Tail moderate ;
subcaudals in a single row.
N. saita t u s > C^yn. Hoplocepli-
(diis curtus. The Tiger Snake.
Fig. 59). — ■ Colour dark olive ;
belly yellow or olive ; the shields
often dark-edged.
Total length, 1,280 milli-
metres ; tail 170.
Habitat : Australia and Tas-
mania.
:^^'
Fig. 59. — Notecliis scutatus (The Tiger
Snake.)
(k) Rhinhoplocephalus.
Dentition as in Hoplocephalus. Head l)ut little distinct from
the neck ; eyes small, with round pupils ; no internasal shields.
Body cylindrical, rigid. Scales smooth, in 15 rows. Tail short ;
subcaudals in a single row.
B. hicolor. — Colour grevish-olive on the back, yellowish-white
on the belly ; tongue white.
Total length, 395 millimetres ; tail 55.
Habitat : Australia.
(1) Brachyaspis.
Characters the same, but head distinct from the neck ; eyes
small, with vertically elliptic pupils ; nostril between two nasal
shields. Body stout, cylindrical ; scales smooth, slightly oblique,
in 19 rows. Tail short ; subcaudals in a single row.
B. ciirta. — Colour uniform olive-brown ; belly yellowish.
96
VENOMS
Total length, 490 millimetres ; tail 70.
Habitat : Western Australia.
(m) Acanthophis {Death Adder).
(Figs. GO, fil.)
Maxillary bones extending forwards as far as the palatines,
with a pair of large grooved poison-fangs, followed by two or three
small teeth ; anterior mandibular teeth elongate, fang-like. Head
distinct from the neck ; eyes small, with vertically elliptic pupils ;
nostril in the upper part of a single nasal shield. Body stout,
Fig. 60. — Skull of Acanthophis antarctic as. (After G. A. Boulenger, op. cif.)
cylindrical. Scales more or less distinct!}^ keeled, in '21 — 23 rows.
Tail short, compressed at the end and terminating in a sort of
long spine, turned upwards ; anterior subcaudals in a single row,
posterior in '2 rows.
A . antarcticus (The Death Adder ; fig. (il). — Supraocular shields
often raised and angular, assuming the shape of little horns ; scales
on the crown of the head rugose and striated ; 118 — 130 ventrals
41 — 51 subcaudals (the last 5 — 27 are divided).
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES
97
Colour yellow-brown or reddish, with more or less distinct dark
cross-bands ; black spots or
small dark bars on the lips ;
belly yellowish-white ; end of
tail yellow or l)lack, covered
with spiny scales.
Total length, 850 milli-
metres ; tail 150.
Habitat : Moluccas, New
Guinea, Australia.
Fig. G1. — Acantliopliis antarctkus (The
Death Adder).
(n) Elapognathus.
Maxillary bones extending forwards as far as the palatines,
with a pair of moderately large grooved poison-fangs ; no other
maxillary teeth ; mandibular teeth subequal. Eyes moderate, with
round pupils ; nasal shield entire. Body cylindrical ; scales smooth,
in 15 rows ; ventrals rounded ; tail moderate ; subcaudals in a
single row.
E. minor. — Colour dark olive, with a black occipital blotch in
the young ; belly yellow or greenish-grey.
Total length, 400 millimetres ; tail 95.
Habitat : South-west Australia.
(o) Rhynchelaps.
Maxillary bones extending forwards as far as the palatines,
w^ith a pair of moderately large grooved poison-fangs, and two
small teeth near the posterior extremity of the bone ; anterior
mandibular teeth the longest. Head small, not distinct from the
neck ; eyes small, with vertically elliptic pupils ; nostril in a single
nasal shield. Body short, cylindrical ; scales smooth, in 15 — 17
rows. Tail very short ; subcaudals in 2 rows.
(1) R. bertholdi.— Scales in 15 rows; 112— 1"26 ventrals.
7
98 VENOMS
Colour yellow, with 19 — 40 black annuli, usually narrower than
the interspaces ; head brown, with a large black blotch on the
nape, and another on the vertex and temples.
Total length, '270 millimetres ; tail 'I'l.
Habitat : Southern and Western Australia.
(•2) B. aust rails (fig. 62). — Scales in 17 rows ; 152 — 163 ventrals;
18 — 20 subcaudals.
Colour red on the body, with ill-
defined cross-bars formed of yellowish
black-edged scales ; a black blotch on
the head, covering the vertex and
temples, and surrounding the eyes ;
Yio. o±-Rinjncnclaps anstralis. another large blotch on the nape;
snout and occiput yellow ; belly white.
Total length, 290 millimetres : tail 25.
Habitat : Queensland.
(8) li. semlfasclatus. — Scales in 17 rows ; 118 — 170 ventrals ;
17 — 25 subcaudals.
Colour yellow, with brown cross-bands ; large brown blotches
on the head and nape ; belly white.
Total length, 800 millimetres ; tail 80. -
Habitat : West Australia.
(4) li. fasclolatas. — Scales in 17 rows; 115 — 161 ventrals;
22 — 27 subcaudals.
Colour red, with numerous blackish-brown cross-bauds ; large
blackish-brown blotches on the head and nape ; belly white.
Total length, 835 millimetres ; tail 30.
Habitat : West Australia.
(p) Furina.
(Figs. 63 and 04.)
Maxillary bones extending forwards beyond the palatines, bear-
ing a pair of moderately large grooved poison -fangs, and one or
THE PBIXCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SXAKES
99
two small teeth near their posterior extremities ; mandihular teeth
subequal. Head small, not distinct from neck; eyes very small,
with round pupils ; nostril in a single nasal shield. Body cylin-
drical ; scales smooth, in 15 rows. Tail very short, obtuse ; sub-
caudals in 2 rows.
(1) F. calunota. — Six su-
pralabial shields ; 126 — 131
ventral s ; 29 — 30 subcaudals.
Fig. 63. — Skull, op Farina occipitalis.
(After G. A. Bouleuger, o|). cit.)
Fig. Gi. — Fitrina occipitalis.
Colour yellow, with a
black vertebral stripe ; a
black bar across the end of
the snout ; a large black
blotch covering the vertex
and the parietals ; belly
white.
Total length, 215 milli-
metres ; tail 33.
Habitat : West Australia.
(2) F. himaculata. — Scales in 15 rows ; 181 — 200 ventrals ;
21 — 25 subcaudals.
Colour yellow, with large black blotches on the snout, middle
of head, and occiput ; belly white.
Total length, 330 millimetres ; tail 25.
Habitat : West Australia.
(3) F. occipitalis (fig. 64). — Scales in 15 rows; 180 — 234 ven-
trals ; 14 — 25 subcaudals.
Entire body ringed with black and white, annuli narrower on
100 . VENOMS
belly ; head black, with a broad white band across the occiput, and
another narrower and irregular one across the snout ; nose black.
Total length, 590 millimetres ; tail 36.
Habitat : Australia.
There are no poisonous snakes in New Zealand. In New
Caledonia no terrestrial poisonous snakes are known, but Hijdro-
phiidcs abound on its shores, as on those of the majority of the
islands of the Pacific.
In Australia, especially in New South AVales and farther to the
north, fatalities due to the bites of poisonous snakes are not rare.
The most dangerous species are : Acantliopliis antarcticus (the
Death Adder), Diemenia textilis (the Brown Snake), Pseuclechis
porphyriacus (the Black Snake), and NoteeJiifi seiitatiis or Hoplo-
cephalus curtus (the Tiger Snake).
The health authorities of this country have accordingly taken
the wise precaution of circulating very widely among the public
coloured placards bearing illustrations of these four species, with
a description of the essential anatomical details by which they may
be recognised. Similar placards are exhibited in all the schools,
and a generous distribution is made of instructions, printed on
handkerchiefs, indicating the most effective method of treating
poisonous bites.
In Queensland, according to information furnished to me by
Mr. C. AV. De Vis, late Director of the Queensland Museum, Bris-
bane, the number of deaths resulting from the bites of poisonous
snakes has been only twenty-seven in ten years.
E.— AMEBIC A.
The fauna of the New World includes only a very small number
of poisonous snakes belonging to the family Colubrid^. The
Genus Flaps alone is represented there by twenty-eight species,
scattered over Mexico, Central America, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru,
Colombia, and Brazil.
THE FL'IXCII'AI. SPECIES OE POISONOUS SNAKES
101
Vn'EKiD-E, on the other hand, are extremel}' nmnerous, and
belong exclusively to the subfamily Crotalin^<: ; there are no
VlPEEIN^.
I.— COLUBEID.E.
(a) Elaps.
(Fig. 65.)
The characters of this genus are : Maxillary bones very short,
extending beyond the palatines, and bearing a pair of large poison-
FiG. 65. — Skull of Elaps marcgravii. (After G. A. Boulenger, oj). cit.)
fangs ; pterygoid teeth few or absent ; mandibular teeth all of
equal length. Xo postfrontal bones ; prsefrontals meeting, or
narrowly separated on the median line. Head small, not distinct
102 VENOMS
from neck ; eyes small, with vertically elliptic or sub-elliptic
pupils; nostril between two nasal shields. Bod}' cylindrical; scales
smooth, in 15 rows. Tail short ; subcaudal scales in '2 rows, or
partly single, partl}^ in 2 rows.
(1) E. f^urinamensis. — Seven supralabials, of which the fourth
enters the eye ; frontal shield very narrow ; 1(57 — 182 ventrals.
Colour red, with black annuli disposed in threes (the middle one
broader), separated by narrow yellow interspaces; 7 or 8 sets of
annuli on the body ; the red scales dotted with black ; head red
above, with the shields black-edged, followed l)y a black cross-band
behind the parietals.
Total length, 740 millimetres; tail 95. Grows to 1,900 milli-
metres.
Habitat : Venezuela, Guianas, Northern Brazil, North-east Peru,
(2) E. heterocliilus. — Six supralabials, second and third entering
the eye ; snout narrow ; 209 ventrals.
Coloiu' red, with black annuli, as in E. iitarcgravii.
Total length, 553 millimetres : tail 43.
Habitat : Brazil.
(3) E. curyxanthus (Sonoran Coral Snake). — Seven supralabials,
third and fourth entering the eye ; internasals nearly as long as the
prsefrontals ; 215 — 241 ventrals ; 21 — 29 subcaudals.
Colour red, with 11 black annuli edged with yellow ; head l)lack.
Total length, 400 millimetres ; tail 33.
Habitat : Arizona, Colorado, North-western Mexico. It is found
in Arizona up to an altitude of nearly (5,000 feet (1,800 metres).
(4) E. gravenJiorstii. — First lower labial in contact with its
fellow; posterior nasal not reaching the praeocular ; 191 ventrals;
23 subcaudals.
Colour : Seven sets of black annuli disposed in threes, median
annulus the broadest ; head black, with a yellow transverse band
behind the eyes.
Total length, 550 millimetres ; tail 50.
Habitat : Brazil. . •
THE PETXriPAL SPECIES OF POISOXOUS SNAKES 103
(5) E. laugsdor^L. — A'entrals 204 — 225 ; subcaudals 87 — 54 ;
I + 1 temporals.
Colour dark lu'own, with (58 transverse series of cream-coloured
spots, each occupying one scale ; belly yellow, with red cross-bands.
Total length, 800 millimetres.
Habitat : Upper Amazons.
(6) E. hucldeiji. — 208—211 ventrals ; 8'J— 43 subcaudals ; 1 + 2
temporals.
Colour orange, with 48 — 60 black annuli edged with small
yellow spots ; head black ; temples yellow.
Total length, 505 millimetres; tail 70.
Habitat : Northern Brazil, Eastern Ecuador.
(7) E. aiioinalus. — 227 ventrals ; 29 subcaudals ; 1 + 1 temporals.
Colour : Body with 55 black annuli separated by narrow
brownish-white bands ; belly yellowish ; anterior half of head black,
posterior half yellow ; tail yellow or red, with 4 black rings.
Total length, 280 milhmetres ; tail 23.
Habitat : Colombia.
(8) E. heterozomis. — Scales in 15 rows ; 210 — 219 ventrals ;
16 — 28 subcaudals ; 1 + 1 temporals.
Colour red or brown, with 17 to 23 black rings, mostly narrower
than the interspaces ; a black band on the head across the eyes.
Total length, 900 millimetres ; tail 40.
Habitat : Eastern Ecuador, Eastern Peru, Bolivia.
(9) E. elegaiis. — Scales in 15 rows : 189 — 221 ventrals ; 29 — 47
subcaudals ; 1 + 1 temporals.
Colour : Black annuli in sets of three, separated l)y reddish-
brown interspaces ; 12 — 17 sets ; head black, with yellow l)lotches.
Total length, 730 millimetres: tail 70.
Habitat : ^Mexico and Guatemala.
(10) E. annellatns. — Scales in 15 rows ; 200 — 211 ventrals ;
30 — 45 subcaudals ; 1 -f 1 temporals.
Colour black, with 41 — 49 narrow white rings on the body,
4 — 7 on the tail ; a white ring on the head.
104 VENOMS
Total length, 490 millimetres ; tail 70.
Habitat : Eastern Peru.
(11) E.decoratiis. — Scales in 15 rows; 190 — 218ventrals: 29 — 37
subcaudals.
Colour red, with 15 — 16 sets of black annnli disposed in threes ;
head yellow, with end of snout black, and a black band across the
eyes.
Total length, 625 millimetres.
Habitat : Brazil.
(12) E.dumerilii.— Scales inloYows; 197— 204 ventrals ; 50—58
subcaudals.
Colour : 8 — 9 sets of three black annuli on red and yellow ;
head black, with a yellow band on the occiput.
Total length, 410 millimetres ; tail 65.
Habitat : Colombia.
(13) E. coraUinus (The Coral Snake). — Scales in 15 rows ;
179 — 231 ventrals ; 30 — 47 subcaudals ; 1 + 1 temporals.
Colour : Body with black annuli, separated by red interspaces
edged with yellow ; head bluish-black ; temples yellow ; a blue line
from behind the eye to the lower jaw ; tail white.
Total length, 790 millimetres ; tail 70.
Habitat : Tropical South America and Lesser Antilles (St.
Thomas, St. Vincent, Martinique).
(14) E. hcmprichii. — Scales in 15 rows ; 168 — 181 ventrals ;
22 — 29 subcaudals ; 1 + 1 temporals.
Colour: Black, w'ith red or yellow annuli, a broad annulus
between the narrow ones ; occiput, upper lip, and temples yellow.
Total length, 720 millimetres ; tail (Sb.
Habitat : Guianas, Colombia, Peru.
(15) E. /sf/H//. — Scales m 15 rows ; 201—219 ventrals ; 22—29
subcaudals.
Colour red, with 20 — 88 black rings disposed in threes ; a black
occipital collar, followed by a wide red space.
Total length, 1,400 millimetres ; tail 70.
Habitat : Venezuela and Northern Brazil.
(20) E. frontalis.— ficales in 15 rows ; 197—230 ventrals ;
15 — 26 subcaudals. Tail ending very obtusely.
Colour : Body with black annuli disposed in threes, with red and
yellow interspaces ; head black, spotted with yellow or red.
Total length, 1,850 millimetres ; tail 70.
Habitat : Southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina.
(21) E. marcgravii. — Scales in 15 rows ; 210—240 ventrals ;
23 — 42 subcaudals.
THE rii'IXCirAL SI'KCIKS OF I'UISOXOL'S SXAKES 107
Colour : Body with black anmili in G — 10 sets of three, separated
by broad red interspaces, the middle annulus usually wider ; snout
yellow, the end usually black ; back of head red.
Total length, l,li>0 millimetres ; tail 100.
Habitat : Tropical South America.
(22) E. I emni scat us. —Scales in 15 rows ; 241 — 262 ventrals ;
30 — 39 subcaudals.
Colour: Body with II — 14 sets of black annuli disposed in
threes, separated by red interspaces ; head yellow ; end of snout
and a band across the middle of the head black.
Total length, 1,000 millimetres ; tail 80.
Habitat : Guianas, Brazil.
(23) E. JjI if or mis. —Scales in 15 rows: 290—308 ventrals;
35 — 45 subcaudals.
Colour : Body with black annuli disposed in threes, with red
interspaces ; head yellow ; end of snout black : a black band across
the eyes.
Total length, 575 millimetres; tail 40.
Habitat : Amazons, Colombia.
(24) E. mipartitus. — Scales in 15 rows; 210 — 27s ventrals;
24 — 34 subcaudals.
Colour black, with 40 — ()8 narrow white annuli ; head black to
between the eyes, elsewhere yellow.
Total length, 610 millimetres ; tail 50.
Habitat : Central America and Tropical South America.
(25) E. fraseri. — Scales in 15 rows ; 303 ventrals ; 25 sub-
caudals.
Colour black, with 75 narrow whitish rings with broken out-
lines ; head black in front, yellow behind.
Total length, 780 millimetres ; tail 40.
Habitat: Ecuador.
(26) E.mentalis. — Scales in 15 rows; 255 — 268 ventrals ; 30 — 31
subcaudals.
Body black, with 58 — 70 narrow white annuli, which become
108 VENOMS
wider on the belly ; snout black, occiput yellow ; tail annulate,
black and orange.
Total length, 490 millimetres; tail 30.
Habitat. — Colombia and Ecuador.
(27) E. ancoralis. — Scales in 15 rows ; 258 ventrals ; 81 sub-
caudals.
Colour : Body with 16 sets of black annuli disposed in threes,
the middle one of each set a little wider ; head light in front,
spotted with black ; an anchor-shaped black mark on the occiput
and nape.
Total length, 780 millimetres ; tail 57.
Habitat: Ecuador.
(28) E. nardiiccii. — Scales in 15 rows ; 240 — 315 ventrals ;
15 — 33 subcaudals.
Colour black, beneath with yellow or red cross-bands or trans-
versely oval spots, sometimes extending as triangular blotches up
the sides ; head with a yellow cross-band.
Total length, 720 millimetres ; tail 50.
Habitat : Eastern Ecuador, North-eastern Peru, Bolivia.
The species of the genus Elaps, which are remarkable for the
brightness and beauty of their colours, are generally found in
forests.
" The traveller," says Neuwied, " who ventures ilito the great
Brazilian forests, where the ground is covered with leafy plants,
is astonished to see shining through the verdure the black and red
rings of the beautiful Coral Snake. Uncertainty as to whether
the creature is dangerous alone prevents him from seizing it. The
body of the snake is not lithe enough to enable it to climb trees.
Its food consists of small animals."
Dr. Lacerda relates that the Austrian naturalist Wertheimer,
when in the Brazilian settlement of Philadelphia, was bitten by
a Coral Snake in the back of the hand. The usual symptoms of
poisoning manifested themselves immediately, and the unfortunate
man died twelve hours later. Nevertheless, the small size and
THE FEINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES
109
slenderness of the fangs, the narrowness of their canals, and the
considerable distance between the fangs and the anterior opening
of the mouth, must necessarily render the bites of these snakes less
serious and of rarer occurrence.
II.— YIPERID.E.— CEOTALIN.E.
The Solenoghjpha
are infinitely more for-
midable in the two
divisions of the New
World. They are re-
presented by a large
number of species, some
of which are feared in
consequence of their size
and ferocity, even more
than on account of the
deadliness of their
venom (fig. G7).
The American Cro-
TALIN.E are divided into
two groups : —
The first of these
comprises snakes not
provided with the cau-
dal appendage, which is
characteristic of the
Rattle-Snakes. It con-
sists of two genera : —
(a) Ancistrodon.
(b) Lachesis.
The second group includes only those snakes the tails of which
are terminated by the scaly appendage known as the " rattle."
Fig. 67. — Head and Skull op Crotalus horridus.
110
VENOMS
CD
These are likewise divided into
two genera : —
(c) Sistrurus.
(d) Grotalus.
(a) Ancistrodon.
Usually with 9 shields on the
head, or internasals and praefron-
tals broken up into scales. Body
cylindrical ; scales smooth or
keeled, with apical pits. Tail
moderate or short ; subcaudals
single or m 2 rows.
(1) A.piscivonis (Water Viper,
or Cotton-mouth ; fig. 68). — Snout
rounded, soft above. Scales on
the body strongly keeled, in 25
(rarely 27) rows ; 130 — 147 ven-
trals ; 38—51 subcaudals, all single
or the posterior divided.
Colour pale reddish-brown to
dark brown above, with more or
less distinct dark brown cross-
bands, or with alternating
C-shaped dark markings each en-
closing a central spot. Belly dull
yellow spotted with black, or al-
most black.
Total length, 1,170 millimetres;
tail 200.
Habitat : Eastern North
America, from North Carolina
and Indiana to Florida and Texas.
The Water Viper lives for the most part in the vicinity of
c6
'^3
O
00
o
THE I'lilSCll'AL Sl'J'JCIES OF FUISONOUS SNAKES 111
rivers, and feeds upon fish, hut also devours small warm-blooded
animals. The Creoles call it the Congo Snake. It is fairly
common in the environs of New Orleans. In summer time it
conceals itself in the branches of trees at the edge of the water.
It frequents inundated rice-fields, and is a terror to the blacks. It
attacks readily, and opens its jaws some seconds before it bites.
(2) A. bilineatus. — Snout obtusely pointed. Scales more or
less strongly keeled, in '28 (rarely 25) rows ; 185 — 141 ventrals ;
52 — 61 subcaudals, anterior single, posterior divided.
Colour dull yellow or reddish-brown, with more or less distinct
darker cross-bands, or alternating transverse blotches, with yellow
edges ; a vertical yellow line on the rostral shield, and a fine
yellow line round the snout ; belly brownish or blackish, with
white spots.
Total length, 1,100 milhmetres ; tail 200.
Habitat: Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras.
(8) A. contortrix (The Copper-head). — Snout rounded or trun-
cate. Scales strongly keeled, in 28 (rarely 25) rows ; 145 — 155
ventrals ; 81 — 52 subcaudals, anterior single, posterior divided.
Colour dull yellow or reddish-brown, with dark brown or
brick-red cross-bars ; these bars are sometimes interrupted on the
vertebral line, and form alternating triangles ; belly yellow or
reddish, more or less spotted with grey or brown.
Total length, \)\)0 millimetres ; tail 110.
Habitat: North America, from Massachusetts and Kansas to
Northern Florida and Texas.
This snake is often more dreaded than a liattle-Snake.
(b) Lachesis.
In Lachesis the caudal rattle is represented by a series of 10
or 12 rows of spiny scales, which are slightly hooked at the tips.
The head is covered with small shields or smooth or keeled scales,
with or without apical pits. The maxillary is much reduced; the
transverse or pterygoid bone, on the contrary, is greatly developed.
112
VENOMS
The name is derived from one of the Parcne, daughters of Night,
who placed the thread on the spindle, and upon whom depended
the fate of men.
In addition to the 19 Asiatic species, of which we have already
given descriptions, the genus Lachesis includes '21 American species.
(1) L. ))iiifi(s (Bushmaster, or Surucucu). — Two or three scales
separating the internasals in front ; 10 to 15 scales on a line be-
tween the supraoculars ; 9 or 10 supralabials. Scales tubercularl}'
keeled, feebly imbricate, in 35 or 37 rows ; '200 — 230 ventrals ;
32 — 50 subcaudals.
Fig. G'.). — Lacliesis Innceolatus (Fer-dc-lancc of Martinique).
(After Stejneger.)
Colour yellow or pinkish on the back, with a series of large
rhomboidal brown or black spots enclosing smaller light spots ;
a black streak from the eye to the angle of the mouth.
Total length, 1,995 millimetres ; tail 170.
Hahitat : Central and Tropical South America.
(2) L. hniceolafus (known as the Fer-de-lance in Martinique,
and Jararacussu in Brazil; fig. 69). — Snout obtuse, slightly turned
up ; upper head-scales small, imbricate, more or less strongly
keeled, in 5 — 10 longitudinal series between the supraoculars,
which are large ; 7 or 8 supralabials. Scales in 23 — 33 rows,
THE PBINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 113
sharply keeled : LsO — 240 ventrals ; 46 — 70 subcaudals, all or the
greater part in two rows.
Coloration very variable, grey, brown, yellow, olive, or reddish ;
uniform or with more or less distinct dark spots, or cross-bands,
or with dark triangles on the sides enclosing pale rhombs ; a dark
streak from the eye to the angle of the mouth ; belly yellowish,
uniform, or spotted with brown.
Total length, 1,600 millimetres ; tail 190.
Habitat : Tropical America ; Mexico, Martinique, St. Lucia,
Bequia Island near St. Vincent, Venezuela, Guianas, Rio de Janeiro.
This snake does not exist m Guadeloupe. " In the islands in
which it is found," says Dr. Eufz de Lavison, " its presence makes
itself felt even where man has built his dwelling and cultivates
the soil. Because of it no one can carelessly lie down to rest in
the shade of a tree ; no one can walk in the woods or enter un-
concernedl}^ into the pleasures of the chase." It is especially
abundant in coffee and sugar plantations, and is met with from the
sea-level up to the summits of the highest mountains in Martinique
and St. Lucia. It not infrequently makes its way into human
habitations, and is not uncommon in gardens, even entering those
of the town of Fort-de-France.
It does not seek its prey by day, but remams on the alert,
always ready to bite. With open mouth, and fangs projecting for-
wards, it strikes with the rapidity of lightning. It swims in the
rivers and moves over the ground with great speed, Oviposition
takes place m July, and the young are hatched forthwith, the
usual number being from about 50 — 60.
It feeds upon lizards and rats, but also destroys a certain number
of fowls and turkeys. All the large animals are afraid of it. Its
bite is extremely dangerous, and causes about a hundred deaths
in Martinique every year.
In striking at its prey or at a man, the Fer-de-lance throws
back its head and opens its jaws widely, with the fangs directed
forwards. It drives in its poison-teeth as with the blow of a
8
114 VENOMS
hammer, and quickly draws back again. AVhen very excited, it
resumes its position and strikes afresh. It never becomes tame,
but is capable of living a fairly long time in captivity. I have kept
a number of specimens of it for more than two years, caged in my
laboratory.
(3) L. atrox (Labaria). — Closely resembling L. laiiceolatus,
but bulkier ; the enormous head is armed with powerful fangs,
which are often more than a centimetre in length ; 7 supralabial
shields ; scales in 25 — 29 rows, strongly keeled ; 161 — 216 ventrals ;
47 — 73 pairs of subcaudals.
Colour brown, with dark cross-bands or triangular blotches, with
the apices adjacent on the vertebral line ; a dark streak from the
eye to the angle of the mouth ; belly yellowish-white, speckled with
brown, or brown spotted with yellowish-white.
Total length, 1,110 millimetres; tail 180.
Habitat: from Central America to Peru and Northern Brazil.
(4) L. pulcher. — Two postocular shields and a subocular,
separated from the labials by one series of scales : 7 supralabials ;
scales in 21 or 28 rows, strongly and tubercularly keeled : 156 — 172 '
ventrals ; 58 — 64 pairs of subcaudals.
Colour olive-grey, with brown, light-edged cross-bands, which
are continuous or broken on the vertebral line ; a light streak
from the eye to the angle of the mouth ; belly covered with minute
confluent brown markings, with darker and lighter spots on the
sides.
Total length, 685 millimetres ; tail 115.
Habitat : Andes of Ecuador.
(5) L. microphthalmus. — Snout short, rounded ; eyes very small ;
7 supralabials, of which the third and the sixth or seventh are
the largest ; scales in 28 rows, dorsals tubercularly keeled ; 159 —
161 ventrals ; 52 — 55 subcaudal pairs.
Colour yellowish-brown or pale olive on the back, with dark
brown triangles on the sides ; posteriorly, the united triangles
form cross-bands ; a yellowish band from the eye to the side of
the neck ; belly dark brown with yellowish spots.
THE PBTNCIPAL SPECIES <)]•' PnTSONOrS SNAKES lU
Total length, 680 millimetres ; tail 100.
Habitat : Peru, Ecuador.
(6) L. pictus. — Snout obliquely truncate ; two series of scales
between the eye and the labials ; scales in "21 — '23 rows, strongly
keeled; 157 — 17"2 ventrals ; 40 — 7-4 pairs of subcaudals.
Colour pale brown, with a dorsal series of large black-edged
brown spots, which may form a vertebral zigzag l)and ; a black
streak behind the eye, and a vertical bar below the eye ; belly
yellowish, spotted with brown.
Total length, 310 millimetres ; tail 43.
Habitat : Peru.
(7) L. alternatua. — Head narrow, elongate; 8 — 9 sapralabials ;
scales in 29 — 35 rows, very strongly keeled ; 1G7 — 181 ventrals ;
34 — 51 pairs of subcaudals.
Colour brown, very elegantly marked with opposite or alternat-
ing pairs of large C-shaped markings, which are dark brown,
edged w^ith black and yellow, and separated by narrow interspaces
of the ground colour ; head dark brown above, with a j^-shaped
light marking, the transverse bar between the eyes ; belly whitish,
spotted with brown or black.
Total length, 1,190 milbmetres ; tail 110.
Habitat : Southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina.
(8) L. nemviedii (known as the U)-i(fa in Brazil; fig. 70). —
Snout obtusely pointed; supraocular large, separated from its
fellow by G — 9 longitudinal series of scales ; H or 9 supralabials ;
scales very strongly keeled, in '21 — 27 rows ; 168 — 182 ventrals ;
41 — 53 subcaudals.
Colour yellowish or pale brown, with dark brown black-edged
spots ; the spots on the back form a single series or a double
alternating series ; a dark spot on the snout ; a pair of dark bands
from the vertex to the nape, and another from the eye to the angle
of the mouth ; belly yellowish, more or less powdered with brown.
Total length, 770 millimetres ; tail 120.
Habitat: Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina.
116
]'ENOMS
Fig. 10.— LacJiesis nciiwicdii (known as the L'nilii in Brazil)
(After Lacerda.)
THE PL- IXC I I'M. SPECIES <>E J'OTSONOES SNAKES 117
(9) L. annnodijtoides. — Snout tiuned up, in the shape of a wart ;
two series of scales between the eye and the labials ; scales in 23
or 25 rows, vety strongly keeled; 149 — 160 ventrals; 30 — 38 pairs
of subcaudals.
Colour pale brown, with large brown black-edged spots or
cross-bands, which may alternate and form a zigzag band ; a dark
streak behind the eye ; belly yellowish, spotted with brown.
Total length, 460 millimetres ; tail 55.
Habitat : North-eastern Patagonia and Argentina.
(10) L. xayithogrammus. — Head elongate, snout short ; scales
in 27 rows, feebly keeled ; 19() ventrals ; 54 subcaudals.
Colour very dark olive, with a yellow zigzag line on each side
from the head to the base of the tail ; the angular parts enclose
rhombic spaces and lateral triangles ; top of head black, with a
pair of undulating yellow bands from the nape to the vertex ;
a bright golden band round the snout ; labials bright yellow ;
ventral shields black, paler in the middle, with yellow triangular
spots at their extremities.
Total length, 1,530 millimetres; tail 190.
Habitat : Eastern Ecuador, Andes of Colombia.
(11) L. castebiaudi. — Head narrow and elongate ; scales on the
head smooth or feebly keeled, small ; bod3^-scales strongly keeled,
in 25 or 27 rows ; 230 — 253 ventrals ; 72 — S3 subcaudals, all or
majority in a single row.
Colour greyish or brown, with dark or light-edged spots or
cross-bands ; head with dark spots, one of which occupies the
middle of the snout ; a dark band from the eye to the angle of the
mouth ; belly brown or blackish, spotted with yellow.
Total length, 1,220 millimetres ; tail IHO.
Habitat: Brazil, Ecuador, Eastern Peru.
(12) L. nu)nmifer. — Snout broad, rounded ; 10 or 11 supralabials ;
scales in 23 — 27 rows, strongly keeled ; 121 — 134 ventrals ; 26 — 36
subcaudals, all or the majority single.
Colour pale brown, with a dorsal series of rhomboidal spots,
118 VENOMS
which may form a /-igzag band ; belly whitish, uniform or spotted
with dark brown.
Total length, 800 millimetres ; tail UO.
Habitat : Mexico and Central America.
(13) L. godmani. — Snout broad, rounded ; '.) or 10 supralabials ;
scales in '21 rows, strongly keeled ; 135 — 14*2 ventrals ; 22 — 34
subcaudals in a single row.
Colour brown, with or without a dorsal series of large darker
spots; belly yellowish, more or less spotted with grey or Ijlackish.
Total length, 610 millimetres ; tail (JO.
Habitat : Guatemala.
(14) L. lansbergii. — Snout pointed, turned up at the end, as in
Vipera asp is ; scales in 25 — 27 rows, strongly keeled; 152 — 159
ventrals; 29 — 35 subcaudals in a single row.
Colour yellowish-brown, pale brown, or grgy, with a dorsal
series of large rhomboidal or squarish spots, usually divided by a
narrow yellow or orange vertebral line ; cheeks blackish ; belly
powdered with brown, with or without whitish spots.
Total length, 575 millimetres ; tail 70.
Habitat : from Southern Mexico to Coloml)ia, Venezuela,
and Brazil.
(15) L. hr achy stoma. — Similar to the foregoing species ; scales
in 23 (rarely 25) rows ,; 132 — 150 ventrals ; 27 — 38 subcaudals.
Total length, 500 millimetres ; tail 50.
Habitat : Southern Mexico and Central America.
(16) L. bilineatus. — Snout rounded; 7 or 8 supralabials: scales
in 27 — 35 rows, strongly keeled ; 198 — 218 ventrals ; 59 — 71
subcaudals, all or majority in two rows. Tail prehensile.
Colour green, uniform or spotted with black : a lateral yellow
streak ; belly white ; end of tail reddish.
Total length, 840 millimetres ; tail 125.
Habitat : Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador.
(17) L. undulatus. — Snout short, rounded ; 11 supralabials ;
scales in 21 rows, the dorsals strongly or very strongly keeled ;
149 — 171 ventrals ; 41 — 49 pairs of subcaudals. Tail prehensile.
THE FRINCIFAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES 119
Colour olive or brown, sometimes speckled with black, with a
dorsal series of rhomboidal dark spots or an imdulous or zigzag
band ; bell}^ yellowish or brownish, powdered with blackish.
Total length, 570 millimetres ; tail 75.
Habitat : Mexico.
(IS) L. Iate7-aUs. — Snout rounded; 9 supralabials ; scales in 21
or 28 rows, rather strongly keeled ; 171 ventrals ; 59 subcaudals, in
a single row. Tail prehensile.
Colour green, with a yellow line on each side of the body.
Total length, 485 millimetres ; tail 75.
Habitat : Costa Bica.
(19) L. bicolor. — Very similar to the foregoing ; scales in 21
rows ; 164 — 167 ventrals ; 62 — 67 subcaudals, in a single row.
Colour uniform green, yellowish on the belly.
Total length, 375 millimetres ; tail 60.
Habitat: Guatemala.
(20) L. scJilegelii. — Snout rounded ; 8 or 9 supralabials ; scales
in 19 — 25 rows, more or less strongly keeled ; 188 — 162 ventrals ;
47 — 62 subcaudals, in a single row. Tail preJte)isile.
Coloration very variable, green or olive, spotted with black, or
with pinkish, reddish, or purplish l)lack-edged spots or cross-bars;
belly yellow, spotted with green, or variegated ; end of tail generally
red.
Total length, 600 milhmetres ; tail 115.
Habitat : Central America, Colombia, Ecuador.
(21) L. nigroviridis. — Snout short, rounded ; 9 — 11 supralabials ;
19 rows of scales, rather feebly keeled ; 184 — 146 ventrals ; 49 — 54
subcaudals, in a single row\ Tail 'prehensile.
Colour green or olive, spotted with black ; head with a black
streak on each side ; belly yellowish.
Total length, 585 millimetres; tail 90.
Habitat: Costa Kica.
(22) L. aurifer. — ^Snout short and broad ; 9 or 10 supralabials ;
scales in 19 rows, rather strongly keeled ; 154 — 158 ventrals ;
53 — 61 subcaudals, single. Tail prehensile.
120 VENOMS
Colour green, spotted with yellow ; a black streak on the temple ;
belly greenish-yellow.
Total length, 825 millimetres ; tail 145.
Habitat : Guatemala.
(c) Sistrurus.
Head very distinct from neck, covered above with nine large
symmetrical shields ; eyes rather small, with vertical pupils. Body
cylindrical; scales keeled, with apical pits; tail short, ending in
a segmented horny apparatus (rattle), producing a special sound;
subcaudals all or the majority in a single row.
(1) S. ifiiliarius (Ground Kattle-Snake). — 9 — 11 supralabials ;
scales in '21 or 23 rows, strongly keeled ; 127 — 189 ventrals ; 27 — 36
subcaudals ; rattle short, consisting at the most of 10 segments.
Colour greyish, yellowish, or brown, the vertebral line often
orange ; two undulating dark stripes from between the eyes to the
occiput, the enclosed space usually orange ; belly whitish, spotted
with dark brown or black.
Total length, 520 miUimetres ; tail 70.
Habitat: South-eastern North America, from North Carohna
to Texas.
(2) S. catenatits (Prairie Rattle-Snake, or Massasanga, fig. 71).
— Two or three series of scales between the eye and the labials ;
11 — 14 supralabials ; scales in 23 or 25 rows ; 13(3 — 153 ventrals ;
20 — 31 subcaudals.
Colour the same as in .S. iiiiliariiis ; a dark spot on the parietal
shields.
Total length, 680 miUimetres; tail 80.
Habitat : Great Lakes district ; United States east of the
Rocky Mountains and west of the Mississippi ; Northern Mexico.
(3) S. raous. — 11 or 12 supralabials ; scales in 21 or 23 rows ;
147 ventrals ; 26 subcaudals.
Colour yellowish-brown, with a dorsal series of dark brown
THE PlilNCIPAL SFECIES OF I'OISONOUS SNAKES 121
Fig. 71. — Sistnirus catenatus (Prairie RattleSnake, or IMassasanga).
(After Holbroo]< and Stejneger.)
122
VENOMS
spots, longer than broad, and a series of transverse dark bars on
each side ; belly yellowish, spotted with blackish-brown.
Total length, 200 millimetres ; tail 22.
Habitat: Vera Cruz, Mexico.
A
(d) Crotalus (Battle- Snakes).
These snakes differ from all others in that the end of the tail
bears a series of large conical scales, forming rattles, each fitting
into the next and movable in such a manner that when the reptile
causes them to move they produce a strident sound (fig. 72).
The length of
these animals often
exceeds 2,000 mil-
limetres. The head
is fiat, very large
and expanded pos-
teriorly, and ter-
minated in front by
a short, truncate
snout ; it is covered
above with scales or
small shields.
Kattle - Snakes
are armed with enor-
mous fangs enclos-
ing a complete canal,
which extends
throughout almost
their entire length.
The poison - glands
are of the size of a large almond.
The number of segments in the rattle is variable, but rarely
At the time of the shedding of the skin these
B
f/aru,s
Naja
Heniibiinyarns
Callophis
^ Doliopliis
Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean,
, Bay of Bengal, Straits
f of Malacca, China Sea,
Philipi^ines, and ]\Ialay
Archipelago.
India. Ceylon, Burma, Indo-
china, Southern China,
Dutch Indies, Borneo.
India, Ceylon, Burma, Indo-
China, Dutch Indies,
( Philippines.
I South-eastern Asia, India,
( Japan, Philippines.
I South-eastern Asia, India,
Burma. Indo-Chma, For-
( mosa. Southern Cliina.
( Indo-China, Mala^* Penin-
\ sula.
THE PRINCIPAL SPECIES OF POISONOUS SNAKES
143
.•16'Z.4.— (coutd.)
Families Sub-Families Gexera
' Vijperintv
VlPERID.E }
\
Crofaliiue
Viper a
Pseudocerastes
Cerastes
EcJiis
A)ieistro(lou .
^ LacJtesis
Geographical Area
/ Turkestan, Ural, Siberia,
I Caucasus, Persia, Ar-
menia, Western China,
India, Ceylon, Hima-
( layas.
Persia.
Arabia, Palestine.
I Persia, Arabia, India, Balu-
( chistan, Afghanistan.
j Transcaspia, Turkestan,
1 Himalayas, Southern
j China, Formosa, Japan,
I Ceylon, Jaya.
( South-eastern Asia, India,
I Southern China, Indo-
Cliina, Formosa, Suma-
tra.
(3) AFBICA.
CoLUBEiD.E Elapince ...
Boiilengerina
Elaj^echis
Noja
Sepedon
Aspidelaps . . .
Walterin)iesL(i
Homorelaps ...
Dendraspis ...
Central Africa.
Central and South Africa.
Egypt, Central and West
Africa, Morocco, Congo,
Angola.
f South Africa, Cape of Good
'" ( Hope.
J South and South-east Af-
( rica, Mozambique.
... Egypt.
f South Africa, Cape of Good
"'\ Hope.
j Central and South Africa,
-! Angola, Great Lakes.
Congo, Transyaal.
144
VENOMS
AFRICA.— (coutd.)
Families Sub-Families
Genera
Geographical Area
ViPKRiD.*: Viperince ...
Cans us
Viper a.
Bit is
Cerastes
Ecliis
Ail I cr is
\ Atractdspis
( West Africa, Gambia, Great
-I Lakes, Congo, Angola,
( Transvaal.
( Morocco, Algeria, Tunis,
( Egypt, Mozambique.
( Zanzibar, Zambesia, the
I Cape, Transvaal. Congo,
j the Gaboon, Benguella,
' Angola, Senegal. Nigeria.
North Africa, the Sahara.
[ North Africa, Lake Chad,
-j Soudan, Egypt, Somali-
( land, Soeotra.
i Tropical Africa, Dahomey,
-, Lagos, the Cameroons,
I the Gaboon, Congo'.
'^Tropical nnd Soutli Africa,
Congo. Angola. Lake
Chad, the Gaboon, Da-
homey, Gold Coast, Zan-
zibar, Somaliland, Natal,
V and the Cape.
THE PJUXrrPAL SL'KCIES OF POISOXOUS SNAKES
145
(4) OCEANIA.
Famiijks.
Sub-Families.
rHijdropliihur
COLUBRID^
EJapinci'
Genera.
/ Hi/drns
TJialassojyhis
Hydrehijj.s . . .
Hydrophis . . .
Disfirci
Enhydris
Enliydrina ...
AijyysuruH ...
Plat 11 Ills
0(/»iodoii
Glypliodon ...
Pacudelups ...
Diemenia
Pseudechis ...
Denisoniii ...
Micropechis
Hoplocephalus
Tropidechis...
Notechls
BliinhojAocrph a hi
Bracliyaspiii
Acanthophis
Elapognnthus
Rhynrlirlajis
\ Furina
Geogeaphical Area.
I'^iuatorial and Sub-tropi-
cal Pacific Ocean, the
Moluccas, Papuasia, New
Guinea, Celebes, Timor,
Australia,Tasmania, New
( "aledonia. NewHebrides.
Fiji Islands.
( Northern Australia, New
i Guinea.
I Australia, th Moluccas^
i Papuasia.
Australia, New Guinea.
Australia. New Guinea.
I Australia, Solomon Islands,.
I Tasmania.
( New Guinea. Solomon Is-
( lands.
Australia.
Australia.
Australia, Tasmania.
Australia.
Australia.
I Moluccas, Papuasia, North-
( ern Australia.
Australia.
Australia.
Australia.
10
146
VENOMS
(5) AMEBIC A.
Families. Sub-Families.
CoLUBRiD^ Elajnncc ...
Genera.
Elajis
I Ancistrodon.
Lacliesis
ViPERiD^ Crotaluice ...< sistrurus
Cro talus
Geographical Area.
(Mexico, Central Anievica,
j Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru,
( Colombia, Brazil.
'North America, Florida,
Texas, Mexico, Guate-
mala.
j Central and South Ameri-
' ' ( ca, Martinique, St. Lucia.
I North America east of the
■••-{ Eocky Mountains, Mex-
( ico.
i Southern Canada, British
Columbia, Central Amer-
ica, Guiana, Venezuela,
Brazil, Uruguay, Nortli-
ern Argentina.
147
PART 11.
CHAPTER IV.
SECRETION AND COLLECTION OF VENOM IN
SNAKES.
Non-poisonouH as well as poisonous snakes possess parotid and
upper labial glands capable of secreting venom. In the former the
organs of inoculation are wanting, but we shall see later on that
the toxic secretion of their glands is just as mdispensable to them
as to the snakes of the second category for the purpose of enabling
them to digest their prey.
For the morphological, histological, and physiological demon-
stration ot the existence of these glands in harmless reptiles we
are indebted to Leydig (1873), whose discovery has since been
confirmed and extended by the researches of Phisalix and Ber-
trand, Alcock, L. Rogers, and L. Lannoy.
The parotids of Grass Snakes are mixed glands of the sero-
mucous type. The serous tubes are situate almost exclusively in
the posterior portion of the gland. As we proceed towards the
anterior portion, w^e find that these serous tubes are interspersed
with others which are exclusively mucous or sero-mucous, and they
become entangled with those of the upper labial gland, properly
so-called. The substance of the gland is divided into several lobes
by bands of connective tissue ; the tubes are separated by septa of
the same tissue, in extremely delicate layers (Lannoy).
In poisonous snakes these glands are much more developed,
especially in their hinder portions, which sometimes assume
148 VENOMS
enormous dimensions. They may attain the size of a large
ahiiond {Crotalus, Naja), and they then occupy the spacious
chamber ah'eady described (Chap. I., p. 10), which is situated
behind the eye on each side of the skull.
Each gland is surrounded by a thick capsule of fibrous tissue,
two prolongations of which, the one anterior, the other posterior,
keep it in its place beneath the viasseter muscle. A portion of
the latter is inserted in the capsule itself, in such a way that
when the snake closes its jaws to bite, the gland is forcibly com-
pressed and the contained liquid is squeezed into its excretory duct.
Between the muscle and the envelope of the gland there is
a serous pouch, which enables the one to slide over the other.
The excretory duct runs along the outer side of the upper jaw,
and opens by a slit at the base of the poison-fang, with which
it inosculates at right angles in a little muscular mass forming a
sphincter.
In the normal position of repose, the poison-fang is always
concealed by a gingival fold of mucous membrane, in the sub-
stance of which are buried a few fibres of the tendon of the
internal pterygoid muscle. When the latter contracts, the tooth
is almost completely exposed, and the efferent duct of the gland
then assumes an oblique position, which allows of the direct dis-
charge of the venom through the canal which runs along the
greater portion of the length of the tooth.
When the poison-fangs are folded back in their sheath, the
poisonous secretion can escape freely into the buccal cavity by
the slit situated at the base of the fangs.
At the moment when the animal is about to bite, when it
throws back its head and opens its jaws, directing its fangs for-
wards, the muscles that come into action {masseters, temporals,
and pterygoids) compress the glands on each side, and cause the
venom to be expelled in a sudden jet, as if by a sort of ejaculatory
process. In the case of certain species the venom may be projected
to a distance of more than a yard.
SECRET I().\ AM) COLLECTION OF VENOM IN SNAKES 149
The quantity of venom secreted by the glands varies greatly,
according" to the length of time which has elapsed since the animal
took its last meal, and in accordance with a ninnber of other con-
ditions not very easy to determine.
The Common Viper of Europe yields scarcely 10 centigrammes
of poison, while an adult Indian Cobra may excrete more than 1
gramme.
Freshly collected venom is a syrupy liquid, citron-yellow or
shghtly opalescent white in colour.
When dried rapidly in vacuo or in a desiccator over calcium
chloride, it concretes in cracked translucent lamellfe like albumin
or gum arable, and thus assuines a crystalloid aspect. In this
condition it may be kept indefinitely, if protected from light, air,
and moisture. It dissolves again in water just as readily as
^albumin or dried serums.
I regularly weighed the dr}^ residue from eleven bites made
■on a watch-glass by two Naja haje, received at my laboratory from
Egypt at the same time, and placed in the same case. Both snakes
were approximately of equal length, 1,070 millimetres. Through-
out the entire course of the experiment, which lasted one himdred
and two days, neither of them took any food, but they drank water
and frequently bathed.
The results that I obtained are shown in the table on next page.
It will be seen that in one hundred and two days, an adult Naja
haje is capable of producing on an average 0*632 gramme of liquid
venom, equal to a mean weight of 0"188 gramme of dry extract ;
and we may conclude that 1 gramme of liquid gives 0'33(3 gramme
of dry venom.
In Australia it has been found by MacGarvie Smith, of Sydney,
that Pseudechis porphyriacus yields at each bite a quantity of
venom varying from 0"100 gramme to 0"160 gramme (equal to 0"024
gramme to 0'04(3 gramme of dry venom), and that a Hoploc&phalus
curtus (Tiger Snake) yields 0'065 gramme to 0"150 gramme of
150
VENOMS
liquid venom, with 0-017 gramme to 0-055 gramme of dry residue.
Ill all the experiments of this physiologist, the proportion of dry
residue varied from 9 to 38 per cent, of the liquid venom excreted
by the reptile.
A Lachesis lanceolatus (Fer-de-lance) from Martinique, of
medium size, when both of its glands were squeezed, furnished
me with 0-320 gramme of liquid venom, and 0-127 gramme of dry
extract.
Number of
bite
Date
NAJA HAJE I.
Weight of Venom
NAJA HAJE 11.
Weight op Venom
Fresh
Dry
Fresh
Dry
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
April 20 .
„ 23 .
May 14 .
„' 21 .
„ 28 .
June 2
„ 19 .
July 1 .
„ 2 .
„ 25 .
„ 26 .
Gramme
0-119
0-124
0-127
0-122
0-079
Gramme
0031
0-035
0-039
0-048
0 021
Gramme
0-151
0132
0091
0-121
0-078
0111
Gramme
0-043
0037
0019
0-043
0026
0-034
Totals ...
0-581
0174
0-684
0-202
Two large Cerastes vipers, from Egypt, yielded me, one
0*123 gramme, the other 0-085 gramme of liquid venom, which,
after desiccation, left respectively 0-027 gramme and 0019 gramme
of dry residue.
Under the same conditions, a magnificent Crotalus confluentus
(Mottled Eattle-Snake), for which I was indebted to the kindness
of Mr. Ketlie, of New York, yielded, two months after reaching
my laboratory, 0'370 gramme of liquid venom and 0-105 gramme
of dry extract in a single bite.
SECRETION AND COLLECTION OF VENOM IN SNAKES 151
The total quantity of liquid venom that I found contained in
the two glands of the same reptile, when extirpated after death,
and after the snake had been in the laboratory for five months,
amounted to 1"136 gramme, which gave 0'480 gramme of dry
extract.
We see, therefore, that the proportion of dry residue, including
albumin, salts, the debris of leucocytes, and the toxic substance,
oscillates between 20 and 38 per cent. Its strength varies with
the length of time that has elapsed since the snake's last bite or
last meal.
From the histological standpoint, the process of the secretion
of venom, in the cells of the glands, may be divided into two
stages : —
(rt) A stage of nuclear elaboration.
(6) A stage of cytoplasmic elaboration.
These two stages are superposed and successive.
In addition to the passive exchanges between the nucleus and
the cytoplasm, the nuclear mass actively participates in the secre-
tion. This participation is rendered evident : —
(1) By the difference of chromaticity in the granules of
chromatin.
(2) By the emission of formed granules into the cytoplasm,
granules which are spherical and of equal bulk, with the chromatic
reactions of differentiated intranuclear chromatin.
(3) By the exosmosis of the dissolved nuclear substance, ac-
cessorily formed in an ergastoplasmic shape.
These formations constitute, on the one hand, the granules
of venogen ; on the other, the ergastoplasmic venogen. In the
poison-cell of Vipera aspis, and in the serous cell of the parotid
glands of Tropidonotus natrix (Grass Snake) the venogen is
elaborated chiefly in granular form.
On entering the perinuclear cytoplasm, the granule of venogen
and the ergastoplasmic venogen may either disappear imme-
162 VENOMS
diately, as happens in periods of cellular stimulation, or else
continue to exist for some time within the cell, indicating a period
of saturation by the elaborated material.
During cytoplasmic activity the granule of venogen and the
ergastoplasmic venogen disappear.
Nuclear elaboration and cytoplasmic elaboration constitute two
different cycles of secretion. The effect of the nuclear cycle is to
furnish the cytoplasm with the elements necessary for the work
of secretion properly so-called. Cytoplasmic elaboration is not
confined to the basal protoplasm, but takes place throughout the
entire cell : it is especially active in the perinuclear cytoplasm.
The granule of venogen is distinguished from the granule of
elaborated venom l)y its affinity for Unna's blue, safranin, and
fuchsin. The granule of venom has an affinity for eosin ; it is
never excreted in granular form, but after intracellular dissolution.
Venogen is never met with in the lumen of the gland-tube.^
Collection of Venom.
Venom can be extracted from the poison-glands of either freshly
killed or living snakes.
In cases in wbich the venom of dead snakes has to be collected,
the best method of extraction consists in fixing the head of the
animal to a sheet of cork and carefully dissecting out the gland on
each side. The reptile being" placed on its back, the lower jaw
is removed with a pair of scissors ; two strong pins or two tacks
are thrust through the skull, in the median line, in order to keep
the head from moving. The poison-fangs are next drawn out of
their sheaths, and, without injuring them, the two poison-ducts,
which open at their bases, are isolated and tied with a thread in
order to prevent the poison from running out.
The dissection of the glands is then very easy ; they are lifted
' L. Lannoy. '"These de doctorat es sciences," Paris, 1903, No. 1,188, serie A,
454.
SECRETION AND COLLECTION OF VENOM l.\ SXAKES 153
out and placed in a saucer. The end of tlie duct is cut between
the gland and tlie ligature, and with a pair of fenestrated or
polypus forceps the whole of the glandular mass is gently squeezed
from behind forwards, the liquid which flows out being received in
a large watch-glass.
If pressed for time, a more simple method of operating is to
hold the head of the snake in the left hand, with tlie mouth open
and the lower jaw directed downwards. A watch-glass, capsule,
or receptacle of some sort, such as a cup or plate, is then introduced
by an assistant between the jaws, and, with the index finger and
thumb of the right hand, the whole of the region occupied by the
glands on each side of the upper jaw is forcibly compressed from
behind forwards ; the poison flows out by the fangs.
The extraction of the venom from living snakes is effected in
the same manner. The animal being firmly held by the neck,
as close as possible to the head, so that it cannot turn and bite;
it can be made to eject the greater portion of the liquid con-
tained in its two glands by compressing the latter with force from
behind forwards, as one would squeeze out the juice from a quarter
of an orange (fig. 85).
It is necessary to take care that the reptile cannot coil itself
round furniture or other objects in the vicinity of the operator, for
if this should happen there would be the greatest difficulty in
making it let go, especially if dealing with a strong animal such
as a Cobra, Battle-Snake, or Fer-de-lance.
Snakes of the last-mentioned kind are especially difficult to
manage. In order to avoid the risk of being bitten, it is always
wise to begin by pinning down the head of the animal in a corner
of its cage by means of a stick, and to seize it with a pair of long
fenestrated tongs shaped like forceps. The operator then easily
draws the reptile towards him and grasps it tiiinly by the neck with
his left hand, always as close to the head as possible, at the same
time raismg the l)()dy quickly m order to prevent it from taking
ir)i
VENOMS
Fig. 85. —Collecting Venom from a Lachesis at the Seeotherapeutic Institute
AT Sao Paulo (Brazil).
SECRETION AND COLLECTION OF VENOM IN SNAKES 155
Fig. 86.— Chlokoformixg a Cobra in order to Collect Venom, at the French
Settlement of Pondicherry, in India (Stage I. ).
156 VENOMS
hold of anything. lu this way the most powerful snake is per-
fectly under control.
At Pondicherry, where is collected the greater portion of the
venom of Naja ti-ipudians used by me for the vaccination of the
horses that produce antivenomous serum, it is customary to chloro-
form the snakes in order to render them easier to manipulate.
The reptile is placed in a large covered jar, containing a pad
of absorbent wool impregnated with chloroform (hgs. 86, 87), and
in a few minutes it is stupefied. It is then grasped by the neck
with the hands, and the edge of a plate is slipped between its jaws.
On compressing the two poison-glands with the fingers, the venom
dribbles out on to the plate.
A detailed description of this technique will be found in a note
kindly drawn up for me by my friend Dr. Gouzien, late head of the
Medical Staff of the French Settlements in India, and reproduced
further on in the section of this book devoted to documents.
The note in question was accompanied by figs. 17, 18, 19, 86, 87,
and 88, which are reproduced from photographs, for which I am
indebted to the kindness of M. Geracki, Engineer of the Savanna
Spinning Mill at Pondicherry, Dr. Lhomme, and M. Serph, Assistant
Surgeon-Dispenser.
The collection of the venom having been completed, the snake
is put back into its cage again, the tail and the body being intro-
duced first, and then the head. The hd or trap-door is half closed
with the left hand, and, with a quick forward thrust, the right hand
releases its grasp of the reptile and is immediately withdrawn ;
at the same time the left hand completes the closure of the cage.
The snake is temporarily dazed, as though stunned, and it is only
after the lapse of a moment that it thinks of darting open-mouthed
at the walls of its prison.
When it is desired to procure large quantities of venom, as is
indispensable in laboratories where antivenomous serum is j)re-
pared, the endeavour must be made to keep the snakes alive for
the longest possible time. It then becomes necessary to resort
SliCRETION AND COLLECTION OF VENOM IX SNAKES 157
to artificial feeding in the manner previously described (see p. 17),
for they very often refuse to feed themselves.
Except when a snake is moulting, the venom can be extracted
from its glands about every fortnight ; and it is better that the
extraction be not performed concurrently with artificial feeding,
Fig. S7. — Chloroforming a Cobra in order to Collect Venom, at the French
Settlement of Pondicherry, in India (Stage II.).
since, owing to the fact that the venom serves the animal as
digestive juice, the reptile will soon perish if deprived of the means
of digesting the food that it is obliged to receive. It is best,
therefore, to select one day of the week for artificial feeding, and
the corresponding day of the following week for the extraction of
the venom.
When the venom has been collected, it must immediately be
158
VENOMS
placed in a desiccator over calciam chloride or sulphuric acid, in
order to dry it rapidly. In hot countries, and where no laboratory
specially equipped for the purpose exists, it will suffice to dry the
venom in a current of air, or even in the sun. It then concretes in
scales of a citrin colour, more or less dark, according to the concen-
FiG. 88.— Collecting Cobra Venom at Pondicherrv (Stage III.
tration of the liquid. In this dry condition, placed in well-corked
bottles, protected from damp air, it may be kept almost indefinitely
without losing anything of its original toxic power. On the con-
trary, if the desiccation be imperfect it undergoes a somewhat rapid
change, and assumes a disagreeable odour of meat peptone. I have
kept samples of various venoms, dried as described, for fifteen years
without any sensible diminution of their activity.
1.39
CHAPTER V.
THE CHEMICAL STUDY OF SNAKE-VENOMS.
In the condition in which they are received on issuing from
the glands, venoms always present the appearance of a thick
saliva, of an oily consistency and more or less tinged with yellow,
according to the species of snake by which the poison has been
produced. They are entirely soluble in water, the addition of
which renders them opalescent. Tested with litmus they exhibit
a slightly acid reaction ; this acidity, which is due to the presence
of a very small quantity of an indeterminate volatile acid, dis-
appears on desiccation, so that solutions of dried venom are
neutral. The taste of venoms is very bitter. Their density, which
is slightly greater than that of water, varies from 1030 to 1050.
Venoms are composed of a mixture, in variable proportions,
of proteid substances, mucus and epithelial debris, fatty matters
and salts (chlorides and phosphates of lime, ammonia and
magnesia), with from 65 to 80 per cent, of water.
The elementary analysis of Cobra-venom made by H. Arm-
strong^ gave the following results : —
Carbon ... ... ... ... ... 48-04 per cent.
Hydrogen .
Nitrogen .
Sulphur .
Eesidue .
7-00 „
12-45
2-50 „
Small quantities.
Not much is to be learnt from these figures ; it would be of
far greater importance to know the exact constitution of the
1 " Snake Commission Report," 1874.
160 VENOMS
proteid substances to whicli venom owes its physiological pro-
perties. Unfortanatel_y, our knowledge of the chemistry of the
albuminoid matters is still too imperfect for it to be possible for
us to determine tlieir nature.
As early as 1848 it was pointed out by Lucien Bonaparte that
in tlie venom of Vlpera berus the most important principle is
a proteid substance to which he gave the name of viperln or
echidnin, and which he compared to the digestive ferments.
Later on Weir Mitchell and Eeichert, and subsequently Norris
Wolfenden, Pedlar, Wall, Kantliack, C. J. Martin, and MacGarvie
Smith, showed that venoms, like diastases, exhibit a great com-
plexity in composition ; that all their characteristic toxic constit-
uents are precipitable by absolute alcohol, and that the precipitate,
when redissolved in water, recovers the properties possessed by
the venom before precipitation.
According to Armand Gautier,^ venoms contain alkaloids. Tiie
latter may be obtained, in very small amounts, however, by finely
pulverizing dried venom with carbonate of soda, and systematically
exhausting the mixture with alcoholic ether at a temperature of
50° C. These alkaloids have yielded crystallized chloraurates and
chloroplatinates, and slightly deliquescent crystallized chlorhy-
drates. The latter produce Prussian blue when treated with very
dilute ferric salts, and mixed with a little red prussiate. They
therefore represent reductive bodies analogous to ptomaines.
Norris Wolfenden did not succeed in extracting" these alkaloids
from Cobra-venom, whence they had nevertheless been isolated
by Armand Gautier. Wolcott Gibbs, and afterwards Weir
Mitchell and Peichert, likewise failed to find them in Crotalus-
venom. The toxicity of these bases is, moreover, but very slight,
for the totality of the alkaloids extracted by A. Gautier from
0'8 gramme of Cobra-venom did not kill a small bird.
It is therefore to the toxalhuniins that the toxic properties of
venoms are essentially due.
' Bulletin de V Academic dc Medecinc, t. x., 1883, p. 947.
THE CHEMICAL STCDY OF SXAKE-IEMjMS 161
All venoms are not equally affected by beat. The venoms of
CoLUBRiD.E {Naja, Bungarus, Hoplocephalus, Pseudechis) and those
of the Hydrophiid-^i are entirely miinjured by temperatures
approaching 100^ C, and even boiling for a short time. When
the boiling is prolonged, or when venoms are heated beyond
100' C, their toxic power at first diminishes, and then disappears
altogether. At 120' C. it is always destroyed.
The venoms of Yiperid.e {Lachesis, Crotalus, Vipera) are
much less resistant. By heating to the coagulating point of
albumin, i.e., to about 70 C, their toxic properties become
attenuated, and they are entirely suppressed between SO and 85" C.
Lrtt'/iesi.s'-venoms are the most sensitive ; their toxicity is lost
if they be heated beyond 05 C.
On separating the coagulable albumins of the venoms of Colu-
BRiD^, by heating to 72' C, followed by filtration, we obtain a
perfectly limpid liquid, which is no longer injured by boiling, and
in which the toxic substance remains wholly in solution. The
albuminous precipitate, when separately collected and washed,
is no longer toxic. The clear liquid, after being filtered, is again
precipitated by absolute alcohol, and the precipitate, redissolved
in an equal quantity of water, is just as toxic as the original
filtered liquid.
The venoms of Viperid/E, when coagulated, by heating them
to a temperature of 72^ C, and filtered, are almost always inert.
The albuminous coagula, if washed, redissolved in water, and
injected into the most sensitive animals, produce no harmful effect
whatever.
The results of dialysis likewise differ when we experiment with
the venoms of Colubrid^ and Vipehid.e. The former pass
slowly through vegetable membranes, and with greater difficulty
through animal parchment. The latter do not dialyse.
Filtration through porcelain (Chamberland candle F) does
not sensibly modify the toxicity of the venouis of CuLUBRID^e ;
li
162 VENOMS
on the contrary, it diniinislies that of the venom of Viperid.e by
nearly one-half.
By using a special filter at a pressure of 50 atmospheres, C. J.
Martin has succeeded in separating from the venom of an Australian
Pseiidechis two substances : a non-diffasible alhuminoid, coagulable
at 82° C, and a diffusible, non-coagulable albumose. The former
produces haemorrhages ; the second attacks the nerve-cell of the
respiratory centres.
All venoms exhibit most of the chemical reactions characteristic
of the proteids : —
Milloiis reaction.
Xantlio-proteic reaction (heating with nitric acid and subsequent
addition of ammonia = orange coloration).
Biuret reaction (caustic potash and traces of sulphate of copper).
Precipitation by picric acid, disappearing on being heated, re-
appearing when cooled.
Precipitation by saturation with cJiloride of sodium.
Precipitation by saturation with sulphate of magnesium.
Precipitation by saturation with ammonium sulphate.
Precipitation by a ly pier cent, solution of sulphate of copper.
Precipitation by alcohol.
According to C. J. Martin and MacGarvie Smith, the albumoses
of the venoms of Colubrid^e are hetero-albumoses, proto-albumoses,
and perhaps deutero-albumoses in small quantities. They can be
separated in the following manner: —
The solution of venom is heated to 90' C, and filtered in order
to separate the albumins coagulable by heat. The filtrate, saturated
with sulphate of magnesium, is shaken for twelve hours. By this
means there is obtained a flocculent precipitate, which is placed
upon a filter and washed with a saturated solution of sulphate of
magnesium. The filtrate is dialysed for twenty- four hours in a
stream of distilled water, and then concentrated, likewise by dia-
lysis, in absolute alcohol. Thus we obtain a few cubic centimetres
THE CHEMICAL STUDY OF SXAKE-]'EX(JMS 16;]
of liquid, which contains a small quantity of proteids in solution.
These proteids can be nothing- but a mixture of proto- and deutero-
albumoses with peptones. That there is actually no trace of the
latter can easily be ascertained.
Neumeister^ has shown that it is impossible to precipitate all
the proto-alhumoses of a solution by saturation with neutral salts,
and, since the filtrate becomes slightly turbid when a few drops
of a 5 per cent, solution of sulphate of copper are added to it, we
must conclude that it contains a small proportion of these proto-
alhnmoses.
The deposit retained upon the filter after washing with sulphate
of magnesium is redissolved in distilled water, and dialysed for three
days. An abundant precipitate then becomes collected in the
dialyser. This is centrifaged. The clear liquid is decanted with
a pipette, then concentrated by dialysis in absolute alcohol, and
finally evaporated at 40^ C. until completely desiccated. The solid
residue is washed and centrifuged several times in distilled water,
after which it is dried on chloride of sodium.
This method enables us to separate two albumoses, both pre-
cipitable by saturation with sulphate of magnesium, and belonging
to the class of primary albumoses : one of these, proto-alhumose,
is soluble in distilled water, the other, hetcro-alhumose, is insoluble ;
but the latter can be dissolved in dilute solutions of neutral salts.
These bodies are respectively identical with those obtained by the
pepsic digestion of proteids. -
In order to study separately the local and general effects of
these different albumoses, C. J. Martin and MacGafvie Smith
performed the follow^ing experiment : —
They introduced beneath the skin of the belly of a guinea-
pig, previously shaved and rendered aseptic, two small pieces of
sterilized sponge, about 2 c.mm., one of which was impregnated
' Zcitschrift fin- Biolofjle, xxiii.
-' Kiihiie and Chittenden, " Ueber Albumosen," Zcittichi-ift fiir Biolorjie, 1884.
164 VENOMsS
with the solution of proteid, while the other served as control.
The two small incisions, one on either side of the median line,
were then sutured and covered with collodion. In this way the
maximum of local effect and the minimum of general effects
was obtained. The solutions of albumoses introduced by this
method into the organism produced an enormous oedema, which,
in from six to eight hours, extended along the whole side of the
abdomen containing the sponge charged with poison.
To test the general toxic effects, the solutions were injected
into a vein or into the peritoneal cavity. It was thus found that
the ^jrofo- and lictero-albumoses killed the animals in a few hours.
It must therefore be concluded from these facts that the active
principles of venom are proto- and hcfcro-albiimoses, the albumins
that it contains being devoid of all toxic power.
Many chemical substances modify or destroy venoms, and we
shall see in another chapter that several of them, by reason of
their properties, may be very usefully employed for the destruction,
in the actual wound resulting from a venomous bite, of the venom
that has not yet been absorbed in the circulation.
iVmong these substances the njost important are : —
A 1 per cent, solution oi pennangiDiatv of potasli (Lacerda).
A 1 per cent solution of cJiIoride of gold (Calmette).
CJiIoride of lime or even Jiijpocldoyide of calcium (Calmette),
m a solution of 1 in 12, which is augmented, at the moment of
use, by 5 to 6 volumes of distilled water, so as to bring it to
the standard strength of about 850 cubic centimetres of active
chlorine per litre of solution.
A 1 per cent, solution of chromic acid (Kaufmann).
Saturated bromized ivater (Calmette).
A 1 per cent, solution of trichloj'ide of iodine (Calmette).
All these chemical bodies also modify or destroy the diastases
and the microbic toxins. The venoms, although more resistant
to the influence of heat, behave, therefore, like these latter, and
exhibit the closest atlinity with them. Moreover, like all the
THK CHKMTCAL STUDY OF SSAKK-M-INOMS 165
normal glandular juices, they possess very manifest zymotic pro-
perties, which singularly complicate their physiological action, and
upon which we shall dwell later on.
Elect licit ij, employed in the form of continuous electrolytic
currents passing through a solution of venom, destroys the toxicity
of the latter, because under these conditions there is always formed,
at the expense of the salts accompanying tlie venom, a sufficient
(juantity of chlorinated products (hypochlorites, chlorates, ^c), and
a small amount of ozone, the oxidizing action of which is extremely
pow^erful.
^yith alternating currents of high frequency, Phisalix, repeating
the experiments that Arsonval and Charrin had performed upon
diphtheria toxin, thought that he had succeeded in attenuating
venom to the point of transforming it into vaccine.^ But it has
been shown by Marmier that this attenuation was simply the result
of thermic actions. When, by means of a suitable arrangement,
any rise of temperature was carefully avoided, no modification of
toxicity was obtained. -
The influence of liglit, which has no effect upon venom pre-
served in a dry state, is, on the contrary, very marked upon venom
in solution. Solutions of venom that are destined for physiological
experiments should therefore not be employed without controls, if
they be several days old. Apart from the fact that, if care be not
taken to render them aseptic, they very soon become con-
taminated with the germs of all kinds of microbes, it is found that
they gradually lose a large part of their activity, especially when
they remain in contact with the air. By filtering tliem through
a Chamberland candle and keeping them in the dark, in a re-
frigerator, in perfectly closed phials, they may be kept unimpaired
for several months.
' Compten roithis rlc hi Socirfe clc Biologic, 1^ fevrier, 1896.
- Annnles dr VlnKtitai Pasteur, 1896, p. 489.
166 VEXO}rS
The addition of ghjccrinc in equal parts to a concentrated
solution of venom is also an excellent means of preservation.
Phisalix has shown that the emanations from radium attenuate
and then destroy the virulence of Cobra- and also of Viper-venom.
" Dry Viper-venom, dissolved in aqua chJorofonni in the pro-
portion of 1 in 1,000, is put up in four tubes, three of which are
irradiated, the first for six hours, the second for twenty hours, and
the third for thirty-six hours. Three guinea-pigs, of equal weight,
are inoculated with equal quantities of the irradiated venom ; a
control receives the non-irradiated venom. The latter dies in ten
hours; the animal inoculated from the first tube dies in twelve
hours ; the one inoculated from the second tube in twenty hours,
and the third proves resistant without any symptom of poisoning.
A second inoculation produces a transitory lowering of the animal's
temperature by half a degree. At the end of four days it dies after
inoculation with a lethal dose."
The nature of the solvent exerts a great influence upon the
action of the emanations from radium : if the same experiment
be performed with venom dissolved in a 50 per cent, mixture of
glycerine and water, the attenuation is merely relative after six
hours.
Auguste Lumiere and Joseph Nicolas, of Lyons, conceived the
idea of studying the effect upon venom of the prolonged action of
the intense cold produced by the evaporation of liquid air.' The
Cobra-venom employed by these investigators was in solution at
a strength of 1 in 1,000. It was submitted to the action of liquid
air, partly for twenty-four hours and partly for nine days at - 191° C.
Its toxicity was in no way diminished.
Lastly, I nnist mention the recent researches of Hideyo
' rroriitcr mrdicalc, 21 Septembre, 1901.
THE CHEMICAL STUDY OF SXAKE-VENOMS 1G7
Noguclii,^ with reference to the photodynamic action of eosin and
erijthrosin upon the venoms of the Cobra, Vipera russelUi, and
Crotalus. It was found by the scientist in question that the
toxicity of these various venoms is more or less diminished in
the presence of these aniHne colours, when the mixtures are
insolated. Cobra-venom is the most resistant, just as it is in
regard to the other physical or chemical agents. That of Crotalus,
on the contrary, is the least stable.
Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, New York, 1906.
168
CHAPTER VI.
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF SNAKE-VENOMS.
A. — Physiology of Poisoning in Man and in Animals Bitten
BY THE Different Species of Poisonous Snakes.
{Goluhrida ; ViperldcB; HijdrophiidiE.)
The bites of poisonous snakes produce very different effects
according to the species of snake, the species to which the animal
bitten belongs, and according to the situation of the bite. It is
therefore necessary to take these various factors into account, in
describing the symptoms of poisoning in different animals.
When the quantity of venom introduced into the tissues by
the bite of the reptile is sufficient to produce fatal results — which
is happily not always the case — the venom manifests its toxic action
in two series of phenomena : the first of these is local and affects
only the seat and surroundings of the bite; the second, or general
series, is seen in the effects produced upon the circulation and
nervous system.
It is remarkable to find how great is the importance of the local
disorders when the venon:ious reptile belongs to the Solenoghjpha
group (Viperid.e), while it is almost nil in the case of the Profcro-
glljpha (COLUBRID/E and HYDROPHIIDyE).
The effects of general intoxication, on the contrary, are much
more intense and more i-apid with the venom of Proteroglijpha,
than with that of Solenogbjplia.
In considering the usual phenomena of snake-poisoning in man,
we must therefore take this essential difference into account, and
THK I'HYSlOJJXfTCAL ACTIOS OF SSAKE-VENOMS 169
draw up separately a clinical description of the symptoms observed
after a bite from a Cobra (Colubrid.e), for instance, and another
list of those that accompany a bite from Lachesis or Vipera berus
(Viperid.e).
The bite of a Cobra, even of large size, is not very painful ; it
is characterized especially by numbness, that supervenes in the
bitten part, rapidly extends throughout the body, and produces
attacks of syncope and fainting. The patient soon experiences a
kind of lassitude and irresistible desire to sleep ; his legs scarcely
support him ; he breathes with difficulty and his respiration becomes
of the diaphragmatic type.
By degrees the drowsiness and the difficulty of breathing become
greater ; the pulse, which at first is more rapid, becomes slower
and gradually weaker, the mouth contracts, and there is profuse
salivation, the tongue appears swollen, the eyelids remain drooping,
and, after a few hiccoughs frequently accompanied by vomiting
and involuntary emissions of urine or fsecal matter, the unfortunate
victim falls into the most profound coma and dies. The pupils
react to luminous impressions up to the last moment, and the heart
continues to beat sometimes for two hours after respiration has
ceased.
All this takes but a few hours, most frequently from two to
six or seven, rarely more.
When the reptile by which the bite is inflicted is one of the
Solenoghjpha, such as a Lachesis for example, the seat of the bite
immediately becomes very painful and red, then purple. The
surrounding tissues are soon infiltrated with sanguinolent serosity.
Siiarp pains, accompanied by attacks of cramp, extend towards
the base of the limb. The patient complains of intense thirst, and
extreme dryness of the mouth and throat ; the mucous membranes
of the eyes, mouth, and genitalia become congested.
These phenomena often continue for a very long period, even
for more than twenty-four hours, and are sometimes accompanied
by haemorrhages from the eyes, mouth, stomach, intestines, or
bladder, and by more or less violent delirium.
170 VENOMS
If the quantity of venom absorbed be sufficient to cause death,
the patient exhibits, a few hours after being bitten, stupor, insen-
sibiHty, and then somnolence, with increasing difficulty of respira-
tion, which ends by becoming stertorous. Loss of consciousness
seems complete a good while before coma appears. Asphyxia then
ensues, and the heart continues to beat for nearly a quarter of an
hour after respiratory movements have entirely ceased.
In certain exceptional cases death is very rapid ; it may super-
vene suddenly in a few minutes, even before the local phenomena
have had time to manifest themselves; in this case the venom,
having penetrated directly into a vein, has produced almost imme-
diate coagulation of the blood, thus causing the formation of a
generalized embolism.
If the venom be introduced in a highly vascular region, or
directly into a vein, the result is almost invariably fatal. On the
contrary, if the derm be scarcely broken, or if the clothing has
acted as a protection, scarcely any absorption will take place. We
are here confronted with the same factors of gravity as in the
case of bites inflicted upon human beings by animals suffering from
rabies.
In experiments we are able to eliminate all these factors, and
to follow in an animal inoculated with a known quantity of venom
the whole series of phenomena of poisoning, the intensity of which
can be graduated. Let us see, then, how the various animals that
it is possible to make use of in laboratories behave with regard to
venoms of different origins.
B. — The Physiology of Experimental Poisoning.
In the monkey, the first apparent sign of the absorption of
Co6ra-venom, or of the venom of any other species of Colubrid^,
is a sort of general lassitude ; the eyelids next become half closed.
The animal appears to be seeking a suitable spot in which to rest ;
it gets up again immediately, and walks with a jerky action ; its
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF SNAKE-VENOMS 171
limbs have a difficult}^ in supporting it. It is soon attacked by
nausea, vomiting and dyspnoea ; it rests its head upon the ground,
raises it, trying" to get breath, and carries its hand to its mouth as
if in order to phick a foreign body from its throat. It totters upon
its hmbs, and hes down upon its side with its face against the
ground. Ptosis increases, and complete asphyxia soon supervenes.
The heart continues to beat for some time after respiration has
ceased, and then stops in diastole.
Cadaveric rigidity very rapidly sets in, and persists for a long
time, even after putrefaction has commenced. During the last
moments of life the pupil remains very sensitive ; the animal
appears to retain unimpaired its sense of hearing and sensibility
to pain. The electric excitability of the muscles of the face per-
sists, but that of those of the limbs and body almost entirely
disappears. The application of volta-faradic currents from the
nape to the diaphragm produces no respiratory movement when
asphyxia begins to manifest itself. The sphincters of the bladder
and anus relax after a few spasms, which, in case of males, fre-
quently provoke the ejaculation of semen ; the urine and fseces
immediately escape.
The autopsy reveals slight hoemorrhagic oedema at the point of
inoculation, and hypersemia of all the viscera, especially of the liver
and spleen, with, very frequently, small haemorrhagic patches on
the surface of these organs, and on that of the intestine and
kidneys. The serous membranes, especially the meninges, endo-
cardium, pleurae, and peritoneum, exhibit ecchymoses ; the lungs
are besprinkled with small infarcts, the more numerous the slower
the intoxication. The blood remains fluid and laccate.
In poisoning by the venoms of ViPERiDiE, the ha3morrhagic
phenomena appear at the outset, and are more intense. Death is
always preceded by a period of asphyxia, indicating that the bulbar
nuclei of the pneumogastric nerve have become affected. At the
autopsy, however, the blood, instead of remaining fluid, is always
172 VENOMS
found to be coagulated into a mass in all the vessels; it afterwards
gradually becomes redissolved in six or eight hours, and then
appears laccate, as after poisoning by Cobra-venom, but darker.
All mammals exhibit the same symptoms after inosulation with
lethal doses of venom. The same applies to birds ; but in the
latter the period of asphyxia is much longer, probably on account
of the reserves of air accumulated in their air-sacs and pneumatic
bones. They gape like pigeons that are being suffocated, rest the
tip of the beak on the floor of the cage, and frequently have con-
\ulsive spasms of the pharynx, accompanied by flapping of the
wdngs. Small birds and even pigeons are extremely sensitive to
venom ; fowls are more resistant.
Frogs, thanks to their cutaneous respiration, succumb very
slowly. I have seen some survive for thirty hours after being
inoculated with a quantity of venom which, when subcutaneously
injected into a rabbit, causes death in ten minutes.
Lizards and chameleons succumb very rapidly. Grass Snakes
and non-venon]ous snakes in general withstand doses of venom
that in proportion to their weight are fairly large ; nevertheless,
as indeed we shall see in the sequel, they do not possess any
real immunity. It is only poisonous snakes that are unaffected
by enormous doses of their own venom, as has ah'eady been shown
by Fontana, Weir Mitchell, and Viaud Grand Marais. They are,
however, quite capable of being poisoned by snakes belonging to
altogether different species ; strong doses of Crotalus- or Lachesis-
venom are fatal to Cobras or Kraits, and, when several poisonous
snakes are sluit up together in the same cage, they are not in-
frequently seen to kill each other as the result of repeated bites.
Fishes, which are particularly sensitive to the venom of Hydro-
PHiii)^, readily succumb to inoculation with other venoms, such
as that of the Cobra. At Saigon, in 1891, I made experiments
upon the action of this latter venom on two specimens of the
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF SNAKE-VENOMS 173
fightinf^^ fishes, tliat the natives of Annam rear in aquariums in
order to witness their combats and make bets on them. The
fislies died five liours after intramuscular inoculation with a dose
which kills a pigeon in twenty minutes.
]Many invertebrates, such as leeches, crayfish, and gastropod
molluscs (snails), are killed by inoculation with very small quantities
of venom.
C. — Deteuminatiox of the Lethal Doses of Venom fou
Different Species of Animals.
It is very difficult to specify, even within broad limits, the dose
of venom necessary to kill a hunmn being. The quantity of poison
introduced by the bite of a venomous snake depends, as has alreadv
been stated, upon a large number of factors, and, very fortunately,
this quantity is not always sufficient to cause death. Thus in
India, that is to say in the region in which snakes are most
numerous and^ most dangerous, the mean mortality seems scarcely
to exceed 85 to 40 per cent., so far as it is possible to judge from
ofticial statistics. But, by experimenting upon animals, and com-
mencing with known doses of venom, which has first been dried
and then dissolved again in always the same quantity of physio-
logical saline solution or sterile distilled water, we can determine
exactly, for each kind of venom and for each species of animal,
the minimum lethal dose per kilogramme of animal.
The entire series of data collected by investigators who have
devoted themselves to this study may be summed up as follows : —
Minimal doses lethal in twenty-four hours for a guinea-pig
weighing from 600 to 700 grammes :--
COL UBRID.-E.
Venom of Naja tripudiauH ... ... ... 0-0002 f,n-ainnir
,, BiDu/arns ctcrnh'u.'i ... ... O'OOOG ,,
,, Naja haje ... ... ... ... U'OO.'J ,,
174
VENOMS
VIPERID^.
Venom of Vipera hcrus
, Viioera ritssellii (Daboia)
„ Lachesis lanccolatus
,, Lachesis mutus {Surucucii}
„ Lachesis neuiuiedii (Urutii)
„ Lachesis flavoviridis
,, Ancistrodon contortrix ...
004 gramme
0-001
0-02
0-02
0 02
0-007
0-015
Cohra-Menom. Dose lethal in twenty-four hours for different
animals : —
Dog
... 0-0008 graumie
per
kilogramme
Rabbit
... 0-0005
Guinea-pig ...
... 00004
!)
Eat
... 00001
150 grammes
Mouse
... 0-000003
25
Frog
... 00003
30
Venom of Bungarus cceruleus (Common Krait), according to
Elliot, Sillar, and Carmichael.^ Minimal lethal doses for : —
Frog ... ... ... 0-0005 gramme
Rat 0-001
Rabbit (by subcutaneous
injection) ... ... O'OOOOS ,, per kilogramme
Rabbit (by intravenous in-
jection, according to G.
Lamb) 0-00004 „
Venom of Enhijdr'uia valakadien (according to Elliot and
Eraser).- Minimal lethal doses per kilogramme: —
Rat
Rabbit
Cat
0-00009 grannue
0-00006 „
0-0002
Venom of EiiJiijdris curt us : —
Rat
0-0005 to 0-0006 grauame per kilogramme
' Fruc. Hoy. Sue, London, \xxi\ ., 1904, pp. 108-109.
- Ibid., pp. 1U4-1UK.
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTION OF SNAKE-VENOMS 175
Venom of Notechis scutafiis (syn. HoplocepJialus curtus ; the
Tiger Snake of Australia) : —
Eabbit (by intravenous in-
jection, according to
Tidswell) 000006 gramme per kilogramme
Venom of V'lpera riissellii (Daboia) : —
Rabbit (by intravenous in-
jection, according to G.
Lamb) 0-00005 gramme per kilogramme
Venom oi Lachesis gramineus (Green Pit-Viper, India) : —
Rabbit (by intravenous in-
jection, according to G.
Lamb) ... ... ... 0'002 gramme per kilogramme
Venom of Crotalus adamanteus (Californian liattle- Snake) : —
Rabbit (by intravenous in-
jection, according to Mc-
Farland, G. Lamb, and
Flexner and Noguchi) ... 0-00025 gramme per kilogramme
It will have been seen from the foregoing figures, that the
respective sensitiveness of the dog, cat, rabbit, guinea-pig, rat,
mouse, and frog, with regard to the same venom, is in no way
proportional to the weight of these animals.
The species mentioned are, per unit of weight, more or less
resistant to intoxication ; and, on experimenting with other animals,
as for instance the monkey, pig, ass, and horse, we find that
the monkey is much more susceptible to intoxication than the dog,
and that the ass is extremely sensitive (0010 gramme of Cobra-
venom is sufficient to kill it), while the horse is less so, and the pig
is by far the most resistant.
The same weight of dry Cobra-venom, let us say 1 gramme to
be precise, will enable us to kill 1,250 kilogrammes of dog, 2,000
kilogrammes of rabbit, 2,500 kilogrammes of guinea-pig, 1,430
kilogrammes of rat, or b,333 kilogrammes of mouse.
176 VENOMS
The lethal dose for a horse being, as I have ascertained by my
own experiments, about 0'0"25 gramme, 1 gramme of dry Cobra-
venom will therefore suffice to kill 20,000 kilogrammes of horse.
Assummg that man, in proportion to his weight, possesses
a resistance intermediate between that of the dog and that of the
horse, we may consider that the lethal dose for a human being is
.about O'OIS gramme. It follows, therefore, that 1 gramme of venom
would kill 10,000 kilogrammes of man, or, let us say, 165 persons of
an average weight of 60 kilogrammes.
Another extremely important fact, which must not be lost sight
of, is that differences of toxicity, which are often considerable, are
exhibited by the venoms of different specimens of the same species
of snake, or by the venom of the same snake collected at different
times. I have found, for instance, in the case of the specimens
of Naja and LacJiesis reared in my laboratory, that, according to
the length of time that the animals had been without food, and
to the nearness or otherwise of the moulting period, the venom
was more or less active, and that on evaporation it left behind
a more or less considerable quantity of dry extract. In certain
cases, immediately after the moult and after a prolonged fast, the
venom was ten times more active than after a plentiful meal or
before the moult.
The figures given above must therefore not be regarded as
determining the minimal lethal doses of the different venoms,
except in a purely comparative way, and they must be considered
only as data useful to know when it is desired to experiment upon
animals with these substances.
Variations of this kind are observed in the case of all species
of snakes. Thus Phisalix rightly insists upon the necessity of
always noting, besides the species of snake, the place of origin and
the season ; for he has himself seen that, as regards French vipers,
those of the Jura, for example, produce in the spring a venom
almost devoid of local phlogogenic action ; while vipers from the
vicinity of Clermont-Ferrand, though less toxic, produce much
more serious local effects.
THE rHYSIOLOaiCAL ACTION OF SNAKE-VJ^JNOMS 177
On the other hand, it has been shown by Th. Madsen and
H. Noguchi, in a very interesting study of venoms and anti-venoms,^
that, when we examine the relation between dose and toxicity, we
find that the interval separating the moment of inoculation from
that of death diminishes only up to a certain point in proportion
as the dose is increased. In the case of the guinea-pig, with
0"0005 gramme of Cobra-venom the interval is 3 hours 75 seconds ;
but after this, an increase in the dose produces only a relatively
inconsiderable acceleration of death. There is therefore no strict
ratio between the dose inoculated and the time that elapses until
death supervenes.
D. — Effects of A^enom in Non-lethal Doses.
When the quantit}' of venom introduced into the organism is
insufficient to cause death, the phenomena that precede and
accompany recovery differ very greatly according as the snake
from which the venom was derived belongs to the Colubrid.e
or YiPERID.E.
After a non-lethal bite from a Cobra or Krait, for example,
convalescence usually takes place very rapidly, and, apart from the
local oedema of the subcutaneous tissue surrounding the wound,
which in very many cases leads to the formation of a suppurating
abscess, no lasting injury to health is observed. The venom
is eliminated by the kidneys, without even causing albuminuria,
and sensation gradually returns, in twenty-four or forty-eight hours,
in the part affected by the original lesion.
If the bite has been inflicted by a Yiperine snake, the local
lesion, which is much more extensive, almost always results in the
formation of a patch of gangrene. Hsemorrhages from the mucous
membranes, and sanguineous suffusions into the serous cavities,
' " Communication cle I'lnstitut Serotherapique de I'Etat danois," tome i.,
Copenhagen, 1906.
12
178 VENOMS
such as the pleura or pericardium, may supervene more or less
slowly. Pulmonary infarcts are sometimes produced, as well as
desquamation and haemorrhage from the kidneys, albuminuria, or
haematuria. These lesions, which are more or less severe, last for
several days, and then slowly disappear after a period of true con-
valescence. In many cases they leave behind them traces which
last for months and even years, and they then more or less affect
the health of the subjects according to the organs that were most
most seriously affected.
In certain cases, in domestic animals such as dogs, and more
rarely in man, after recovery from the bite of a viper, total or
partial loss of sight, smell, or hearing, has been observed. Such
results, however, are fortunately exceptional.
179
CHAPTER YII.
PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING (continued).
Effects of the Various Venoms on the Different Tissues
OF the Organism.
The physiological effects of the various venoms are ver}^
different from those that we have just described, when these
toxic substances are introduced into the organism otherwise than
subcutaneously.
Their direct penetration into the blood-stream, whether by
the bite of the snake itself or by experimental intravenous injec-
tion, always produces immediate results. With the venoms of
ViPERiD.E, coagulation of the blood and, consequently, death are
almost instantaneous. With the venoms of Colubrid^, which,
on the contrary, destroy the coagulability of the blood, the toxic
effects are less rapid, but after the lapse of only a few minutes
asphyxia ensues and the death-struggle is very short.
Absorption by the serous membranes is slower, but is never-
theless effected much more quickly than when it takes place in
the subcutaneous cellular tissue. When cobra-venom is injected
into the peritoneal cavity of a rabbit or a guinea-pig, the local
effects upon the serous membrane are almost nil. No leucocytic
exudation is observed ; death supervenes before this has had
time to take place. The venoms of Viperid.5:, on the contrary,
produce, directly after their introduction into the peritoneum, an
enormous afflux of sanguinolent serosity ; the capillary vessels
of the serous membrane, immediately becoming distended, allow
the blood to filter through their walls, and the animal succumb§
180 VENOMS
after a few minutes, or a few hours, according to the dose injected,
with the peritoneum full of blood.
When deposited upon the mucous membranes of the eye, vagina,
or urethra, all venoms, those of Colubrid.e like those of Viperid^
— but the latter with greater intensity — cause very acute inflam-
mation, comparable to that produced by jequirity ; the capillaries
become distended, allow leucocytes to exude e)2 masse, and, as for
instance upon the eye of the rabbit, a purulent ophthalmia soon
establishes itself.
Certain species oi Sepedon (Colubrid.^), common on the West
Coast of Africa, especially in Senegambia and in the hinterland
of Dahomey, and to which the name Spitting Snakes has been
given, possess the faculty of projecting little drops of venom to
a distance by forcibly expelling the air from their lungs, and the
natives assert that this venom, when it happens to come into
contact with the eyes, causes blindness. This is true to a certain
extent, in so far as it produces attacks of purulent ophthalmia
which are often serious ; but these attacks, like those provoked
experimentally in animals, can be cured in a few da3's when
properly treated.
When absorbed by the digestive tract, the venoms of CoLU-
BRID.E often produce no ill-effects. It is otherwise with those
of ViPERiD.E. The venom of LacJiesis, for example, if adminis-
tered in sufficient doses, sets up acute inflammation of the gastric
mucous membrane, and the animals speedily succumb with attacks
of gastro-intestinal haemorrhage, even before it has been possible
for the toxic effects upon the nerve-cells to become apparent.
These facts explain the contradictions that are to be found
in the works of different investigators upon this subject. It is
affirmed by some writers that venom can be swallowed without
danger, and they even advise the sucking of venomous wounds in
order to hinder its absorption. Others, including Sir Joseph
Fayrer, Richards, and Weir Mitchell, have killed pigeons and
fowls by making them ingest venom of Yipcra russellii, or Croiahis.
THE rUYSIOLOGY UF rOISOMNG 181
C. J. Martin, in experimenting u])Ou rats with the vcuoni of
Pseudechis (Colubuid.^), has succeeded in keeping these animals
ah've for a whole week b}' providing them every day with a ration
of bread and milk mixed with a dose of venom one hundred
times greater than the lethal dose for a subcutaneous injection.
This innocuousness of the venoms of Colubrid.e, which I have
frequently been able to establish by causing them to be ingested by
different animals, is explained by the fact that the pancreatic juice
and the ptyaliu of the saliva very rapidly modify the proteic sub-
stances to which these venoms owe their toxicity, so that this
disappears. No trace of them is found in the fasces.
The glandular secretions of persons bitten by venomous snakes,
and those of animals inoculated w'ith doses of venom calculated
to kill only after a few hours, are not infrequently found to be
toxic. In the case of the urine in particular this has been shown
to be so.
Observations have also been recorded by C. Francis^ and Sir
Joseph Fayrer with reference to the passage of venom through the
mammary gland. In the year 1893 a poor Mussulman woman died
at Madras from the bite of a Cobra. She was nursing her child
at the time, and the latter succumbed in its turn a few hours later,
with all the symptoms of poisoning, although it had not itself been
bitten, and had been suckled by its mother only once since the
bite.
The histological lesions produced by snake poisoning have been
particularly well studied by Hindale,- Karlinski,^ Nowak,^ Louis
Yaillant-Hovius,' and Zeliony.''
' Indian Annals, July, 1868.
- Medical News, Philadelphia, 1884.
^ " Zur Pathologie des Schlangenbisses," Forschungcn dcr Mcdicin, Berlin,
1890.
* Atinales de VInstitut Pasteur, t. xii., 1898, p. 369.
'" These Bordeaur, 1902.
^ Virchow's Archivfnr Pathologie. Ajiatomir. und Physiologic, Band 179, 190.5.
182 Venoms
(1) Action upon the Liver.
Whether we are deaHno" with the venoms of Viperid^ or
'o
CoLUBRiD^, the anatomo-pathological processes are ahke, and the
changes produced are more or less profound, according to the
degree or the slowness of the intoxication.
The liver is more affected than any other organ. In cases in
which death has quickly followed the injection of the venom, the
protoplasm of the cells is merely cloudy, or granular, and the
granulations readily take a stain in their periphery, though the
interior remains uncoloured. If, on the contrary, the animal has
survived for some hours, the protoplasm becomes condensed in
certain parts of the cell, leaving vacuoles, the hmits of which
are not well defined. A portion of the cellular protoplasm is
necrosed and destroyed. In these cases the nuclei have already
undergone a change ; although their contours may be well defined,
we discover in their interior only a very little chromatin in the
form of small granulations, and the nuclear fluid takes a feeble
stain with basic colours, since it contains a little chromatin in
solution.
"When the protoplasm of the hepatic cells has suffered more
pronounced lesions, the changes in the nuclei are also more marked ;
the quantity of nuclear chromatin diminishes and slowly loses
its property of taking stains, in proportion as the protoplasm of
the hepatic cells undergoes necrosis ; finally, in the hepatic cell,
there remains nothing more than a small quantity of granular proto-
plasm without a nucleus (Nowak).
In certain cases we find extensive areas of fatty degeneration,
or small foci in which the hepatic tissue is absolutely destroyed.
In the case of the dog it may even happen that the microscopic
structure of the parenchyma has entirely disappeared. The arrange-
ment of the hepatic cells in lobules can no longer be distinguished ;
the trabecule are ruptured and broken asunder, and we find nothing
more than a confused agglomeration of cells floating in the extra-
vasated blood.
THE PHYSIOLOGY OP POISONING 183
111 animals which have hved for a long time after being poisoned,
lesions of the bile-ducts are also found. The epithelial cells have
undergone fatty degeneration, or else, in the case of small animals,
the ducts appear infiltrated with small mononuclear cells, which
penetrate between the epithelial cells of the canaliculi. Sometimes
also the latter cells are distended, and enclose large vacuoles.
Venom thus produces in the liver lesions of fattij degeneration,
or necrosis, and an infiltration of the bile-ducts by lymphatic cells.
(2) Action uroN the Kidney.
The changes in the kidney are also very extensive. The three
portions of the glomerulus often exhibit lesions ; the vessels of
the tuft show ectasia ; their walls are sometimes ruptured, and
the blood is extravasated into the capsular cavity. The latter
is filled with a granular exudation, which varies in amount with
the slowness of the intoxication. The epithelial lining of Bowman's
capsule is swollen ; the nucleus stains badly (Vaillant-Hovius).
In the tuhuli conforfi the lesions in the cehs greatly resemble
those seen in the liver. Granulations and vacuoles appear, and
the nucleus becomes diffuse. The lumens of the tubules are filled
with necrosed cells, and the brandies of Henle are found to be
similarly obliterated.
In the straight tubes and in the collecting tubes the epithelium
is sometimes detached in its entirety. Some of these canals are
obliterated by granular cylinders or by accumulations of epithelial
cells.
The vessels met with in the parenchyma of the kidney are
alwavs greatly distended, and sometimes they are torn, whence
there results the formation of small foci of interstitial hEemorrhage.
In many cases the extravasated blood also destroys the parenchyma.
(3) Action upon the Spleen, Heart, and Lungs.
In the spleen, Nowak merely found a little fatty degeneration,
and onlv in cases in which the lesions in the liver and kidneys
ISl VENOMS
were very far advanced. The same applies to the muscular fibres
of the heart. This organ exhibits, above all, hoemorrhagic infiltra-
tions in its peripheral portion, rarely in its substance.
The lungs are the seat of more important lesions. We find in
tbem a multitude of little infarcts. Around these the capillary
vessels are extremely dilated, and the pulmonary vesicles bave
become very small.
All these lesions of the visceral organs strangely resemble those
observed in the case of individuals wbo have died from yellow fever.
This observation has been made by several scientists, among others
by Sanarelli, and it is this perhaps that has suggested to some
(Dyer, of St. Louis, R. Bettencourt, of Suo-Paulo^) the idea of
treating — without much success, however — yellow fever by the
antitoxin of venom.
(4) Action upon the Striated Muscles.
The changes in the striated muscles in places at which venom
has been injected do not present any specific character. The
muscular fibres already become necrosed half an hour after the
injection ; the diseased tissue becomes permeated with an albumin-
ous mass rich in fibrin, and the blood is extravasated. A few
hours later we observe, between the bundles of degenerate muscle
fibres, polymorphous leucocytes. The number of these latter con-
stantly increases, and attains its maximum after one or two days.
Tbe muscular nuclei become distorted, appear long or angular, and
assume the aspect of myoblasts (sarcoblastic muscle cells). In the
protoplasm of the myoblasts we frequently find particles of broken-
down muscle, and globules of fat.
All these changes resemble those observed as the result of the
action of a host of other muscle poisons, especially the irritant or
caustic chemical substances.
^ Societe de Medecine et de Clururgie de Sao Paulo (Brazil), June 15, 1904.
THE I'HYSWLUdY OF ^Uh'6U^l^G 185
(5) AcTio.N" uruM THE Neevous Centres.
It is rxLremely difficult to deteniiine with an}' de<;ree of pre-
cision the nature of the lesions produced by venoms in the iicrvuus
systcDi. The intensity of these lesions depends in the first place
upon the length of time that has elapsed between the introduction
of the venom into the organism and death. It depends, secondarily,
in a large measure, upon the origin of the venom. That of the
YiPERiD.E acts almost exclusively upon the blood by coagulation,
and exhibits only a very slight degree of toxicity as regards the
nerve-cell. That of the Colubrid.e, on the contrary, produces
manifest changes in the chromatic substance. Nissl's bodies are
completely disintegrated, and transformed into a granular mass.
In the majority of the stichochromes neither the form of the bodies
nor even the reticulum is distinguishable. The nuclei are opaque,
the nucleoli swollen and broken up. The dendrites often become
irregular and contracted (Ewing and Bailey,^ G. Lamb").
It was found by Bailey that the majority of the cells of the
anterior cornua of the medulla are normal, but that a small number
of them exhibit indications of acute granular degeneration ; a few
cells were found to have lost almost all their chromatic substance.
From the physiological point of view it is perfectly clear that
Cobra-venom especially affects the bulbar centres, and particularly
the nuclei of origin of the pneumogastric nerve. We observe in
the first instance the gradual suppression of the functions vested
in the nerve-cells that are found in connection with the vagus
nerve, the spinal accessory, and the hypoglossal. Later on the
excitability of the nerve-endings in the muscles is found to have
been destroyed, and this action presents great similarity to that
of curare.
The venoms of Viperid.e, when injected in very weak doses,
exercise a paralysing action upon the reflex excitability of the
' Mcdiciil lirconl, September Id, 1900.
- Lancet, Jiuiuary 2, August 20, October 22, 1904, and September 2o, 190.5.
186 VENOMS
medulla. But it is open to question whether these effects are not
exclusively due to the lesions of the blood, which are here all-
predominant ; for no histological modification is observed in the
cells of the central nervous system.
I have made a number of experiments with a view to discover-
ing whether the cerebral, bulbar, or medullary substance of animals
susceptible to the action of Cobra-venom (rabbit, guinea-pig, fowl)
possesses the property of fixing this venom as it fixes the toxin of
tetanus (Wassermann and Takaki). I found that, on pounding up
a little of the pulp of the cerebral hemispheres or bulb with doses
of venom lethal in two hours for the control animals, the injection
of the mixture, well washed and centrifuged in order to free it from
all excess of non-fixed venom, always caused death, but with a
retardation of from four to ten Jiours. We see, therefore, that
partial fixation of the venom upon the nervous elements really
takes place, but we cannot conclude from this that these elements
exercise an antitoxic function, any more than in the case of tetanus,
for animals that receive cerebral emulsions in one thigh and the
dose of venom lethal in two hours in the other thigh, succumb at
the same time as the controls.
Major Eogers has made similar experiments with the venom
of Enhydrina (Hydrophiid^), and has obtained the same result
on employing the cerebral hemispheres of the pigeon.^
Flexner ai;d Noguchi,- on their jrart, have ccmpared, by aid
of the method of intracerebral injections, the toxicity of the
venom of Crotahis with that of the venom of the Cohra. On
employing Cobra-venom heated to 75° C, they found that the
convulsive and paralytic effects were immediate, contrary to what
takes place after subcutaneous or intraperitoneal injections, but
that the dose of venom necessary to produce death was the same
' Proceedings of the Royal Society, vol. Ixxi., 1908.
- " The Constiluticn of Snake-venom and Snake-sera," University of Penn-
sylvania Medical Bulletin, vol. xv., 1902, p. 345.
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING 187
(0"1 milligramme for the guinea-pig) as when the injection is made
in the peritoneum or heneath the skin.
With the venom of Crotalus heated for half an hour at 75° C,
which contains hut very little neurotoxm and has lost all its
haemorrhagic properties, 0"5 milligramme introduced directly into
the hrain of the guinea-pig only produces transitory and non-lethal
effects ; while, if fresh venom be employed, 0"05 milligramme is
sufficient to cause death in three hours, with severe haemorrhagic
lesions. Now this dose is twenty times smaller than the minimal
lethal dose for a subcutaneous injection.
It is evident that the harmful matter, in the particular case
of Crotalus-Yenom, is not the neurotoxin, but an altogether different
substance, termed by Flexner and Noguchi hcmnorrliagin, which
acts upon the elements of the blood and upon the endothelium
of the blood-vessels.
We shall meet with this substance again in almost all Vipeeine
venoms, and shall study it further on.
LSS
CHAPTER VIII.
PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING {continued).
Action of Venoms on the Blood.
On making an autopsy of an animal which has succumbed to
intoxication by snake-venom, we find that the blood in the heart
and large vessels is sometimes coagulated into a mass, sometimes
entirely fluid, and that, in certain cases, it is as black as prune-
juice, while in others it is of a fine transparent red colour.
These differences in the effects of venom upon the blood are
due to the fact that the various venoms contain in variable pro-
portions, besides the neurotoxic substance which represents the
true venomous tox'ut, other substances which act, some upon the
plasmasia or fibrin-ferment, or upon the fibrin, others upon the
red corpuscles, others on the leucocytes, and others again on the
endothelium of the blood-vessels.
A. — Effects of Venom on the Coagulation of the Blood.
It was observed long ago by Fontana^ that after viper-bites
the blood remains fluid, and Brainard' on the contrary, pointed
out that, in the case of animals tbat succumb very rapidly after
having been bitten by a Crotahis, the blood was always found
coagulated into a mass, while, when a certain interval of time
had elapsed since the bite, it remained fluid. Weir MitchelF
' Fontana, " On Poisons," translated by J. Skinner : London, 1787.
- SiiiifJisuiitini lu'porfs, 1854.
' SmitJisoniaii Coniribiiiioiii to Kiioiflcdyc, LS60.
' Tin-: PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING 189
explained these differences l)y the hypothesis that, in cases of
rapid deatli, the blood had not had time to become modified by
the venom.
Later on it was found by Sir Joseph Fayrer, and subsequently
by Halford,' in Melbourne, C. J. Martin,- in Sydney, G. Lainb,-^
in Bombay, and recently by Noc, in my laborator}', that the
venoms of Colubrid.e, especially those of Naja tripudians and
Australian species of this family, always leave the blood fluid
after death, while the venoms of Viperid.e, on the contrary, are
usually coagulant.
On the other hand, it was observed by Phisalix,^ and at an
earlier date by Mosso, of Turin, that the venom of Vipera her us
causes the blood of the dog to lose its coagulability, while, on the
contrary, the same venom is actively coagulant as regards the
blood of the rabbit.
How are these differences of action to be explained ? It was
found by Delezenne,^ who made an excellent study of the
phenomena following the injection of peptone, extracts of organs,
and other anti-coagulant substances into the organism, that those
of these substances that render the blood non-coagulable always
dissolve the leucocytes, and thus set at liberty two antagonistic
bodies which they contain. One of these substances is coagulant
and is found retained by the liver, while the other remains in
solution in the plasma, .and keeps the blood fluid after issuing
from the vessels.
Now, certain extracts of organs, ricin, abrin and certain venoms
in weak doses, retard coagulation, while in large doses, on the
contrary, they produce partial or general intravascular clotting.
It is believed by Delezenne that the explanation of this
' Medical Times and Gazette^ vol. ii., 187o.
- " On tlie Phj-siological Action of the A'enoni of the AustraHan Bhick Snake,"
Proreedinfjs of the Royal Society of Neic Soutli Walcf, July, lH9.j.
■' Indian Medical Ga;^ette, December, 1901.
■• Comjjfes rendus dc la Socicic dr Biohxjic, Xovcniber 4, 1899.
•■■ Ibid., October 28, 1899.
190 ■ VENOMS
phenomenon may be that the doses, which are, weak but sufficient
to produce the disintegration of the leucocytes, injure the red
corpuscle in only a slight degree, while the stronger doses are
equally destructive to the two kinds of blood corpuscles.
It follows that we must understand that there are two phases
in the actioti of venoms : one negative, when the dose absorbed
does not injure the leucocytes ; the othev 2'>ositive, when the leuco-
cytes are destroyed.
If the blood of the dog remains non-coagulable when mixed
with doses of venom which, on the contrary, are actively coagulant
for the blood of the rabbit, the reason would be that the leucocytes
of these animals are not equally resistant to venom.
This conception, however, does not conform to the facts that
I have myself observed. I have always found that viper-venom,
mixed with citrate- or oxalate-plasma of the dog, rabbit, or horse,
coagulates these various plasmas when the venom is in weak doses,
while with strong doses coagulation is not produced. To be quite
accurate, it should be stated that the quantity of venom necessary
to render the plasma of the dog, or of the horse, non-coagulable
is less than that which must be employed in the case of the plasma
of the rabbit.
I have caused Noc to take up anew the study of this question
in my laboratory, with venoms of nine different origins, and
I here give a resume of the results of his researches.^
I. Coagulant Venoms.
The venoms of Viperid^ studied range themselves as follows
according to their coagulant power : —
Crotalin^ : Lachesis lanceolatus (Fer-de-lance, Martinique).
Lachesis neuioiedii (Urutu, Brazil).
Lachesis mutus (Bushmaster, or Surucucu, Brazil).
Lachesis flavoviridis (Japan) .
ViPERiN^ : Vipera russellii (Daboia, India).
' Annates de Vlnstitut Pasteur, June, 1904,
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING 191
The venoms of Ancistrodon contortrix and^. piscivorus (Cro-
talin.e) proved entirely inactive.
No CoLUBRiNE venom exhibited coagulant power, whatever the
dose employed.
There is, therefore, a very decided difference between venoms
of divers origins as regards their effects upon the coagulation of
the blood.
Noc has determined more especially the coagulant action of
the venom of Lachesis lanceolatus (Fer-de-lance of Martinique)
upon 1 per cent, citrate-plasmas, 1 per cent, oxalate-plasmas, 4 per
cent, chloridate-plasmas, and upon blood rendered non-coagulable
by extract of leeches' heads. He found that, while weak doses of
venom (1 milligramme per cubic centimetre of horse- or rabbit-
plasma) produce coagulation in a few minutes in the citrate-
plasmas, chloridate-plasmas, or those treated with extract of
leeches, the doses of the same venom greater than 4 milligrammes
on the contrary suppress the coagulability of these plasmas, even
when there be added to them doses of chloride of calcium (for the
citrate- and oxalate-plasmas), or of distilled water (for the chlori-
date-plasma), or of fibrin-ferment (for the plasma treated with
leech-extract) sufficient to cause rapid coagulation in the control
tubes that do not contain venom.
Noc also observed that the venom of the same species of snake
{Lachesis lanceolatus), when heated to 75° C.,, entirely loses its
coagulant properties ; and that, wuth a temperature of 58'^ C, its
coagulant power already commences to diminish. When heated
for thirty minutes at a temperature of 65' C, a dose of 1 miUi-
gramme does not coagulate more than 1 c.c. of citrate-plasma
in one hour. G. Lamb has likewise found that the venom of
Vipera russeUii loses its coagulant power when heated to 75 C.
The coagulant substance in these venoms is precipitable by,
alcohol at the same time as the neurotoxin and other active sub-
stances. The precipitate, when dissolved again in physiological
water, preserves all the properties of the original solution.
19-2 VENOMS
Antivenomous anticoliihrine serara, that is to say, that fur-
nished by horses vaccinated against the venoms of the Cobra and
the Krait, does not prevent coagulation by coagulant venoms.
This need not surprise us, since the coagulant substances in venoms
are destroyed by heating, and the animals vaccinated in order to
obtain antitoxic serum are usually inoculated exclusively with
heated venoms.
It is easy, however, to obtain active serums specific against
the coagulant venoms ; it is sufficient to treat these animals by
inoculation with progressively increasing doses of the same venoms
unheated. I have had no difficulty in achieving this result with
small laboratory animals (guinea-pigs and rabbits) and also with
the horse, but I have never had at my disposal a sufficient amount
of the venoms of Lachesis or Vipera riis>ieUii to undertake with
them the regular acquisition of large quantities of horse-serum,
at once antlneurotoxlc and anticoagukoif. Tlie preparation of such
a serum, nevertheless, presents much interest for certain countries,
such as Burma, where the Daboia (^Vipera m.^.'^ellii} is almost as
common as the Cobra, and Brazil, where nearly all the casualties
due to venomous snakes are produced by Lachesis.^
II. — ANTICOAGULA.NT VeNOMS.
Contrary to what is observed with the venoms of VirEiiiD.E in
general, all the venoms of Colubrid.e and, as exceptions to the
rule, the venoms of some North American Crotalin^ {Ancistrodon
contortrix and A. pisclvorus) suppress the coagulability of the
blood in vivo and in vitro. It is, however, important to observe
that, in vivo, the blood remains fluid after death only if the dose of
venom absorbed has been sufficient. In vitro this phenomenon is
easier to study, and has been the subject of several important
memoirs.
' At the Serum-therapic Laboratory of Sfio Paulo (Brazil), Dr. Vital, Brazil,
is at the present time preparing serum specific against Lachesis-yQuonx
THE rilYSIOLOGY OF POISOMNa 193
llallbi-d/ Sir Joseph Fayrcr,- C. J. Mai-tiu,-'' Delozenne,' Phisalix;^
and lastly Noc,'^ have shown that the venoms of Colubrii).e exert
a manifestly anticoagulant action upon citrate-, chloridate-, or oxalate-
plasmas, and also upon blood mixed with venom on issuing fiom
the vessels.
On adding 1 milligi'amme of Cobra-, BioKjdrus-, Australian
Pseudechis-, or A ncistroclon-Yenom to 1 c.c. of citrate-, oxalate-,
or chloridate-plasma, and supplementing the mixture, after varying
periods of contact, with a quantity of chloride of calcium (for the
citrate- or oxalate-plasmas), or distilled \vater (for the saline
plasma) sufficient to produce coagulation in a few minutes in the
control tubes without venom, we find that coagulation no longer
takes place after one hour in the tubes containing Cobra- or
Bungarus-venom., and after ten minutes in those that contain the
venom of Ancistrodon.
In doses less than 1 milligramme for 1 c.c. of plasma, these
venoms by themselves never produce coagulation as do those of
Lachesis or Vipera russellii. They are thus sharply differentiated
in this respect.
If fresh blood issuing from the arteries of an animal be received
in a vessel containing a sufficient quantity of CoLUBEiNE-venom
(that of the Cobra for example), and steps be immediately taken to
ensure the perfect mixture of the venom and the blood, we find that
the latter has entirely lost its coagulability, just as though it had
been mixed with peptone or extract of leeches' heads.
Again, if a mixture be made in vitro of coagulant venoms, such
• Medical Times and Gazette, vol. ii., 1873.
- " The Thanatophidia of India.'' Churchill, London, 1872.
* " On the Physiological Action of the Venom of the Australian Black Snake,"
Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales, July 8, 189;j.
•' Archives biologiqiies, 1897 and 1898 ; Coviptes rendus de la Socirte de Bio-
logie, October 28, 1899.
^ Covqjtes rendus de la Societc de Biologic, October 28, 1899 ; November 4,
1899 ; July 26, 1902.
" Annales de VInsiitut Pasteur, June, 1904.
^3
194 VENOMS
as that of the LacJiesis, with anticoaj^ulaiit venoms such as that of
the Cobra or of Ancisirodoii, it is found that these mixtures, when
properly effected, become neutral, so that the respective effects of
the component venoms are entirely destroyed. Assmning, for
instance, that 1 milligramme of Lachcsis-Yenoni coagulates in two
minutes 1 c.c. of 1 per cent, citrate rabbit-plasma, if we add to the
plasma firstly 1 milligramme of Ancistrodon-, or 1 milligramme of
Cohra-yenoin, and then 1 milligramme of Lachesis-venoni, the
plasma remains non -coagulated, yet coagulates perfectly on the
subsequent addition of 1 c.c. of a | per cent, solution of chloride
of calcium.
There is, therefore, a real antagonism between the actively
coagulant substance contained in certain Viperine venoms and
the anticoagulant substance comprised in the venoms of certain
other ViPERiD.E {Ancistrodon), belonging to the subfamily Cuo-
TALiN^, and in those of all the Colubrid^.
The conclusion to be deduced from the foregoing facts is that
the venoms of Colubrid^ and those of certain Viperid^ are
decidedly anticoagulant, while the majority of the venoms of
ViPERiDiE, on the contrary, possess strong coagulant properties,
even when mixed with blood in infinitesimal doses.
The question therefore arises why these coagulant Viperine
venoms suppress the coagulability of the blood when mixed with it
in vitro in strong doses (for example, in doses beginning from
4 milligrammes of LacJtesis-Yenom, or 7 milligrammes of the venom
of Vipcra riisscUii for 1 c.c. of 1 per cent, citrate rabbit-plasma).
The explanation of this apparently contradictory phenomenon
is furnished by the intense proteolysis that these Viperine venoms
exert upon fibrin, in solution or coagulated. This proteolysis
actually manifests itself with weak coagulant doses, for the compact
clots formed at the outset soon become soft and then dissolve,
like a cube of egg-albumen in an experiment in artificial digestion
by trypsin. We shall revert to the subject later on.
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING V.K,
III. — Mechanism of the Anticoagulant Action of Venoms on
THE Blood.
The anticoagulant action of the venoms of Colubrid.e and of
Ancistrodon upon the blood appears to take effect in the first place
upon the fibrin-ferment, and afterwards upon the fibrin by proteo-
lysis. The action on tlie fibrin-ferment seems manifest when we
experiment with anticoagulant venoms which are feebly proteolytic,
like the venom of the Cobra.
I have already stated that a mixture of fresh blood with a suffi-
cient dose of Cohra-venovn is non-coagulable, as though the blood
on issuing from the animal had been mixed with peptone or leech-
extract. But, while blood when peptonised or mixed with leech-
extract coagulates readily on the subsequent addition of fibrin-
ferment, blood mixed with venom remains positively non-coagulable.
It is the same with citrate- or oxalate-plasmas, which no longer
coagulate when chloride of calcium is added to them, and with
4 per cent, saline plasma on the addition of distilled water.
The anticoagulant substance in the venoms of Colubrid.^ and
Ancistrodon is precipitable by alcohol, hke the coagulant substance
in the venoms of Viperid^e and like the neurotoxins, from which
it is difficult to separate them. The separation can nevertheless
be effected by the aid of heat, if we make use of certain venoms
that are particularly resistant to high temperatures, such as those
of the Cobra or the Era it. These latter venoms, when heated for
one hour at 70° C, cease to be anticoagulant, and preserve tJieir
toxicitij unimpaired. It is, however, impossible to suppress the
toxicity without at the same time destroying the anticoagulant
substance.
Antivenomous serum completely protects citrate- or chloridate-
plasmas against . the anticoagulant action of venoms. It is
sufficient to mix \ c.c. of 4 per cent, saline antivenomous serum
with 1 c.c. of 4 per cent, saline plasma to ensure that the subse-
quent addition of 1 milligramme of Co/;ra-venom to this mixture
remains without effect upon the coagulability of the latter. If.
196 VENOMS
after a contact of two hours or more, '2 c.c. of distilled water be
added, coagulation is produced just as in saline plasma without
venom.
B.~ Effects of Venom upon the red Corpuscles.
(1) Hceniolysis. — The hoemolytic properties of venoms, that is
to say, their faculty of dissolving the red corpuscles, have been
the subject of very important researches on the part of a number
of investigators during the last few years (W. Stephens,^ Flexner
and Noguchi,-' Calmette/'' Phisalix,^ Preston Kyes and Hans Sachs,''^
Noc«).
The different venoms are all hsemolytic, but in very variable
doses. It is possible to make a very precise comparative study of
them from this special point of view by taking as a base for each
venom, as was done by Noc, the unital dose of 1 milligramme
(or one-tenth of a cubic centimetre of a 1 per cent, solution freshly
prepared and not filtered, the filtration through porcelain retaining
an appreciable part of the active substance), and noting the time
strictly necessary for this dose of 1 milligramme to dissolve com-
pletely, ill vitro, 1 c.c. of a 5 per cent, dilution of red corpuscles of
the horse in physiological saline solution.
It is very important, before allowing the venom to act on the
red corpuscles, to first wash the latter by means of several suc-
cessive centrifugings with 8 per 1,000 physiological saline solution.
It is also better to choose the corpuscles of the horse in
preference to those of other species of animals, since they exhibit
' Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology, 1899-1900.
- Journal of Experimental Medicine, March 17, 1902 ; TJnivcrsiig of Pcnn-
sylvania Medical Bulletin, November, 1902.
^ Compiefi reiidus de V Academic des Sciences, .Tune 16, 1902.
'' Comptes rendus de la Societe de Biologic, No. 27, 1902.
■■' Berliner Uijiische WocJienschrift, Nos, 38, 89, 1902 ; Nos. 2-4, 1903 ; Nos.
42-43, 1903.
•■ Annales de rinntitut Pa.^fcur, 1904, p. 387.
Till-: riiYsioTj^ay of r(JisoxiXG 197
a nearly constant mean sensitivit3^ The corpuscles of the ox,
goat, sheep, and rahhit are less sensitive. Those of man, the
guinea-pig, and the rat, on the contrary, are more so.
On experimenting with trashed corpuscles, it is found that
venom alone is incapable of dissolving them. In order that dis-
solution may take place, we are obliged to add to the mixture
either a small quantity of normal horse-serum, preferably heated,
and, consequently, deprived of alexin (Calmette), or i c.c. of a 1 in
10,000 solution of lecithin in physiological saline water (P. Kyes).
Venom, therefore, is capable of hsemolysing red corpuscles only
when it is quickened, either by heated normal serum, or by lecithin.
The solution of lecithin employed for this purpose should be pre-
pared by dissolving 1 gramme of lecithin in 100 grammes of pure
methylic alcohol. Taking 1 c.c. of this dilution we add it to 9 c.c.
of 8 in 1,000 saline solution, and make a second dilution of 1 c.c. of
the foregoing mixture in 9 c.c. of saline water. This latter dilution
of 1 in 10,000 is utilised as the reagent.
Let us now see how tbe serum or lecithin acts. It has been
shown by P. Kyes that with either of these substances the mecha-
nism of the haemolytic action is the same, for the serum quickens
the venom only through the agency of the free lecithin it contains.
The lecithin takes part in the reaction by combining with the
venom to form a haemolysing lecithide more resistant to heat than
its two components, for it may be heated for several hours at a
temperature of 100° C, without the loss of any of its properties.
When venom is brought into contact with certain kinds of
highly sensitive red corpuscles, those of the rat for example, these
corpuscles, although washed and freed from serum, may undergo
hsemolysis. This result is due to the fact that these corpuscles
contain sufiicient quantities of lecithin, which becomes liberated
from their protoplasm and, uniting with the venom, constitutes
the active lecithide.
It was already known that lecithin is capable of combining
wdth various albuminoid matters and with sugars to form lecithides.
198 VENOMS
AVe must not, therefore, be surprised to find that such a combination
may take phice with the proteic substances in venom. The com-
bination in this case is a truly chemical one. Lecithin in its
natural state, or that which is normally found in serums which
quicken venom, such as horse-serum, even*when heated to 65° C,
therefore plays the })art of complement according to Ehrlich's
theory, or that of alexin according to the theory of Bordet, while
venom itself would be an anihoccptor or sensifiscr.
This is not, however, the way in which the phenomenon should
be understood, for it is impossible to admit the identification of
heated serum or lecithin with the complementary substances or
alexins, seeing that the essential characteristic of the latter is that
they are intolerant of heat and become entirely inactive on being
raised to a temperature of 58'' C, or even by simply being kept
for a few days exposed to the air and light. "We must therefore
suppose, with P. Kyes and H. Sachs, that the red corpuscles them-
selves contain substances capable of playing the part of comple-
ments {endo - complement s) , and that it is with these that the venom
combines when quickened by the presence of lecithin or heated
serum, the latter only acting because it contains free lecithin.
All substances that contain lecithin, such as bile, hot milk, or
cephalin, are capable of exerting the same quickening action, but
do not themselves possess any inherent haemolytic power.
Cholesterin, on the contrary, represents a kind of antidote
to lecithin, as also to normal serums. It prevents h£emolysis of
the red corpuscles in a mixture of washed corpuscles and venom,
yet it does not in any way modify the properties of true alexins or
complements.
Moreover, no correlation exists between lecithides and the neuro-
toxin in venoms. The combination lecithin + venom possesses hemo-
lytic action, but is in no way neurotoxic. Conversely, venom can
be freed from its groups of molecules combinable with lecithin,
and remain neurotoxic.
LecitJiidc is insoluble in ether and acetone, but soluble in
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING 199
cliloroforiii, alcohol, toluene, and water. Its properties are there-
fore entirely distinct from those of its two components. It pre-
cipitates slowly from its aqueous solutions, without losing its
hoemolytic power ; it docs not show hluret-ie^ciion ; it dissolves
with equal readiness the red corpuscles of all species of animals,
and its effects, like those of venom, are impeded hy cholesterin.
Kyos has succeeded in obtaining lecithides with all the haemo-
lytic venoms that he was able to study : thus he has prepared
lecithides from Lachesis lanceolatus, Naja haje, Bimgarus, Lachesis
Jiavoviridis, and Crotalu.'^. It is therefore probable that the lecithino-
phile group exists in all venoms, even when these differ as regards
their other properties.
A wide range of difference is exhibited by the various venoms,
as regards their hasmolysing power in the presence of normal heated
serum or lecithin. The venom of Naja and that of Bungarus are
the most active. The action of the venoms of Viperidje, and
especially of those of Crotalus, is very weak. For example, while
1 milligramme of Cohra-wenoni dissolves in from five to ten
minutes 1 c.c. of a 5 per cent, dilution of red corpuscles in the
presence of lecithin or normal heated serum, the same dose of
the venom of Vipera russcUil takes thirty minutes to effect the
dissolution, and the venom of Lachesis lanceolatus takes three
hours.
P. Kyes and H. Sachs have discovered the apparently para-
doxical fact that, if to the red corpuscles of certain species of
animals Coira-venom be added in increasing doses, haemolysis
augments up to a certain point, beyond which the destruction
of the corpuscles shows progressive diminution. In a large dose
Cohra-venoYH no longer produces any effect upon the corpuscles
of the horse, for example, even when the venom is added in
presence of a great excess of lecithin or heated serum. It would
seem, then, that, according to the theory of Ehrlich, under the
influence of an exaggerated amount of venom-amboceptor there
is produced a deviation on the part of the complement (serum or
200 VENOAIS
lecithin), and that the latter, instead of fixing itself upon the
corpuscles, becomes united with the surplus fraction of the ambo-
ceptors, which has remained free in the liquid.
Noguchi,^ resuming the study of this extremely curious action
of strong doses of venom, observed that the red corpuscles of
certain species of animals (such as the horse for example), when
previously washed and held in suspension in a physiological
solution of sea-salt containing 4 per cent, ol: Cobra-venom, acquire
a considerable augumentation of resisting power with regard to
various physical and chemical agents. In consequence of this they
are no longer hsemolysed by distilled water, ether, or saponin.
Nevertheless, acids or alkalies, except ammonia, destroy cor-
puscles treated with venom more easily than those in their normal
condition.
If corpuscles, previously treated with a strong dose of venom,
are subjected to repeated washings in physiological saline solution,
the special resistance acquired by them in the presence of the
venom disappears ; they even become more sensitive to the action
of destructive agents, such as water, ether, or saponin.
The principle contained in venom, to which must be attributed
the protective action, is not destroyed by heating to 95° C, although
at this temperature Cobra-Yenom becomes partially coagulated.
Moreover, the protective substance is contained in the coagulum,
while the lucDioIijsiii remains entirely in the filtrate. The agglutinin
of venom, on the other hand, is destroyed at a temperature of
75° C. The protective substance, therefore, can be identified
neither with the hsemolysin nor with the agglutinin.
It follows that it is impossible to accept the hypothesis of the
" deviation of the complement " suggested by Kyes and Sachs to
explain the innocuousness of strong doses of venom. Besides, it
would l)e difficult to reconcile this hypothesis with the fact,
observed by Noguchi, that venom in a strong dose protects cor-
' Journal of Experim-nfal MnJiriiir, 1905. No. 2. pp. 191-222.
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING 201
piiscles, not 011I3' against the action of lecithin (complement),
hut also against distilled water, ether, &c.
Nogiichi, seeking more thoroughly to elucidate the mechanism
of this protective action, finds that Cobra-venom forms a precipitate
with hlood-serum, when the latter is relatively poor in salts or
when it is diluted with water. It likewise forms a precipitate with
the aqueous extract of red corpuscles, and precipitates the globulins,
haemoglobin, or globin of the corpuscle, when treated separately.
The precipitates are insoluble in water, but dissolve with the
assistance of a small quantity of acid or alkali, and also in a great
excess of saline solution.
Noguchi supposes that red corpuscles, when treated with strong
solutions of venom, are protected against destructive agents on
account of the formation by the venom and certain constituents
of the corpuscle (chiefly haemoglobin) of a compound insoluble
in water. When this compound is removed by repeated washings
in physiological solution, the corpuscles can easily be haemolysed
afresh by the ordinary destructive agents. Venom, none the less,
exerts a noxious influence upon the corpuscles in all cases ; but
when strong solutions are employed, this effect is masked by the
protective action.
All kinds of red blood corpuscles are not equally sensitive to
the protective action of strong doses of venom. In this respect
all degrees are observed in the action of venom. Thus the cor-
puscles of the dog are not protected at all by Cobra-xenom. But
it is interesting to observe that this venom in no way precipitates
either the aqueous extract of dog's corpuscles, or the haemoglobin,
or the globin of this animal.
The venom of Crotalus and that of Ancistrudoii likewise possess
protective power, which is, however, less marked than in the case
of Co ira- venom.
Noguchi finally points out that corpuscles treated with venom
are not hfemolysed by fluorescent substances such as eosin. They
are also refractory to the haemolysing action of tetanolysin.
202 VENOMS
The resistance of the hgemolysins of venom to heat (wliich,
according to Morgenroth, may extend to heating for thirty minutes
at a temperature of 100° C.) explains how it is that the serum
of horses immunised by means of venoms heated to 72" C. is
distinctly antihsemolysing, and capable of perfectly protecting the
red corpuscles in vitro and ui vivo.
I have been able to prove that the antineurotoxic property of
antitoxic serums with regard to the venoms of Colubrid^ is
pretty much on a par with their antihremolysing property, so that
it is possible to measure in vitro the antitoxic activity of a serum
by establishing the degree of its antihosmolysing activity. Thus
we see that a serum, which is antitoxic and antihsemolytic with
respect to the venom of Naja, is likew^ise antihasmolytic as
regards the other CoLUBRiNE-venoms, and even certain venoms
of ViPERiD^. Here we have a very important fact, for it enables
us to measure in vitro the activity of antivenomous serums.
(2) PrecipitinH of Venonifi. — The serum of rabbits treated with
increasing doses of Cobra-yenom precipitates the latter in more
or less concentrated solution. It has no effect as regards other
venoms. On the other hand, the serum of a strongly immunised
horse, the antivenomous power of which was pretty considerable,
gave no precipitate with Cobra-Yenom. ; the formation of precipitate
is therefore entirely independent of that of antitoxins (G. Lamb).^
(3) Agglutinins of Venoms. — Besides their hgemolytic action,
it is easy to observe that certain venoms, especially those of
ViPERiDiE, agglutinate the red corpuscles, and that the substance
that produces this agglutination is different from the htemolysing
substance; for it acts rapidly at a ten]perature of 0" C, at which
haemolysin manifests its effects only with extreme slowness.
Heating to 75" C. destroys this agglutinant property (Flexner and
Noguchi).
'Lancet, April 2, 1904, pp. 916-921.
THE rilYSWLUGY UF FOISOXING 203
C. — Effects of Venom upon the White Corpuscles : Leucolysin.
The white corpuscles themselves do not escape the action of
venom. It is possible in vitro to prove this action upon leucocytic
exudations obtained, e.g., b}' injecting sterilised cultures of BaciUitfi
megatherium into the pleura or peritoneum of the rabbit. After
a few hours this exudation is removed by means of capillary tubes,
and, on mixing these with weak doses of venom, we see, in the
course of a microscopic examination, that the large mononuclear
cells are the first to be dissolved, then the polj'nuclears, and lastly
the lymphocytes. The leucolysis is much more intense and more
rapid with Cohra-xenora than with that of Crofalus (Flexner and
Noguchi, Noc).
204
CHAPTER IX.
PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING {continued).
PitOTEOLYTic, Cytolytic, Bacteriolytic and various Dias-
TAsic Actions of Venoms : Diastasic and Cellular
Action on Venoms.
A. — Proteolytic Action.
The proteolytic action of venoms on gelatine, fibrin, and egg-
albumen has been studied by Flexner and Noguchi,^ Delezenne,^
and subsequently by Noc^ in my laboratory. It was already known
that in vivo certain venoms exert a manifestly dissolving action on
the endothelium of blood-vessels and on the muscular tissues
themselves.
Delezenne, on his part, has established the existence in snake-
venoms of a kinase analogous to the kinase of leucocytes and
enterokinase. Venom alone does not attack egg-albumen coagu-
lated by heat, but it confers an exceedingly strong digestive power
on inert pancreatic juices.
Lachefiis-YenoTa has been found to be much the richest in
kinase. It digests gelatine perfectly, and when this substance
has been subjected to its action it is no longer capable of being
solidified.
Lannoy,^ on the other hand, experimenting upon albuminoid
' " The Constitution of Snake-venoins and Snake-sera," Vniverfiity of
Pennsylvania Medical Bulletin, vol. xv., November, 1902, p. 345.
- Comjites rendus de VAcademie des Sciences, August 11, 1902.
^ Annales de Vh^stitut Pasteur, June, 1904.
^ " Sur Taction proteolvtique des renins, " Comptes rend /is de VAcademie des
Sciences, September, 1902, and These Paris, No. 1,138, 1903.
THE riiYsiuLoay of puisumxg 205
substances (casein, albumins of ox-serum) in solution, has shown
that Cohra-Yenom and that of Vipcra disintegrate the albuminoid
molecule ; but the latter remains soluble after the addition of
formol and is no longer precipitable by acetic acid. The hydro-
lysis never leads to the stage of peptone, but only to the forma-
tion of albumoses which give biuret-reaction.
The action of venoms upon fibrin may be demonstrated in vitro
by bringing sufficient quantities of venom, 1 centigramme, for
example, into contact with small fragments of non-heated fibrin,
derived from blood clots from an ox, rabbit, or birds, and carefully
washed. These fragments soon separate from each other, and
become dissolved in a space of time which varies according to the
venom used. The ViPERiNE-venoms, especially those of Lachesis
and Ancistrodon, are the most active. F^^jer-venom is much less
so, and the venoms of CoLUBRiDiE are the slowest.
This proteolytic action of the various venoms corresponds pretty
exactly to their coagulant and decoagulant action on rabbit- or
horse-plasma, so that, as I have already stated, we must suppose
that the property possessed by ViPERiNE-venoms of more or less
rapidly dissolving blood which they have caused to coagulate,
results from the fact that these venoms contain, in addition to a
coagulant substance, another substance which is strongly proteolytic.
The latter is destroj^ed by heating. Lachesis-wenom, when
heated to 70° C, no longer has any dissolving action on either
gelatine or fibrin. Moreover, antivenomous serum furnished by
horses vaccinated against heated venoms does not prevent proteo-
lysis by non-heated venoms. On the other hand, the serum of
animals vaccinated against YiPERiNE-venoms, simply filtered by
the Chamberland process and non-heated, affords perfect protec-
tion to gelatine and fibrin against the dissolving action of these
venoms.
206 VENOMS
B. — Cytolytic Action.
Simon Flexner and Noouchi^ have observed that the venoms
of Naja, Ancistrodon, Crotalus, Vipera riisscUii, and Lachesis
flavor i lid is, contain substances which possess the property of dis-
solving a large number of the cells of warm-blooded and cold-
blooded animals, and that these cytolysins are very markedly
resistant to high temperatures.
They employed for their experiments 5 per cent, emulsions
of organs, spermatozoids, or ova in physiological saline solution.
The solution of venom at a strength of 1 per cent. was. kept
in contact with the different kinds of cells for three hours at
a temperature of 0 C. ; the liquid was then centrifuged and
examined with the naked eye and under the microscope.
The venoms experimented upon dissolved more or less rapidly
the parenchymatous cells of the liver, kidney and testicle of
the dog, guinea-pig, rabbit, rat and sheep. The most active
venoms in this respect were those of Vipera russelUi, Ancistrodon
and the Cobra; the venom of Crotalus was the least active.
With regard to the nerve-cells, spermatozoids and ova of
cold-blooded animals (frogs, fish, arthropods, worms, and echino-
derms) Cobra-Yeiiom. proved to be the most active ; then that
of Ancistrodon, and lastly that of Crotalus.
These cytolysins are not destroyed by heating for thirty minutes
at 85° C. in a damp medium, nor by dry heating for fifty minutes
at 100 C.
C. — Bacteriolytic Action.
If we bring into contact with a 1 per cent, solution of Cohra-
venom, rendered aseptic by filtration through porcelain, sensitive
micro-organisms, such as the cholera vibrio, or the bacterium
of anthrax in a very young non-sporulated culture, or in its
' "On the Plurality of Cytolysins in Snake-venom,'' University of Pcnn-
tnjliuuiia Medical Bnllclin, \o\. xvi., 190o, p. 16o.
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING 207
non-spore-producing variety, wc find that these microbes arc dis-
solved by the solution of venom in varying periods of time.
On making a direct microscopical examination we see that
Koch's vibrios become immovable, then break up into granulations
and disappear in the liquid. The bacteriolysis is even more dis-
tinct in the case of the bacteritnn. The enveloping membrane
seems to dissolve, and the microbe appears as though composed
of a series of granulations placed end to end, which finally disperse
and disappear.
By my instructions this bacteriolytic property of venom with
respect to different species of micro-organisms was studied by Noc.
It was especially clearly seen with the non-spore-producing bac-
terium of anthrax, the cholera vibrio, Staphylococcus aureus, the
bacillus of diphtheria, and B. suhtilis in a young culture ; it is less
distinct with B.pestis, B. coll, and B. typhi, is almost nil with the
pyocyanic bacillus and B. prodigiosus, and nil with B. tuberculosis.
Investigations have likewise been made by Noc, and subse-
quently by Goebel,^ in order to determine whether cobra-venom
dissolves Trypanosomes. These haematozoa are more resistant
than bacteria, but they nevertheless end by being dissolved after
twenty to thirty minutes' contact in the 1 per cent, solution.
The bacteriolytic substance in venom is distinct from that
which produces proteolysis, for the latter is destroyed at 80^ C,
while the former only disappears with a temperature of and beyond
85° C. maintained for half an hour. It is likewise distinct from the
haemolysin, for this resists temperatures considerably higher than
85^ C. Moreover, venom which has dissolved- microbes until the
saturation point has been reached, is found to have .preserved in its
entirety its haemolytic power upon the red corpuscles of the horse.
Neither does it act upon the microbes owing to the presence of
a cytase or alexin. The well-known characteristics of alexins are
not met with here — destruction at 55° to 50" C, sensitivity to hght,
rapid alteration at ordinary temperatures, &c.
Ann. Sue. Mrd. dc Gand. 190."), fuse. )j.
208 VENOMS
We cannot, again, compare the bacteriolytic action of venom to
tliat of rat-serum, which dissolves B. antJiracis by aid of a substance
distinct from vibrionicide alexin. According to the researches of
Malvoz and Y. Pirenne, the lysin of rat-serum appears to be a basic
substance, the neutralisation of which destroys its activity. Now
Coi;*rt-venom in a very active solution is perfectly neutral to sensi-
tive litmus papers, while these are turned blue by rat-serum.
Moreover, venom acts not only upon microbes of the same kind,
bat also on very different species which are not affected by rat-
serum, especially upon B. pestis, for which, on the contrary, this
serum, when fresh, proves a favourable culture medium. The
bacteriolytic power of Cohra-\eno\\\ therefore constitutes a special
property of venom.
"In their work on the cytolysins of venom, S. Flexner and
Noguchi have shown that animal cells, when heated to 55 C. and
rendered inactive, do not undergo complete dissolution under the
influence of venoms which destroy the fresh cells. The authors
in question infer the existence of cellular receptors {endo-comple-
ments, according to the theory of Ehrlich), which fix the ambo-
ceptors of venom. Pursuing the same order of ideas, I have
observed that bacteria killed by heating for one hour at 60° C.
do not undergo total disintegration as do living bacteria. But^
while Flexner and Noguchi infer the plurality of the cytolysins
in venom for different animal cells, I have not been able to prove
the same thing with regard to the bacteriolysin ; venom saturated
with cholera vibrios to such an extent that vibrios added at repeated
intervals are no longer dissolved, is incapable of dissolving another
highly sensitive species of microbe, such as the asporogenous bac-
terium, and vice versa. Besides, it would be difficult to understand
the existence in venom of cytolysins specific for a whole series
of species of micro-organisms" (Noc).^
Antivenomous serum, in a dose of O'Ol or 0-05 c.c, neu-
tralizes the bacteriolytic action of 1 milligramme of Co^ra-venom,
Aiuinlcs de VInatitut Pasteur, April, 1905.
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING 209
while normal serum heated, even in larger doses, is without eifect.
The lysin and the antivenomous serum appear also to enter into
stable combination ; by heating to 80° C, after dilution of the
mixture neutral antivenomous serum + venom, the property of
dissolving is not restored to the latter.
Pursuing his researches upon the bacteriolytic actions, Noc has
also shown that the fresh serums of the rabbit, horse, guinea-
pig, rat, and man are capable of destroying them completely.
We must conclude from this that venom has the property of
fixing the alexin of these fresh serums, and in fact it is easy to
show that this fixation takes place by experimenting with haemo-
lytic alexin, which is much more easy to study ; it is sufficient
to eliminate the intervention of the haemolysin proper to Cobra-
venom.
With this object, Noc employed horse-corpuscles (which are
readily dissolved by fresh rat-serum), and neutralised the haemo-
lysin proper to the venom by antivenomous serum, which has no
effect upon fresh horse-corpuscles and upon the alexin of rat-serum.
For experimental purposes six tubes are prepared with contents
as follows : —
(1) 0'5 c.c. of fresh rat-serum.
(2) O'o c.c. of fresh rat-serum + 0"5 milligramme of Cobra-
venom (0*5 c.c. of a solution of 1 in 1,000).
(3) 0"5 c.c. of fresh rat-serum -\- 1 milligramme of venom (after
fifteen minutes' contact of the venom with the alexin in tubes 2
and 3 the venom is neutralised by 1 c.c. of antivenomous serum
in the case of tube '2, and by 2 c.c. in that of tube 3).
(4) 1 milligramme of venom.
(5) 1 c.c. of antivenomous serum.
(6) 0"5 c.c. of fresh rat-serum -|- 1 c.c. of antivenomous serum.
To each tube 2 drops of defibrinated horse-blood are added, and
the tubes are placed in the stove at a temperature of 35° C.
In tubes 1 and (5, which contain fresh rat-serum alone, and fresh
serum 4- antivenomous serum, haemolysis appears in a few minutes.
14
210 VENOMS
In tube 4, which received venom alone, haemolysis is also produced
in one hour. It is not produced at all in tubes 2 and 3, which
received the neutral mixture of fresh serum and venom, proving that
the haemolytic alexin has been fixed by the venom. The latter,
therefore, here plays the part of a true fixator or aiiihuceptor.
Venom behaves, in short, after the manner of extracts of organs.
The fixation of hemolytic alexin by extracts of organs, the tissues,
and animal cells (liver, spleen, spermatozoids, &c., &c.), has already
been demonstrated by V. Dungern, P. Miiller, Levaditi, and E.
Hoke. The same fact is also observed with solutions of peptone.
The fixation of alexin is therefore a general property of certain
albuminoid molecules.
It was interesting to endeavour to reproduce, with Coira- venom,
J. Bordet's experiments upon alexins and anti-alexins. It was to
be hoped that we had in this substance an anti-alexic body capable
of being preserved for an indefinite time and constant in its activity,
which would enable us easily to measure the dose of alexin con-
tained in a small quantity of a serum, or other liquid of leucocytic
origin.
The experiment proved to Noc that, contrary to the ideas of
Ehrlich and his pupils, and conformably to the results obtained
by Bordet with serums and toxins, the neutralisation of venom
takes place in a variable ratio.
If a dose A of fresh serum is capable of neutralising exactly
5 milligrammes of Coi;'«-venoni with regard to a sensitive microbe,
on employing a dose of the strength of '2 A we ought to find a
bactericidal dose, 1 A, in the excess of serum, according to the
theory of definite proportions. No such bactericidal action is seen,
however ; the serum, on the other hand, acts in the contrary direc-
tion by means of its nutritive substances, and in the mixture 2 A +
venom we obtain a larger number of colonies of micro-organisms
than in the mixture A + venom.
We see, then, that the property of cells of fixing in excess the
active substance in serums, discovered by Bordet for the ha?moly-
THE rilYSlULUGY OF I'UlSONING 211
sins (staining phenomena), is met with again in the case of extracts
of organs, at least with regard to the bacteriolytic substance of
Cohra-\enoui.
It results, then, from the foregoing facts that Cobnc-veiioni con-
tains a cytolysin, v)hich acts upon micro-organisms and is capable of
fixing the alexin of normal serums.
The application of these data to the living animal is evidently
full of difficulties, by reason of the complexity of the substances
that come into play. Let us see, however, to what extent they are
capable of serving to explain the phenomena that are produced as
the result, of poisoning.
It was observed by Kaufmann that the cadavers of animals
which have died from snake-bite are very rapidly invaded by the
bacteria of putrefaction. Welch and Ewing, referring to these
phenomena of rapid putrefaction in cases of death from venom,
explained them as being due to the loss of the bactericidal power of
the serum. In hot countries, even when snake-bites are not fatal,
they are frequently complicated by local suppuration or gangrene,
occasioned by micro-organisms introduced at the time of the bite.
The minute analysis of the phenomena of poisoning shows, in
reality, that the organism undergoes different modifications accord-
ing to the quantity of venom injected and its channel of penetration.
When the dose of venom is rapidly lethal, whether because it
penetrates into the veins or because a larger amount of it is diffused
beneath the skin, it occasions a transient hypoleucocytosis, which
is, moreover, a reaction common to injections of venom, pro-peptone,
extracts of organs, and microbic toxins (Delezenne, Kolf). It
follows that blood collected a short time after the injection may
be totally bereft of its bactericidal power, in consequence of the dis-
appearance of the leucocytes, which have migrated into the organs.
Thus it was observed by S. Flexner and H. Noguchi that
the serum of a rabbit, treated with 10 milligrammes of Cobra-
venom, showed, fifty-seven minutes after the injection, a great loss
of bactericidal properties. But it is impossible to conclude, from
212 VENOMS
the diminution of bactericidal power in this experiment, that the
alexin becomes fixed by the venom. Since the secretion of alexin
is connected with the presence of leucocytes, the hypoleucocytosis
due to the venom is sufficient to explain the loss of bactericidal
power.
Nevertheless, the action of venom is not confined to these
physiological phenomena ; in diffusing itself through the organism
it stays more especially in parts where the circulation has become
slower, in the capillaries of the organs where the leucocytes that
have disappeared from the general circulation are already to be
found agglomerated and altered. Here the cytolysins of the venom,
continuing their effects, are capable of neutralising the alexins
set at liberty by the destruction of the leucocytes, and thus the
rapid multiplication of the bacteria of putrefaction, which have
come from the intestine or were carried in with the bite, is easily
explained. In the same way, we can account for the suppuration
that is met with as a complication of non-lethal bites, in spite of the
hyperleucocytosis consequent upon the penetration of a weak dose
of venom ; immediate neutralisation of the alexin set at liberty at
the level of the wound has sufficed to enable micro-organisms to
multiply.
D. — Vabious Diastasic Actions of Venoms.
So long ago as 1884, de Lacerda, in his " Lecons sur le venin des
serpents du Bresil," described the results of his researches upon
the diastasic actions of venom. He proved that venom emulsifies
fats, causes milk to curdle, and does not saccharise starch. But
the solutions of venom employed by this author were not sterile,
so that putrefactive phenomena may be believed to have occurred
in the course of his experiments.
The subject has been studied afresh by Wehrmann ^ in my
laboratory, and afterwards by Lannoy." These two investigators
' Annales dc Vlustitut Pasfciir, 1898.
- These Paris, No. 1138, 1903.
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING 2l;5
have shown that venoms do not h3'drolyse either starch or inulin.
Cohra-\enom and that of Vipera change saccharose very shghtly.
They do not modify the ghicosidcs (amygdaHn, coniferin, sahcin,
arbutin, and digitahn) ; they therefore do not contain emulsin.
On the other hand, these venoms possess, as I have already
stated, very interesting kinasic properties, which have been pointed
out by Delezenne.^ They consist in the fact that while venom
alone is incapable of digesting cooked albumin, we have only to
add to a pancreatic juice, in itself devoid of effect upon albumin,
a trace of venom, to see this albumin immediately become digested.
Z/«cAe!,s/,s-venom is especially active in this respect. In Dele-
zenne's experiments it was generally sufficient to add to 1 c.c. of
inactive pancreatic juice^ 0'5 to 1 c.c. of a 1 in 1,000 solution, that
is 0'.5 to 1 milligramme of venom, to obtain the digestion of a cube
of albumin weighing 0"5 gramme in the space of from ten to twelve
hours. Much weaker doses, \, tVi> sometimes even -^^ of a milli-
gramme still gave the same result, with this sole difference that
digestion took twenty-four, forty-eight, and even seventy-two hours
to become complete.
CoZ^r«-venom was found to be a little less active than the fore-
going, but still its action was usually evident enough when it was
employed in a dose of 0'5 milligramme or even O'l milligramme.
As for the venom of Vipera her us, it was often necessary to employ
it in doses from five to ten times stronger in order to obtain the
same result.
Delezenne has ascertained, on the other hand, that these venoms
entirely lose their kinasic power when they are subjected to ebulli-
tion for fifteen minutes.
This kinase or diastase, capable of quickening the inert pan-
creatic juice, must evidently be of very great utility to the
reptile in enabling it to digest its prey. Venom, therefore, is not,
as has long been believed, a purely defensive secretion ; it corre-
sponds to a physiological necessity, like that of the intestinal or
' Comptes rendus de V Academie des Sciences, August 11, 1902.
214 VENOMS
pancreatic juice. Herein is to be found the explanation of the fact
that the non-poisonous snakes, although destitute of organs of
inoculation, possess supralabial or parotid glands which produce
venomous saliva.
Experiments have been made by Ch. Fere^ to determine the
effect upon the development of the embryo of the introduction of
venom into the albumen of the egg of the fowl. He found that
83 per cent, of the embryos, developed in eggs intoxicated with
0"05 milligramme of viper-venom and opened after being incubated
for seventy-two hours, exhibited various anomalies in development.
E. — Action of Various Diastases upon Venoms.
Venoms are modified or destroyed by certain normal diastases
of the organism. It was shown long ago by Lacerda, Weir Mitchell,
Sir Joseph Fayrer, and Lauder Brunton, that it is possible to
introduce without danger into the stomachs of adult animals
amounts of venom many times greater than the lethal dose. I have
repeatedly verified this, but have nevertheless observed that young
mammals, while being suckled, readily absorb venom by their
alimentary canal, and succumb to the ingestion of doses scarcely
larger than those which kill when subcutaneously injected. Here
we have a very important fact, which once more proves how easily
the intestinal mucous membrane of young animals is permeated
by toxins. By my instructions Wehrmann- and Carriere,^ in my
laboratory, have studied the modifications undergone by venoms
in the alinientary canal of rabbits. We have seen that these
animals can ingest without inconvenience doses of venom GOO times
greater than the lethal dose, and that, if we cause these ingestions
to be repeated several times, contrary to the assertion of Fraser* (of
' Comptes rendus de la Societe de Biologie, January 11, 1896.
- Wehrmann, Ammles de VInstitut Pasteur, 1897 and 1898.
^ Carriere, " Sur le sort des toxines et des antitoxines dans le tube digestif,"
ihid., 1898, p. 435.
* British Medical Jcmrnal, 1895 and 1897.
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF POISONING 215
Edinburgh), we never succeed in obtaining iniinunity to the sub-
cutaneous injection of a simple lethal dose, and no antitoxin is
formed in the blood.
The ptijaJin of the saliva, iiancreatic juice, and hile destroy
Cohra-vei\o\\\ in lu'fro. We must, therefore, assume that these
diastases are veritable agents of destruction for ingested venom.
The intestinal microbes play no part, any more than the intestinal
juice by itself. The gastric juice has very Httle effect. Papain is
almost as active as the pancreatic juice.
Tt had already been proved by Fraser, so long ago as 1895, that
bile, after prolonged contact and in a sufficient dose, has a strongly
destructive effect upon Cobra-venom ; but, contrary to the opinion
of this investigator, it is not antitoxic, for it possesses no preventive
or curative property, and its effects are produced only in vitro.
We see from what has been stated above, that venoms intro.
duced into a sensitive organism are capable of producing extremely
complex effects upon the various tissues or humours. They act on
the nerve-cells by their neurotoxin, on the endothelium of the
blood-vessels by their hcEmorrhagin (Flexner and Noguchi), on the
red corpuscles by their hemolysin, on the fibrin of the blood and
muscles by their proteolytic diastase, and on the fibrin-ferment
itself by their thromhase.
They also act on the leucocytes, according to the experiments
of Chatenay,^ performed under the direction of Metschuikoff, and
according to those of Flexner and Noguchi,- already cited.
Thus we understand how complex must likewise be the means
of defence that have to be employed in order to afford an effective
protection against such poisons.
The slightly intoxicated organism at first reacts by the inter-
vention of the leucocytes ; a hyperleucocytosis is produced, accom-
' Chatenay, "Les reactions leucocytaires vis-a-vis de certauies toxines,"
These Paris, 1894.
^ Flexner and Noguchi, " Snake-venom in Relation to Haemolysis, Bacterio-
lysis, and Toxicity," Journal of Experimental Meilicine, vol. vi., March 17, 1902.
216 VENOMS
panied b}^ a more or less considerable rise of temperature. After
a few hom's everytbing returns to its normal condition, and if the
injection of a lethal dose of venom is repeated several times, at
intervals of a few days, it is not long before antitoxic substances
are found to appear in the serum.
When the dose of venom injected is sufficient to cause death,
we observe, a very few moments after the injection, a lowering of
te77i]ierakire and a hypoleucocytosis, which is the more pronounced
in proportion to the nearness of the dose of venom to the minimal
lethal dose. With very strong doses the hypoleucocytosis has not
time to manifest itself.
It is therefore probable that, in intoxication by venoms as in
that by the toxins of micro-organisms, the protective rule of the
leucocytes is all-important, not only because these cells are capable
of digesting venoms owing to their protoplasmic digestive juices,
but also because they constitute if not the only, at any rate the
principal source of the antitoxic substances or amboceptors-
217
CHAPTER X.
TOXICITY OF THE BLOOD OF VENOMOUS SNAKES.
Several physiologists, among whom it is right to mention
Fontana,^ Leydig,-- Reichel,^ Raphael Blanchard/ Phisalix and
Bertrand/' and S. Jourdain,*^ have pointed out the presence of
poison-glands in Tropidofiotiis natrix or other non-venomous snakes,
and have explained the immunit}' enjoyed by these animals with
regard to venom as being due to the existence of an internal
secretion of this poison.
We also know, from the writings of Phisalix and Bertrand, that
the blood of the viper, and that of the salamander and toad are
toxic. For my part I have found ' that the blood of Naja,
Bungarus, Lachesis, and Cerastes possesses the same properties,
and a comparative study has been made by Wehrmann,- in my
laboratory, of the toxicity of the blood of the viper and of that of
the blood of the eel, already established by Mosso (of Turin)."
It is remarkable to find that the blood of the various venomous
or non-venomous snakes, like that of certain fishes, such as eels,
produces, when injected beneath the skin or into the peritoneum,
local aiid general effects very similar to those of venoms. Injec-
tions of O'o c.c. to 1 c.c. of the blood of the viper or of the common
' " Trattacio del veneno della vipera," 1787.
- Arcliiv fiir milirosTiopische Anatomic^ Bd. ix., 1873.
^ Morphologisches Jahrbiicli, Bd. viii., 1883.
* Comptes rendus de la Societe de Biologic, Januarj' 20, 1894.
•^ Archives de Phrjsiologie, 1894.
^ Comptes reiidus de V Academic des Sciences, Paris, January 22, 1894.
' Comjites rendus de la Societe de Biologic, January- 13, 1894.
^ Annales de Vlnstitut Pasteur, 1897.
' Archives italiennes de Biologic, 1888 and 1889.
21 H VENOMS
snake, beneath the skin of the o;uinea-pif^, provoke an intense local
reaction, which always results in the formation of an eschar. The
injection of slightly stronger doses, 1 c.c. to '2 c.c, into the peri-
toneum, almost always kills these annnals, like venom, with symp-
toms of respiratory asphyxia.
The blood of Naja trijnirlicois, iujected subcutaneously, is lethal
to the mouse in a dose of 0'25 c.c.
When this blood is heated, after having been suitably diluted
with three or four parts of distilled water, in order to prevent it
from coagulating, it is found that a temperature of 70 C. maintained
for fifteen minutes is sufficient to cause it to lose all toxic effect.
The same applies to the blood of the other poisonous or non-
poisonous snakes, and to that of the MurcEnidcp,.
Now, since the majority of venoms resist even prolonged heating
at this temperature, it cannot be supposed that the toxicity of the
blood is due to its containing venom derived from the internal
secretion of the poison-glands, as was thought by Phisalix and
Bertrand. On the contrary, it is probable that the toxicity results
from the fact that the blood contains diastasic substances of cellu-
lar origin, which themselves represent certain of the constituent
elements of venoms.
These substances, moreover, possess some of the properties
of venoms, as, for instance, the faculty of producing haemorrhages
and of being influenced by antivenomous serum, which causes
them to lose a large portion of their toxic qualities.
I have found that they can even be utilised to vaccinate animals
against venom; by injecting weak, non-lethal, and repeated doses
of dilute Cohra-h\oodi into guinea-pigs and rabbits, I have succeeded
in rendering them immune to doses of Cohra-venoMi several times
greater than the lethal dose.
There is no doubt that it is to these substances that the
poisonous and non-poisonous snakes owe the partial immunity
that they themselves enjoy with respect to venoms. We know,
in fact, that common snakes suffer without danger many bites from
TOXrCTTY OF THK BLOOD OF VENOMOUS SNAKES 219
vipers (Phisalix and l^ertrand'), and that the Cobra is relatively
little affected l)y inoculation with its own venom or with that
of other CoLUBRiD^, such as Bungarus, or even of Viperid^,
such as Vipera russellii.
Tliis immunity, however, is far from being aljsolute ; I have
killed common snakes {Tropido)iotiis natrlx) with doses of viper-
venom ten times greater than the lethal one for the rabbit, and
Lachesis lanceolatus (from Martinique) with 0"0i2 gramme of the
venom of Naja tripudians.
Phisalix,- on his part, has shown that, while it was necessary
to inject from 100 to 200 milligrammes of viper-w enoin into other
vipers or common snakes, beneath the skin or into the peritoneum,
in order to cause death, the introduction of only 2 to 4 milligrammes
of this venom into the brains of these reptiles vi^as sufficient to kill
them with the same symptoms of intoxication. This dose, how-
ever, is only twenty-five to thirty times greater than the lethal one
for the guinea-pig.
The practical lesson to be learnt from the establishment of the
foregoing facts is that poisonous snakes of different species must
never be placed in the same cage, for these animals sometimes bite
each other, and may thus kill one another.
Simon Flexner and Noguchi ^ have studied the action of the
serums of Crotalus, Ancistrodon, and a non-poisonous species, the
pine snake {Fituophis catenifer), on the venoms of Naja, Ancis-
trodon, and Crotalus. They found that the serum of Crotalus
rapidly dissolves the red corpuscles of man, the dog, rabbit, guinea-
pig, sheep, rat, pigeon, and horse.
The serum of the pine snake affects the same red corpuscles,
but in a lesser degree. Heating to 58° C. suppresses the hj^emolytic
power of these serums, but they can be restored to activity by the
addition of a very small quantity of the same serum in a fresh
' Archives de PJiysiolorjic, 1894.
- Comjjtes rendics de la Societe de Biologic, July 25, 190H.
^ Journal of Patlwlogy and Bacferiologi/, May, 1908.
220 VENOMS
condition, of fresh serum derived from other snakes, or of fresh
sermn from the guinea-pig.
Antivenomoiis serum also, when added in a suitable dose,
entirely suppresses the haemolytic action of snake-serums ; it has,
however, greater effect upon the hsemolysin of (7o6?u-blood than
upon that of the blood of other snakes. This observation had
previously been made by W. Stephens,^ and it has been verified
by Noc in my laboratory.
Crotalus-seYum dissolves the red corpuscles of the mongoose
(Herpestes ichneumon) of Jamaica, whose extraordinary resistance
to venom is well known. But if variable doses of Ancistrodon-
venom and Grotaliis-^exnm be made to act simultaneously upon
these corpuscles, the latter are no longer dissolved. Again, if,
instead of red corpuscles which are but little sensitive, like those
of the mongoose, we employ the highly sensitive corpuscles of the
guinea-pig, the result is the same. These experiments are regarded
by Flexner and Nognchi as proving that the amboceptors of the
toxic serum become fixed, in conformity with Ehrlich's theory of
the lateral chains, upon the receptors of the sensitive erythrocytes,
and leave no more receptors free for the fixation of the venom.
The same investigators have endeavoured to determine the
respective toxicity of the tissues of the different organs of Crotalus.
They found that the most toxic organs are the spleen and the
liver ; the toxicity of the spinal cord, kidney and muscles is nuich
less. It appears that this toxicity is intimately connected with the
quantity of blood that the tissues retain, for the physiological effects
observed are identical with those that follow the injection of blood
or serum alone.
They also ascertained that the contents of the eggs of Crotalus
are especially rich in poison, and this poison appears to consist for
the most part of neurotoxin, since it does not cause haemorrhages.
Phisalix has observed that the ovules of the viper exhibit analogous
toxicity .-
' Journal of Pathology and Bacteriology, 1900, p. 273.
* Comptes rendus de la Societe de Biologie, July 1, 1905.
TOXICITY OF THE BLOOD OF VENOMOUS SNAKES 221
Summing up what has been stated above, we find that the
l)lood of both poisonous and non-poisonous snakes contains toxic
substances, destructible by heating to 68' C, and physiologically
distinct from venoms, but like the latter possessing the property
of dissolving the red corpuscles of the majority of vertebrates and
of producing haemorrhages.
222
CHAPTER XL
NATURAL IMMUNITY OF CERTAIN ANIMALS WITH
RESPECT TO SNAKE-VENOMS.
It was long ago pointed out that certain warm-blooded animals,
including the mongoose {Herijestes ichneumon, Family Viverridce) ,
hedgehog (Erinaceus europcBus, Family ErinaceidcB), pig {Sus
scrofa, Family Siiida), and some herons {Ajaja, Subfamily Plata-
leincB ; Cancroma, Subfamily Cancromina : Botaunis, Subfamily
ArdeincB : Mijcteria, Subfamily Cico7iiinai), known in Colombia
under the names Gulehrero and Gtiacabo, exhibit a natural immunity
with respect to snake-bites.
Pigs devour vipers with great readiness, and in the region of
North America which adjoins the Mississippi and its tributaries
they are even trained to destroy the young rattle-snakes and other
poisonous serpents with which the valleys of these watercourses
are infested.
During my stay in Indo-China I inoculated a young pig, beneath
the skin of the back, with a dose of Cohm-\enom. (10 milligrammes)
capable of killing a large-sized dog. The animal withstood the
injection, but I am inclined to thmk that this is not a case of true
immunity ; it is probable that the pig owes its resistance to venom
to the fact that its skin is lined with an enormous layer of adipose
tissue, which is but very slightly vascular, and in which absorption
takes place very slowly. This opinion is corroborated by my dis-
covery that the serum of this animal is entirely destitute of any
antitoxic substance. I mixed a dose of Co^ra-venom, lethal lor
the rabbit, with 3'5 and 8 c.c. of pig-serum. These mixtures killed
rabbits in the same time as the controls that received the venom
NATUBAl. IMMUNITY OF CERTAIN ANIMALS 223
diluted with equal quantities of rabbit-serum or physiological saline
solution.
The natural immunity of the mongoose and the hedgehog rests
upon more scientifically established facts.
My own experiments upon the immunity of the mongoose were
made with six specimens of these little carnivores captured in
Guadeloupe (French West Indies), an island in which no poisonous
snakes exist ; consequently their immunity could not have arisen
from their having become accustomed to the bites of venomous
reptiles.
I first introduced a mongoose into a cage containing a Naja
bungarus {Ophiopharjus) of large size. The snake rose w^ imme-
diately, dilated its hood, and struck savagely at the little animal,
which, darting nimbly out of the wa,y, escaped being seized and,
frightened for a moment, took refuge in a corner of the cage. Its
stupor, however, was but of brief duration, for at the very moment
when the hamadryad was preparing to strike at it again, the
mongoose, with open mouth and snarling, sprang upon the reptile's
head, bit it hard in the upper jaw and crushed its skull in a few
seconds. This scene is in every respect reminiscent of the admirable
description given by Rudyard Kipling, in his celebrated " Jungle
Book," of the great war that Rikki-tikki (the Mongoose) fought
with Nag (the Cobra) " through the bathrooms of the big bungalow
in Segowlee cantonment " : —
"Nag was asleep, and Eikki-tikki looked at his big back,
wondering which would be the best place for a good hold. 'If I
don't break his back at the first jump,' said Rikki, ' he can still
fight ; and if he fights — O Rikki ! ' He looked at the thickness
of the neck below the hood, but that was too much for him ; and
a bite near the tail would only make Nag savage.
"'It must be the head,' he said at last; 'the head above the
hood ; and when I am once there, I must not let go.'
" Then he jumped. The head was lying a little clear of the
water-jar, under the curve of it ; and, as his teeth met, Rikki braced
224 VENOMS
his back against the bulge of the red earthenware to hold down
the head. This gave him just one second's purchase, and he made
the most of it. Then he was battered to and fro as a rat is shaken
by a dog — to and fro on the floor, up and down, and round in great
circles ; but his eyes were red, and he held on as the body cart-
whipped over the floor, upsetting the tin dipper and the soap-dish
and the flesh-brush, and banged against the tin side of the bath.
As he held he closed his jaws tighter and tighter, for he made sure
he would be banged to death, and, for the honour of his family, he
preferred to be found with his teeth locked. He was dizzy, aching,
and felt sliaken to pieces, when something went off like a thunder-
clap just behind him ; a hot wind knocked him senseless, and red
fire singed his fur. The big man had been wakened by the noise,
and had fired both barrels of a shot-gun into Nag just behind the
hood."^
From the experimental point of view, these stirring battles
between mongooses and cobras only show that a mongoose of the
size of a large squirrel makes a plucky and victorious attack upon
a venomous reptile of the most dangerous species and of very
large dimensions ; but it is impossible to tell with certainty whether
the mongoose has been bitten.
I therefore inoculated a second mongoose with 2 milligrammes
of venom, a lethal dose for 4 kilogrammes of rabbit. The animal
did not experience the slightest malaise.
I then took blood from three other mongooses, by tying a
carotid without killing the animals. This blood, mixed with
venom or injected as a prophylactic into rabbits, exhibited an
antitoxic power, which, though evident, was of little intensity, and
insufficient m all cases as a certain preventative of death. All the
rabbits that received a preventive dose varying from 2 to 7 c.c.
of mongoose-serum succumbed to inoculation with venom, but
with a considerable retardation (from two to five hours) as compared
with the controls.
' "The Jungle Book," by Kudyard Kipling. London: Macniillan and Co.,
Ltd. Reprint of 1905, pp. 183, 184.
NATUliAL IMMUNITY OF CERTAIN ANIMALS 225
I endeavoured to determine the limit of tolerance of the mon-
goose with respect to venom. Two of these animals, which had
never been inoculated, received doses of venom respectively four
times and six times lethal for the rabbit. The first mongoose
remained perfectly well ; the second was ill for two days, and then
recovered. A third mongoose, into which I injected a dose eight
times lethal for the rabbit, succumbed in twelve hours.
Fig. 89.— Mongoose seized by a Cobra.
(For this illustration I am indebted to the kindness of M. Claine, late French Consul
at Rangoon.)
It nmst be concluded from these facts that the West Indian
mongoose is but little sensitive to venom ; that it is capable of
withstanding, without malaise, doses which are considerable in pro-
portion to its size, but that its immunity is far from being absolute.
If it is generally the victor in its combats with poisonous snakes,
the result is mainly due to the extreme agility with which it is
endowed.
15
226 VENOMS
A number of experiments have been made by Lewin,^ and by
Phisalix and Bertrand,- upon the immunity of the hedgehog to the
venom of Vipera herns.
It had long been known that hedgehogs are inveterate hunters
of vipers, which they devour with avidity. Thanks to the long and
sharp spines by which their bodies are protected, they avoid being
bitten and contrive to catch the reptiles vei'y cleverly, but it
occasionally happens that they do not escape being struck. How-
ever, even in these cases they rarely succumb.
Inoculation with fairly large quantities of venom does not make
them ill : the dose of ciper-yenom lethal for these small animals
is about forty times greater than that which kills the guinea-pig.
Their power of resistance is therefore beyond doubt.
It may be asked whether this is due to their blood normally
containing antitoxic substances. In order to elucidate this question,
Phisalix and Bertrand first proved that the blood of normal
hedgehogs is toxic to laboratory animals, especially to the guinea-
pig. A mixture of this blood with viper-venom cannot therefore
be harmless. But it sufficed to heat hedgehog blood to 58° C. to
cause it to lose its toxicity, and it was found that it then became
antitoxic. Guinea-pigs inoculated in the peritoneum with 8 c.c.
of heated hedgehog-serum were able to withstand, immediately
afterwards, twice the lethal dose of viper-venom.
It really seems, therefore, that the resistance of the hedgehog
to venom is due to the presence of antitoxic substances in its
blood. But, as in the case of the mongoose, there is no question
here of genuine immunity .
The same is probably true with respect to the herons of
Colombia, the Culehrero and Guacaho, which eagerly search after
' Deatsclie iiiedicinisclie WocJteiiscJirift, 1898.
- Comptes rendns de la Societe de Biologic, 1895, p. 639, and 1899, p. 77 ;
Bulletin du Museum d'Histoirc naturelle, 1895, t. i., p. 294, t. ii., p. 100.
NATUIiAL IMMUNITY OF CERTAIN ANIMALS 227
young snakes for food. No investigations, however, have yet been
made upon this subject.
These birds, moreover, are few in number ; hunters pursue them
for the sake of their brilliantly coloured plumage, and it is to be
regretted that no attempt is made to prevent their destruction ,
or to acclimatise them in countries in which poisonous snakes
constitute a veritable calamity, such as Martinique, St. Lucia, or
India.
228
CHAPTER XII.
SNAKE-CHARMERS.
In all the countries of the globe where poisonous snakes are
formidable to man, there are certain individuals who profess to be
secure from all ill-effects from the bites of these reptiles, whether
because they are immune to venom, or because they possess
secrets which enable them to cure themselves when they happen
to have been bitten. Not unnaturally these secrets are sometimes
turned to profitable account, and the possessors of them generally
enjoy considerable popular influence, and are very highly venerated.
Intimate relations with the divmities are freely attributed to them.
Among the Romans the jugglers who carried on the profession
of snake-charmers and healers of snake-bites were known as Psijlli.
Plutarch tells us that Cato, who loved not doctors because they
were Greeks, attached a certam number of them to the army of
Libya. They were accustomed to expose their children to serpents
as soon as they were born, and the mothers, if they had failed in
conjugal fidelity, were infallibly punished by the death of their
offspring. If, on the contrary, the children were lawful, they had
nothing to f^ar from the bites of the reptiles. '' Recens etiam editos
serpentihus offer ehant ; si essent partus adulteri, matrum crimina
plectabantur interitu parvulorum ; si inidici, pivbos ortus a morte
paterni privilegium tuehatiw" (Solinus).
The Libyian Psylli of antiquity still have their representatives
in Tunis and in Egypt. Clot Bey writes as follows with
reference to the Egyptian Psylli : —
" The OpJiiogeni, or Snake-charmers, have been renowned from
SNAKE-CHABMEBS 229
;ill time. Strabo speaks of them, and Prosper Alpinus was a
witness of the singular effects of their art. The majority of
modern travellers who have visited Egypt have been equally
struck wath the freedom with which they handle poisonous reptiles
and animals.
" The Psylli go from house to house, calling forth and charming
the snakes that they may happen to contain. They claim to attract
them by means of a particular power. Armed with a short wand,
they enter the chamber to be purged from these venomous guests,
make a smacking noise with their tongue, spit upon the ground,
and pronounce the following incantation : ' / adjure you, by God, if
you are icitliout or within, to appear ; I adjure you, by the greatest
of names ; if you are obedient, appear ! If you disobey, die ! die ! '
The snake, submissive to this command, departs forthwith, issuing
from a crack in the wall or floor. "^
India is pre-eminently the country of snake-charmers. There
exists an entire caste of Hindus, called Mai, who are professional
catchers and vendors of snakes, but do not perform tricks with
them.
The snake-charmers are recruited from among another caste,
that of the Sang is or Tubriwallahs of Bengal.
These men, who are usually clothed in yellow robes and wear
large turbans, manage the Cobra with really marvellous skill. All
travellers who have had the opportunity of crossing India or of
touching at a port on the coast or on that of Ceylon have
witnessed scenes similar to that described by Natalis Kondot
(figs. 90 and 91) :—
" Towards six o'clock in the evening a Hindu juggler comes
on board. He is poorly clad, and wears a turban decorated with
three feathers, and several necklaces of those amulet-sachets called
gris-gris in Senegal. In a flat basket he carries a spectacled Cobra-
di-Capello.
' " Aper9u general sur I'Egypte." Paris, 1840.
230
VENOMS
Fig. 90. — Indian Sn.\ke-chaemee at Colombo (Ceylon)
SNAKE-CHABAIERS
281
Fig. 91.— I^^dian Snake-charmer at Colombo (Ceylon).
232
VENOMS
" This man instals himself on deck ; we sit down on the seat
provided for the officer of the watch, and the sailors form a circle.
The basket is placed on the deck and uncovered ; the Cobra
is coiled up at the bottom of it. The juggler squats a few paces
off and commences to play a slow, plaintive, and monotonous air,
with a kind of small clarinet (tig. 92), the sounds of which recall
those of the Breton hiitiou.
Fig. 92. — Musical Instrument used by Indian Snake-charmers to Charm Cobras.
(For this figure I am indebted to the kindness of Dr. Pineau.)
" By degrees the snake moves, extends itself, and then assumes
an erect posture, but without quitting the basket. It begins to
appear uneasy and endeavours to recognise its surroundings ; it
becomes agitated and irritated, expands and spreads out its hood,
breathes hard rather than hisses, and frequently and quickly shoots
out its slender forked tongue ; several times it makes a violent dart
as though to attack the juggler ; it frequently trembles, or rather
gives sudden starts. The juggler keeps his eyes always fastened
upon the snake, and gazes at it with a singular fixed stare. After
some time, about ten or twelve minutes, the Cobra becomes less
animated, grows quiet, and then sways as though influenced by
the slow and monotonous rhythm of the musician ; it keeps inces-
santly darting out its tongue. Little by little it is brought to
SNAKE. CHARMEBS 2m
a sort of somnolent condition. Its eyes, which at first watched
the juggler as though in order to take him by surprise, are, to
a certain extent, fixed and fascinated by the latter's gaze. The
Hindu takes advantage of this moment of stupefaction on the
part of the snake by approaching it slowly without ceasing to
play, and touches the head of the Cobra, first with his nose and
then with his tongue. Although this takes but an instant the
reptile starts out of its sleep, and the juggler has barely time to
throw himself backwards so as not to be struck by the snake,
which makes a furious dart at him.
" We doubt whether the Cobra still has it fangs, and whether
the Hindu incurs any real danger in approaching it. Accordingly
we promise our man a Spanish piastre if he will make the snake
bite a couple of fowls. A black hen, which struggles violently,
is taken and offered to the Cobra, which half rises, looks at the
bird, bites it, and lets it go. The fowl is released and runs off
terrified. Six minutes later, by the watch, it vomits, stretches out
its legs, and dies. A second fowl is placed in front of the snake,
which bites it twice, and the bird dies in eight minutes." '
Certain jugglers exhibit snakes from which they have taken
care to extract the fangs ; they offer the animal a piece of cloth
or soft stuff into which it drives its poison-teeth, and the fabric is
then quickly snatched away in order by this means to break off
the poison- fangs that have penetrated it. This operation is repeated
at certain intervals with a view to preventing the reserve fangs
from coming into use, and the reptiles can then be handled
without any danger.
It is unquestionable, however, and I have personally satisfied
myself of the fact, that many genuine snake-charmers go through
their performances with Cobras whose poison-apparatus is absolutely
intact. That they almost always avoid being bitten is due to a
perfect knowdedge of the habits and movements of these reptiles.
» Brehm's " Thierleben " ; French edition, " Les Reptiles," p. 430.
234 VENOMS
Nevertheless, accidents sometimes happen to them, and every year
a few of them succumh in pursuit of their calhng (see p. 870).
Still, it may be asserted that some of them really know how to
vaccinate themselves against venom, by making young Cobras bite
them from time to time.
It is stated by E. C. Cotes, ^ formerly of the Calcutta Museum,
that the Indian snake-charmers do not extract the poison-fangs
from their snakes. Even though deprived of its fangs, the snake
would still be dangerous on account of its other teeth, the punc-
tures of which would provide another channel for the penetration
of the venom.
Snake-charmers pretend that they owe their immunity to
graduated inoculations. This is not yet conclusively proved ; what
is better established is that they take the greatest care to avoid
being bitten, and that in so doing they display the most remarkable
skill.
Even in France we are acquainted with professional viper-
catchers, who employ the method of graduated inoculations in
order to render themselves immune to the bites of indigenous
reptiles. One of these men, who lives near Arbois (Jura), takes
good care to get himself bitten, at least once a year, by a young
viper; when he forgets this precaution and happens to be bitten,
he always feels the effects much more severely.
Eraser ^ (of Edinburgh) thinks that the repeated ingestion of
small quantities of venom may suffice to confer immunity, and he
mentions a certain number of experiments performed by him upon
white rats and kittens, from which it would appear that the in-
gestion of venom, continued for a long time, finally renders these
animals absolutely refractory to subcutaneous inoculation with
doses of the same venom several times greater than the lethal one.
He therefore concludes that this process of vaccination may prob-
ably be in use among snake-charmers.
1 Maclnres Magazine, April, 1894.
^ British Medical Journal, August 17, 1895.
SNAKE -CHAEMEBS 235
T have submitted this hypothesis to the test of experiment.
I succeeded in making adult rabbits, guinea-pigs, and pigeons absorb
enormous doses of Cobra-venom by way of the aHmentary canal.
In this manner I have administered doses as much as a thousand
times greater than the lethal one, yet I have never been able to
prove that the serum of these animals became antitoxic.
On the other hand, I have succeeded in vaccinating very young
guinea-pigs and young rabbits which were still being suckled, by
making them absorb, every second day, minimal and certainly in-
nocuous doses of very dilute venom. In the case of young animals,
venom is not niodified by the digestive juices, and a portion of it
is absorbed by the mucous membrane of the intestine. When
the dose ingested is suitably reduced they withstand it, and when
these ingestions are repeated every second or third day during the
first weeks of life, the animals become perfectly vaccinated against
doses certainly lethal for controls of the same age and weight. But
it is always difficult to push the vaccination far enough for the
serum to acquire antitoxic properties, and I have never been able
to prove the appearance of the latter.
I think, however, that it ought to be possible to arrive at this
result by experimenting upon animals such as lambs, kids, calves,
or foals, the intestine of which remains permeable to toxins for
a sufficiently long period.
It may be that certain snake-charmers, who claim to possess
family secrets which they transmit from father to son, employ an
analogous method in order, in their infancy, to confer immunity
to venoms upon those of their male children who are to inherit
their strange and lucrative profession.
In Mexico, certain Indians called Curados de Culehras know
how to acquire the privilege of being able to be bitten by poisonous
snakes without the least danger to life, by inoculating themselves
several times with the teeth of rattle-snakes.
Dr. Jacolot,^ a naval surgeon, while staying at Tuxpan, made
^ Archives de medecine navale, 1867, p. 390.
236 VENOMS
enquiries as to these Curados de Culehras, and was able to satisfy
himself that their immunity is an actual fact.
The process of vaccination employed by the natives of Tuxpan
is as follows : — A preparatory treatment is necessary. On the very
day on which a man is to inoculate himself or get himself inocu-
lated, he takes from .5 to 15 tubers of a plant known by the name
of Mano de Sapo {i.e., Toad's hand, Dorstenia contrmjerva, Family
Urticace(B). These tubers must — and this is absolutely necessary —
be administered on a Fridaij, and always in an odd number, 5, 7,
9, &c., up to 15, according to the tolerance of the subject.
If the plant be gathered on the first Friday in March it
possesses its marvellous properties in the highest degree ; in this
case, even if it be dry, it is still excellent for the preparatory stage
of the inoculation.
The physiological effects of mano de sapo are not very marked :
the circulation is slightly diminished and a sensation of cold is
experienced, but there are no nervous troubles. The subject
frequently has attacks of vomiting or nausea. The inclination to
vomit must be fought against, for if the plant should happen to
be rejected is would be dangerous to submit to the inoculation.
The root of the mano de sapo is usually taken fresh. There
is another indispensable precaution : while undergoing this treat-
ment it is necessary to abstain from all sexual intercourse for
three days after the first inoculation, for two days after the second,
and for one day after the third.
For the inoculation a large snake's tooth, that is to say, one
of the fangs, is employed, and the fangs of the most poisonous
snakes, such as the rattle-snake {cuatro narices), are selected. The
snake must be killed on a Friday, and the fangs extracted the
same day. The same fang may serve for several years !
The inoculation is commenced on the dorsal surface of the left
foot ; care must be taken to avoid coming into contact with a
vein. The skin is torn with the point of the fang, so that it bleeds
a little, and the incision is in the shape of a square.
SNAKE-CHAliMEES 237
From the left foot the operator passes to the right wrist
(anterior surface), then to the right foot (dorsal surface), and left
wrist (anterior surface), always changing from one side of the
body to the other.
Operations are continued on the left thigh, then on the right
arm, right thigh, and left arm ; in this way all the limbs are inocu-
lated. On the body an inoculation is made in the centre of the
sternum ; another is made in the nape, and a final one in the centre
of the forehead. The finishing touch is given with the semblance
of a square incision in the tongue.
At least seven series of similar inoculations are necessary to
protect a man from the spells of the serpent, and at the same
time to confer upon him the faculty of curing by suction the
bites of the venomous snakes that are most dreaded.
During the whole of the period in which the Indian thus sub-
mits to successive inoculations, his health shows no noteworthy
derangement. He feels a slight headache and a strange inclination
towards alcoholic drinks. But when the moon is at the full, then
indeed, an excitement which is dangerous in another way takes
possession of him. His cerebral faculties become over-excited, and
he feels that his senses are deserting him ; his eyes become blood-
shot, and he is pursued and tormented by an irresistible impulse
to bite. He has itching sensations in his gums, his mouth burns,
and salivation is greatly increased. He feels that he is going to
give way to the necessity to bite, and then he flees to the woods,
where he bites the trees viciously, tears their bark and discharges
his venom. His poisonous saliva mingles with the sap, and, sur-
prising phenomenon, the tree withers and dies !
Woe to the man or animal who happens to be bitten by a
Ciiraclo de Culehra in a fit of passion. The victim will die as
quickly as if he had been bitten by a snake !
Almost all the semi-savage people of Guiana, and of the valleys
of the Orinoco and the Amazons, as also the tribes of Central
Africa and the races of India, possess witch-doctors, who pretend
238 VENOMS
to be in possession of means to preserve themselves from snake-
bites, which are just as ridiculous and infallible as the procedure
described above.
The archives of a criminal anthropology contain the story of
a Lyonnese gold-seeker, who had himself immunised against venom
by an aboriginal native of Guiana :^ —
" The Indian took, from a bottle which contained several of
them, a tooth of the Grage (Lachesis atrox), an extremely poisonous
snake, and with it made upon my instep three incisions about
8 centimetres in breadth. He allowed the wounds to bleed for
a minute. I then experienced a fainting sensation, and large drops
of sweat rolled from my forehead. The wounds were next rubbed
with a blackish powder. I have since learnt that this powder was
composed of the liver and gall of the animal, dried in the sun and
pounded up with the poison-glands. The blood immediately ceased
to flow. The Indian chewed some leaves of a tree mixed with this
powder, and, applying his lips to the sore, injected into it as much
saliva as he could, making an effort as though to inflate a balloon.
This completed the operation.
" Since then I have been bitten seven times by different species
of very dangerous snakes, such as the Grage, coral-snake, &c., and
have never even bad an attack of fever. The Galibi, Boni, and
Emerillon Indians, the Bosse negroes, and all the aboriginal natives
of Guiana employ the same method of procedure. They even
pretend that this kind of vaccination is transmissible to their off-
spring, and that the hereditary immunity is maintained through
several generations."
Some years ago Mons. d'Abbadie communicated to the Academie
des Sciences " a note from Colonel Serpa Pinto relating to another
method of vaccination employed by the natives of Mozambique,
which the Colonel hnuself consented to undergo.
' Revue scientifique, 1892, p. 254.
- Comptes rendu s de V Academie des Sciences, February 24, 1896.
SNAKE-CHAEMERS 239
" I was vaccinated," writes Colonel Serpa Pinto, " at Inham-
bane (on the East Coast of Africa), among the Vatuas. These
people extract the poison of a snake which is known in Portuguese
as the Alcatifa {i.e., carpet), and is so called on account of the
variegated colour of its skin, which resembles a carpet. I am not
acquainted with the means employed in order to obtain the poison,
which is mixed with vegetable substances, and forms with the
latter a dark brown viscid paste.
" Two parallel incisions, 5 millimetres in length, are made in
the skin, and into these is introduced the paste containing the
poison. These incisions are made on the arms, near the junction
of the radius and ulna with the carpal bones, on the back of the
hand, on the back, on the shoulder-blades, and on the feet, near
the great toes. After the operation the natives exact an oath that
the vaccinated one will never kill a poisonous snake, because they
say that henceforth the snake is his intimate friend, and they throw
upon him an Alcatifa snake, which does not bite him.
" After undergoing this operation my whole body was swollen
up for a week, and I underwent every possible kind of suffering.
"I have never been bitten by any snake, and cannot vouch for
the infallibility of this remedy. The Vatuas do so, however, and
they never kill a snake.
"A short time after having been vaccinated, I was stung, when
in the Seychelle Islands, by a scorpion, which did me no harm.
Ten years later, at the time of my journey across Africa, I was
stung b}' another scorpion w^iich hurt me dreadfully, and for a
week I thought that I was going to die or lose my arm."
Mystification and superstitious ideas play, as we see, a very
great part in this preventive treatment, which is undergone by the
natives of certain countries and snake-catchers or charmers. But
it is not very surprising that, thanks to successive and repeated
inoculations, a man can succeed in acquiring sufficient immunity
to preserve himself from snake-bites.
In ancient times it was even pretended that it was possible for
240 . VENOMS
this immunity to be transmitted in certain cases by heredity, ^and
thus we can understand how the profession of snake-charmer was
hereditary in certain native famiHes in India or Egypt.
With reference to this subject, Professor Landouzy, in his fine
work on serum therapeutics, quotes a passage from " The Pharsaha "
of Lucan describing, in the year 60 a.d., the customs of the Psylh,
a people encountered by the army of Cato during its sojourn in
Africa. This passage is so interesting that I cannot refrain from
reproducing it : —
" Alone unharmed of all who till the eavtli
]iy deadly serpents, dwells the Psyllian race.
Potent as herbs then- song ; safe is their blood,
Nor gives admission to the poison germ
E'en when the chant has ceased. Their home itself
Placed in such venomous ti'act and serpent-thronged
Gained them this vantage, and a truce with death,
Else could they not have lived. Such is their trust
In purity of blood, that newly born
Each babe they prove by test of deadly' asp
For foreign lineage. So the bird of Jove
Turns his new fledglings to the rising sun,
And such as gaze upon the beams of day
AVith eyes unwavering, for the use of heaven
He rears ; but such as blink at Phtebus' rays
Casts from the nest. Thus of unmixed descent
The babe who, dreading not the serpent touch,
Plays in his cradle with the deadly snake.'"
The only scientific conclusion to be drawn from the facts and
statements that we have just set before the reader is that, under
certain circumstances, man can unquestionably acquire the faculty
of resisting intoxication by snake-venom, by conferring" upon him-
self a veritable active immunity by means of repeated inoculations
of venom. We shall shortly see that the case is the same with
regard to animals.
' " The Pharsalia of Lucan, translated into blank verse by Edward Ridley,
Q.C., sometime Fellow of All Souls' College, Oxford." (London : Longmans,
Green and Co., 1896). Book ix., p. 296, lines 1,046 to 1,065.
241
PAirr 111.
AXTIVEXOMOUS SERUM TIIEEArEUTICS.
CHAPTER XIII.
VA CCINA TION A GAINST SNA KE- VENOM — PBEPAEA-
TION OF ANTIVENOMOUS SERUM— ITS PREVEN-
TIVE PROPERTIES AS REGARDS INTOXICATION
BY VENOM.
So long ago as the year 1887 it was shown by Sewall, in an
important paper on "Rattlesnake-Venom/'^ that it is possible to
render pigeons gradually more resistant to the action of this venom
by injecting them with doses at first very small, and certainly
incapable of producing serious effects, and then with stronger and
stronger doses. In this way, although these little animals are very
sensitive, he succeeded in making them withstand doses ten times
greater than the minimal lethal dose.
A little later Kaufmanm obtained the same result with the
venom of French vipers. He did not, however, succeed in pro-
ducing tolerance of doses more than two or three times greater
than the lethal one.
In 189'2, at the time of my first experiments with cobra- venom
at Saigon,'' I arrived at the conclusion that it was possible, by
' Journal of rhijsiologij, vol. Aiii., 1887, }). 203.
- " Les Viperes de France," p. 136 (1889).
■' Annales de VInsiitut Pasteur, 1892, p. 181.
16
242 I'ENOMS
means of successive inoculations with heated venoms, to confer on
animals a certain degree of resistance to doses invariably lethal to
the controls.
From 1894 onwards, the investigations pursued simultaneously
at the Paris .Natural History Museum, by Phisalix and Bertrand,
upon viper-venom, and at the Paris Pasteur Institute by myself,
upon that of the cobra, and subsequently upon other venoms of
various origins, led to much more definite results. These investi-
gations show, on the one hand, that by vaccinating guinea-pigs
or rabbits, and taking certain precautions, it is possible to confer
upon these small animals a really strong immunity to venom ; on
the other hand, that animals vaccinated against cobra-venom are
perfectly immune to doses of viper-venom or that of other snakes
{Bungarus, Cerastes, Naja haje, Pseudechis) certainly lethal to the
controls ; and lastly, that the serum of the vaccinated animals
contains antitojcic substances capable of tyansmitting the imiminitij
to other animals}
According to Phisalix and Bertrand, who, as we have stated,
experimented only v^ith viper-venom, the best method of vac-
cinating the guinea-pig consists in inoculating a dose of 0'4 milli-
gramme of this venom heated for five minutes at 75° C, and,
forty-eight hours afterwards, the same dose of non-heated venom.
The latter is always lethal to the control guinea-pigs in from six
to eight hours.
Vaccination against cobra-venom, which is much more toxic,
is most surely effected by the method recommended by me, which
consists in at first injecting small doses of this venom mixed with
an equal quantity of a 1 per cent, solution of hypochlorite of
lime. By degrees the quantity of venom is increased and that of
the hypochlorite progressively diminished, and the injections are
1 Comptes rnulns de VAcadcmie des Sciences, t. 118. Febrnary, 1894, p. 356»
March, 11-94, p. 720; Cavrptca rcndus dc hi Socicic dc Bioloyic. Febiuaiv, 1894,
Y)p. Ill, 120 ; Archives de Fhysiologie, July, 1894; Avvales de Vlnsiiiut Fastciir,
May, 1894, p. 275, Aiuil, 1895, p. 225.
VACCINATION AGAINST SNAKE-VENOM 248
repeated every three or four days, while attentively following the
vai-iations in the weight of the animals. The inoculations are
suspended as soon as emaciation supervenes, and resumed when the
weight becomes normal again. After four injections of chloridated
venom the chloride is omitted, and a direct inoculation made with
one-half the minimal tethal dose of pure venom ; then, three or
four days afterwards, the injection is increased to three-fourths of
the minimal lethal dose ; and finally, after the lapse of another
three or four days, a lethal dose is injected.
If the animals prove resistant, the vaccination can thenceforth
be pushed on rapidly, and the quantity of venom injected each time
can be increased, testing the susceptibility of the organism by the
variations in weight.
As a rule, three months are necessary for the vaccination of
a rabbit against twenty lethal doses. In six months we can
succeed in making it very easily withstand 100 lethal doses.
The serum of rabbits thus treated soon, i.e., after they have
received from five to six lethal doses, exhibits antitoxic properties
/;/ vitro ; these, however, are not very pronounced until after
prolonged treatment. They gradually become just as intense as
those observed in the case of animals vaccinated against diphtheria
or tetanus.
In 1895 Fraser confirmed these results,^ and on May 15 in that
year exhibited before the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Edinburgh
a rabbit vaccinated against a dose of cobra-venom fifty times lethal.
At once considering the possibility of obtaining serums highly
antitoxic against snake-venoms, and of practical utility in the thera-
peutics of snake-bites, I prepared to vaccinate a certain number of
large animals, horses and donkeys, in order to procure great quan-
tities of active serum. I at first experienced some difficulties in
providing myself with a sufficient store of venom. But thanks on
the one hand to the obliging collaboration of some of my old pupils
' British Medical Journal, June 15, 1895.
244
VENOMS
or colleagues, and on the other to the valuable co-operation of the
Colonial Governments of Indo-China, the French Settlements in
India, and Martinique, I soon received poisonous snakes and dried
venom in abundance.
Fig. 93. — Vaccinatikg a Hoese against Venom at the Pasteur Institute at Lille.
After this I was not long" in pushing the vaccination of a few
horses until I made them resist, in a single injection, 2 grammes of
dry cobra-venom, a dose about eighty times lethal ; for I was able
to satisfy myself that about 0"0'25 gramme of cobra-venom was
sufficient to kill fresh horses in from twelve to twenty-four hours.
The immunisation of horses to this very high degree of tolerance
of venom is not obtained without difficulties; many animals sue-
VACCINATION AGAINST SNAKE-VENOM
245
cutnb in course of treatment from endocarditis or acute nephritis ;
in the case of others, each injection of venom leads to the forma-
tion of enormous aseptic abscesses, which have to be opened
and drained. It may be said that on an average an interval of
sixteen months is necessary in order to obtain a serum sufficiently
antitoxic.
Fig. 94. — Aseptically Bleeding a Horse Vaccinated against Venom in order
TO OBTAIN AnTIVENOMOUS SeRUM AT THE PaSTEUR INSTITUTE AT LiLLE.
When a horse is well vaccinated and tolerates without a reaction
2 grammes of dry cobra-venom in a single subcutaneous injection,
it may be bled on three consecutive occasions in the space of ten
days, and in this way 20 litres of blood may be drawn from it
(fig. 94).
246 VENOMS
The bleeding is arranged in the following manner : Twelve days
after the last injection of venom the horse is bled for the first time
to the extent of 8 litres ; five days later it is bled for the second
time to tlie extent of 0 htres ; five days later still the third bleeding
takes place, when 6 litres are again withdrawn.
The animal is then allowed to rest for three months and sup-
plied with strengthening food, and during this period 2 grammes
of venom are again injected on two occasions at the end of- a
month, followed, a month and a half later, by the injection of
2 more grammes. The antitoxic power of the serum is thus
maintained approximately at the same standard.
The serum drawn oif at each bleeding must be severely tested,
which is done by gauging its antitoxic power in vitro, when
mixed with venom, and also its preventive effect.
An antivenomous seram may be considered to be utilisable
when a mixture of 1 c.c. of serum with 0 "001 gramme of cobra-
venom produces no intoxicating effect in the rabbit, and when
a preventive subcutaneous injection of 2 c.c. of serum into a rabbit
of about 2 kilogrammes enables it to resist, two hours later, sub-
cutaneous inoculation with 1 milligramme of venom.
The preventive power may be very quickly tested by injecting
a rabbit, in the marginal vein of tlie right ear for example, with
2 c.c. of serum, and injecting, five minutes afterivards, in the
marginal vein of the left ear, 8 milligramme of venom. This
dose of 1 milligramme generally kills the control rabbits in less
than thirty minutes when introduced into the veins, and in from
two to three hours when injected beneath the skin.
This rapid proof by intravenous injection is extremely striking
and demonstrative ; it can be effected in public during a class or
lecture in less than an hour, and enables an immediate estimate
to be formed of the value of an antivenomous serum. When it
is intended to adopt this method, it is essential to make use of
a recent solution of venom, for solutions from a week to a fort-
night old, although sterile, have already lost a large portion of
VACCINATION AGAINST SNAKE-VENOM 247
their toxicity, aiul, if these be employed, the dose of venom
calcinated to kill the control animals in thirty minutes, for
example, takes an hour or more to do so.
I always prepare ni}^ test solutions of venom in the following
manner : —
Ten milligrammes of dry cobra-venom are weighed in a didicate
balance. The venom is dissolved in 10 c.c. of 0"8 per cent, physio-
logical salt solution, which takes a few minutes. When the venom
is thoroughly dissolved it is transferred to a test-tube, which is
immersed for three-quarters of an hour in a water-bath heated to
+ 72^ C. In this way the non-toxic albumins are coagulated
without modifying the neurotoxic substance. The solution is
p3ured on to a filter of sterilised paper, and the clear liquid
which is collected is immediately put up in glass phial?, which
are hermetically sealed, or in small sterilised bottles. Its toxicity
is tested upon control animals, and it may be kept for five or
six days if protected from light, or for several weeks in a refrigerator
at about 0° C.
One-tenth of this solution corresponds exactly to 1 milligramme
of dry venom.
As for the antivenomous serum, as soon as its antitoxic value
has been ascertained by the methods that I have just described, and
it has been separated from clots and red corpuscles by suitable
decantation, it is portioned out, with the usual aseptic pre-
cautions, into small sterilised bottles of 10 c.c. capacity, without
the addition of any antiseptic.
In order to ensure that it will keep for a long time, care is
then taken to heat the hermetically sealed bottles in a water-bath
at a temperature of 58° C. for one hour, and this operation is
repeated for three days in succession.
Serum prepared in this way preserves its antitoxic power
unimpaired for about two years, in all climates. I have had
occasion at various times to receive bottles which had been sent
eighteen months and two years previously to India and Indo-China,
248 VENOMS
and I was able to show that their standard had not perceptibly
deteriorated. It was only the appearance of the contained liquid
that was slightly changed; it was discoloured, and when shaken
small white flakes were seen floating through it. These flakes
are not a sign of deterioration ; they are composed of deposits
of precipitated albumin. They can be partly dissolved again by
violent shaking, or they may be separated before use by filtration
through sterilised paper.
In a dry state, antivenomous serum may be kept for an almost
indefinite period, in hermetically sealed glass tubes. In this con-
dition it is usually divided into doses of 1 gramme, and when it
is desired to make use of it, it is sufficient to dissolve a dose in
10 c.c. of water which has been boiled and allowed to cool, which
takes two or three minutes. This solution is then injected beneath
the skin, as though it were liquid serum.
The Pasteur Institute at Lille prepares in this way large
quantities of antivenomous serum, which are sent all over the
world to those countries in which poisonous snakes are most
dangerous.
Recently, special laboratories for the production of this prepara-
tion have been instituted at Bombay and at Kasauli, in the Punjab,
by Drs. G. Lamb and Bemple ; at Philadelphia, by Professor
McFarland ; at Sao-Paulo, in Brazil, by Dr. Vital Brazil ; and
at Sydney, by Dr. Tidswell.
Specificitij and Pohjvalence of Aiitivpuomous Serti))is. — By means
of a large number, of experiments I have proved that snake-venoms,
whatever their origin, contain two principal substances : neuro-
toxin, which exerts its effects upon the elements of the nervous
system, and licBmoyrhagiii (Flexner and Noguchi), or proteolytic
diastase, the effects of which remain exclusively local when the
venom is introduced subcutaneously into the cellular tissue, but
which produces coagulation of the blood when the venom is
inected directly into the blood^'Stream.
VACCINATION AGAINST SNAKE-VENOM 249
The venom of Colubrid^ in general is characterised by the
constant predorainence of neurotoxin, to which it owes its extreme
toxicit}', which is especially intense in the case of cobra-venom.
Tt contains no, or scarcely any, luemnrrhagin ; for this reason the
local symptoms of poisoning by Colubrine venom are almost nil.
This neurotoxin, as we have seen, shows itself very highly resistant
to heat.
The venom of Viperid^, on the contrary, especially that of
Lachesis, is characterised by the ahnost total absence of neuro-
toxin, while its richness in JicBmorrJiagin is considerable. Con-
sequently, heating for a few minutes at -\- 75° C. renders it almost
entirely inactive, since h(Bmorrliagi)i is very sensitive to heat.
Given venom of some kind or other, the origin of which is
unknown, it is therefore possible to ascertain whether the snake
from which it was extracted belonged to the Colubrid.e or
ViPERiD.1], by determining its richness in neurotoxin resistant to
heating at + 85" C.
Certain Viperine venoms, such as those of the European Vipcra
her us and Vipera asp is, the African Cerastes and American Crotahis
contain at the same time a small proportion — varying greatly in
amount according to the species — of neurotoxin, and a much larger
proportion of hceniorrhagin. It is for this reason that these venoms,
although greatly attenuated and deprived of their local action by
heating, still remain toxic when injected in large doses into animals
after having been heated to -|- 75° C.
On the other hand, some Colubrine venoms, such as those of
Bungarus cceruleus, which are very rich in neurotoxin, contain a
quantity of hsemorrhagin sufficient to differentiate their effects in
appearance from those produced by cobra-venom, when they are
injected, not beneath the skin, but directly into the veins. In this
case their effects upon the blood are added to those of their
neurotoxin.
It would seem, too, that the venoms of Australian Colubrid^e
250 VENOMS
(Hoplocephaltis, Pseudechis) form a ispecial group, which is richer in
hcemorrhagin than are those of the Colubrid.e of the Old World. ^
On studying, in the case of these various venoms, the action in
vitro and in vivo of a purely antineurotoxic antivenomous serum,
such as, for example, that of an animal vaccinated against cobra-
venom heated to + 75° C, it is found that this serum has a very
decided effect upon cobra-venom, and likewise upon that of snakes
belonging to allied species {Naja hungarm^, Naja haje), and that its
action upon the other venoms is less in proportion as they contain
less neurotoxin. It prevents haemolysis in vitro, and suppresses the
effects of intoxication on the nervous system, but does not modify
in any way the phenomena of coagulation or of proteolysis.
If this serum bs made to act in vitro on thoss Viperine
venoms that, when heatel to + 75^ C. and deprived of their
hgemorrhagin, remain neurotoxic, like the venom of the common
viper, it is found that it renders them entirely i-mosuous. There-
fore, in the case of all species of poisonous snakes, and perhaps
also in that of other poisonous animals (such as scorpions), it
appears that the murototic substance is one, aiii the same, and
always neufcralisable by an antineurotoxic serum like that of
animals vaccinated against cobra-venom.
Neurotoxin being the essentially active substance in venoms, and
that to which the dangerous properties of poisonous snakes, as
regards man and domestic animals, are especially due, it is the
effects of this that it is most necessary to prevent. Consequently,
• Cf. papers by George Lamb, Scientific Memoirs by Officers of the Medical
and Sanitary Dcpartmoits of the Government of India, New Series, Nos. 1, 3,
4, 5, 7, 10, 16 ; L. Rogers, I'roceedinys of the Royal Society of London, vol.
Ixxii., and Lancet, February 6, 1904; C. J. Martin, Intercolonial Medical
Journal of Australasia, August 20, 1897, April 20, 1898; Dr. Hunter, Lancet,
January 2, 1904 ; Dr. Tidswell, Australasian Medical Gazette, April 21, 1902 ;
A. Cahnette, Comptes rendus de VAcademie des Sciences, May ,2, 1904 ; Dr.
Vital Brazil, "Contribution a Tetude de I'intoxication ophidienne " (separately
published pamphlet), Paris, 1905 ; G. Bill, Intercolonial Medical Journal of
Australasia, July 20, 1902,
VACCINATION AGAINST SNAKE -VENOM 251
tho first quality that an antivoiioinoiis scram ought to exhibit,
in order to be capable of l)eing used in the therapeutics of
poisoning, is the possession of an antineurotoxic power as liigli
as possible. This antineurotoxic power is easily obtained by
employing cobra-venom for the fundamental immunisation of the
horses destined for the production of the serum.
Antineurotoxic serum thus prepared shows itself perfectly
capable of preventing all effects of intoxication from cobra-bites,
wdiich are much the most frequent m India. In the same way
it shows itself quite sufficiently efficacious with regard to Colu-
BRINE and ViPEBiNE venoms, the neurotoxic activity of which may
cause death. But it does not possess any preventive action upon
the local effects of hcp-morrhagin, to which the noxiousness of
certain Viperine venoms — such as those of Lachesis — are ahiiost
exclusively due.
In countries in which Viperid^ are very common, we must
therefore not confine ourselves to vaccinating the animals that
produce serum solely against the neurotoxin of cobra-venom, for
instance ; we must prepare these animals, after having immunised
them to cobra- venom, by injecting them with progressively increas-
ing doses of the various venoms derived from the snakes that are
most frequently met with in the district.
Nothing, moreover, is easier than to train animals vaccinated
against cobra-venom to tolerate strong doses of the venoms of
Lachesis, Vipera russeUii, Crotalus, Hoploceijhalus, or Pseudechis.
In a few months we succeed in obtaining serums very active
against these different venoms.
Utilising the horse as producer of antitoxin, I have prepared by
this method polyvalent serums capable of preventing the local
action of Viperine venoms, and of suppressing in vitro their
coagulant and proteolytic effects upon the blood.
Unfortunately, great as has been the kindness of the many
persons who have most obligingly given me their assistance in the
course of the fifteen years during which I have studied this ques-
252 VENOMS
tion, I have found it impossible to procure sufficient quantities of
venoms of various origins to furnish each country with the poly-
valent serums corresponding to its particular needs. T have there-
fore been obliged to confine myself to preparing for the most part
antineurofoxlns, which I have been able to do, thanks to the
abundant provision of Cobra- and Biniganis-venoms, for which I am
indebted to the liberality of the Government of the French Settle-
ments in India, and to that of my pupils and friends wdio are at the
present time in charge of the Colonial Laboratories of Indo-China.
Moreover, the recent foundation of the Serum-Therapic Institutes
of Bombay and Kasauli, Sydney, Sao-Paulo, and Philadelphia,
to-day renders it very easy for each country to provide itself with
antivenomous serum, either specific or polyvalent. Other institutes
will doubtless be established for the purpose of extending the bene-
fits of a method, the efficacy of which is sufficiently evident for
its adoption to be incumbent upon all those who are concerned
with' safeguarding human existence.
253
CHAPTER XIV.
NEUTBALISATION OF VENOM BY ANTITOXIN.
It is difficult, in the present state of our knowledge on the
subject of toxins and antitoxnis, to determine the precise nature
of the reactions that are produced in the living organism as the
result of serum injected for the purpose of preventing the toxic
action of venom.
I maintained, some years ago/ that the phenomenon in this
case was a purely physiological one, which I considered to be
proved by the fact that, if we mix in vitro, in determinate propor-
tions, venom and antivenomous serum, and if we heat this mixture
at 68^ C. for half an hour, the injection of the heated mixture kills
animals as if they were inoculated with venom alone, although
with a considerable retardation. I concluded from this that, in all
probability, antitoxic serum does not modify the toxin with which
it is mixed, but that it confines itself to displaying a jmrallel and
opposite action by preventing the noxious effects. I therefore
supposed that no chemical combination is produced between these
two substances, or, at least, that the combination effected is very
unstable.
My experiments were subsequently repeated by Martin and
Cherry,^ who showed that the results as stated above were perfectly
correct when the mixture of venom and antitoxin was heated less
than ten minutes after it had been made, but that, if the heating
' Annates de VInstitnt Pasteur, 1895, No. 4.
- " The Nature of the Antagonism between Toxins and Antitoxins," Proceed-
ings of the Poijat Socieiy of London, vol. Ixiii., 1898, ^i. 420.
254 VENOMS
did not take place until twenty or thirty minutes later, the toxicity
of the venom no longer reappeared.
On the other hand, the admirable researches of Kyes and Sachs,
and subsequently those of Morgenroth, pursued under the direction
of Ehrlich at the Laboratory of Experimental Therapy at Frank-
fort, have proved the readiness of venom to enter into chemical
combination with certain elements of normal serums, in particular
with lecithin, a combination which results in the formation of
h(Bmolysing and non-toxic lecithides, the neurotoxin being left free.
It therefore seemed impossible to deny the existence of a
chemical reaction between the venom and the serum, which was
until quite recently considered as proved. We shall see presently
that this is not the case. But let us first endeavour to determine
the laws that govern the neutralisation of variable quantities of
venom by antivenomous serum.
If, in a series of test-tubes, we bring the same quantity of cobra-
venom {e.g., 0*00005 gramme, a dose which is invariably lethal to the
mouse in two hours) into contact with progressively increasing
quantities of an antivenomous serum {e.g., 001 c.c, 0"02 c.c, &c., up
to 0"! c.c), and, after thirty minutes of contact, inject these different
mixtures subcutaneously into a series of mice, we find that all
those that have received the mixtures containing less than 0'05 c.c.
of serum succumb after variable intervals, while all the rest survive.
It is evident that, under these conditions, the serum experi-
mented upon has shown itself capable of neutralising in vitro, in
a dose of 0"05 cc, 5 centimilligrammes of venom.
The same serum should therefore neutralise 1 milligramme of
venom in a dose of 1 c.c, that is to say, that this mixture injected
into a mouse ought to be entirely innocuous. Experiments show,
however, that in reality it is necessary to mix 1"2 cc. of serum with
1 njilligramme of venom in order that the inoculated mouse may
not succumb.
This proves that, in the initial mixture of 0"C0005 gramme of
venom + 005 cc of serum, there remained an exceedingly small
NEVTBALISATION OF VENOM BY ANTITOXIN 255
quantity of non-nentralised venoin, and that this quantity of venom
in a free state was insufficient to cause the death of the animal, or
even any apparent niahiise. When multiphed by twenty, however,
it becomes capable of producing toxic effects; it is for this reason
that, when it is desired to inoculate a mouse with twenty times the
lethal dose of O'OOOOo gramme neutralised, it is necessary to mix
with this twenty times lethal dose a dose of serum a little larger
than twenty times that which renders 000005 gramme of venom
innocuous to the mouse, that is to say, 1"2 c.c.
If, instead of making use of the mouse as test animal, we employ
the rabbit, it is found that the same serum, in a dose of 0'75 c.c,
neutralises O'OOl gramme of venom sufficiently for the mixture to be
innocuous when inoculated. It is clear that, in this mixture, the
whole of the venom was not neutralised by the serum, but the
small quantity left free is incapable of producing harmful effects.
13y this method of employing mixtures of the same dose of
venom with variable quantities of antivenomous serum, we are
therefore enabled to determine with the greatest exactness the
antitoxic power in vitro of each specimen of serum. But it must
not be forgotten that fJic rcsidt obtained applies oily to tJw species
of animal into which the mixtures were injected.
I have already stated (Chapter YIII.) that a fairly close paral-
lelism exists between the murotoxic action cf venoms and their
hcBmolytic action, and I have established that, in order that the
sensitive red blood-corpuscles may be dissolved under the influence
of venom, it is indispensable that the reaction take place in the
presence of normal serum, since venoms have no effect upon led
corpuscles freed from serum by several successive washings and
centrifugings.
Preston Kyes has explained this phenomenon very well by
showing tliat the venom combines with the lecithins in the serum,
or with those contained in the stroma of the corpuscle, so as to
constitute a lia-molysing lecithide.
The knowledge of this fact enables us to determine, by means
256 VENOMS
of a very neat and simple method, and with a sufficient degree of
accuracy for practical purposes, the antitoxic power of an anti-
venomous serum by measuring its antih(Bmolytic power. ^
To this end it is sufficient to cause variable doses of serum to
act on a given quantity of defibrinated horse- or rat-blood, to which
a constant dose of venom is then added. We employ, for example,
a 5 per cent, dilution of defibrinated horse-blood, which is portioned
out in doses of 1 c.c. into a series of test-tubes. To each of these
tubes in succession is added a progressively increasing quantity of
the serum for titration, starting with O'Ol c.c, and continuing with
O'O^ c.c, 0"0;3 c.c, kc, up to 0"1 cc A control tube receives no serum.
There are then introduced into all the tubes 1 decimilligramme of
venom and 0"2 c.c. of normal horse-serum, deprived of alexin by
previous heating for half an hour at 58 C. At a temperature of
about IG' C. haemolysis commences to manifest itself in the control
tube in from fifteen to twenty minutes. It takes place in the other
tubes with a retardation which varies with the dose of serum
added. Tubes are to be noticed in which it does not occur even
after the lapse of a couple of hours.
Experience shovv's that we may consider as good for therapeutic
use serums which, in a dose of 0'05 c.c, completely prevent haemo-
lysis by 1 decimilligramme of Colubeine venom, such as that of
Cobra, Krait, &c., and those that in a dose of 0"7 c.c, prevent
haemolysis by 1 milligramme of the venom of LacJicsis or Vipera
hems.
By a method calculated upon the foregoing, it is likewise
possible to measure the antihinnorrhagic activity of an anti-
venomous serum, for the parallelism existing between the antl-
nenrotoxic and antihaiiwhjtic actions of serums occurs again, as
I have been able to establish in conjunction with Noc, between
the antihamorrhagic and antiprotcolytic action of the same serums.
' Calmette, Comptcfi reiidits dc I'Acadrniic den Sciences, 1902, No. 24 ; Preston
Kyes, Berlhier kliniscJic Wochenschrift, 1904, No. 19.
NEUTRALISATION OF VENOM BY ANTITOXIN 257
Now, the antiproteohjtic action is easily determined by means
of a series of test-tubes containing the same quantity of 20 per
cent, gelatinised houillon, rendered imputrescible by the addition
of a small quantity of thymol. The gelatine being kept liquid in
the incubating stove, a progressively increasing quantity of serum
is poured into each tube. The same dose of venom, say 1 milli-
gramme, is then added in each case. The tubes are placed in the
stove for six hours at 36' C. They are then withdrawn and
immersed in a bath of cold water. Those in which the gelatine
solidifies are noted, and thus we establish the dose of antivenomous
serum that inhibits the proteolysis of this substance.
These different methods of control enable us to verify the
activity of antivenomous serums with great exactness, without
the necessity of having recourse to experiments upon animals.
In a very important memoir on the reconstitution of the toxins
from a mixture of toxin -\- antitoxin, J. Morgenroth ^ has shown
that the venom, after being naturalised by the antivenomous
serum, can be dissociated from its combination by means of a
method which consists in adding to the latter a small quantity
of hydrochloric acid.
Previous experiments by Kyes had established : —
(1) That antivenomous serum, the antitoxic action of which is
so manifest when it is mixed in vitro with cobra-venom, remains
entirely inert when brought into contact w'ith the combination
lecithin -\- venom, that is to say, with cohra-lecithide.
(2) That the addition of lecithin to a neutral combination of
venom -f antivenomous serum does not set the venom free again,
and that under these conditions no lecithide is formed.
If, in a neutral mixture of cohra-h(B?nolysin and antitoxin we
could succeed in dissociating the two constituent elements, and
in then making the cobra-hcEinolysin combine with the lecithin,
' Berliner Mininche Wochenschrift, 1905, No. 50.
17
258 VENOMS
we should have a toxin and antitoxin side by side ; for the
reasons indicated above, this toxin (Iccithide) and antitoxin {anti-
venomous senwi) would be no longer capable of combining ; but
the toxin (lecithide), thanks to its hsemolytic properties, could easily
be demonstrated.
It is precisely this desideratum that J. Morgenroth has suc-
ceeded in realising, by means of hydrochloric acid, which renders
it possible to dissociate the neutral mixture, toxin + antitoxin,
into its constituent elements, and then to obtain a lecithide.
Experiments show that the quantity of lecithide thus restored
absolutely corresponds to that of the cobra-hsemolysin originally
added to the antitoxin, and that the antitoxin set free is not
injured by the hydrochloric acid, even after twenty-four hours of
contact. It is sufficient to add the quantity of soda or of ammonia
necessary for the neutralisation of the acid, in order to see the
antitoxin reappear in its original strength.
It is therefore possible, by causing hydrochloric acid (in a
solution not stronger than 3 per cent.) to act on a neutral mixture
of cobra-hsemolysin (toxin) and antitoxin, to set the former at
liberty in the form of lecithide, to withdraw the latter from the
action of the antitoxin, and to demonstrate its presence, owing to
its hsemolytic properties.
It has been found by Kyes and Sachs that, under the influence
of hydrochloric acid, cobra-hsemolysin becomes resistant to heat to
such, an extent that it is not destroyed even by prolonged heating
at 100° C.
If to a neutral mixture of toxin -f antitoxin we add a small
quantity of hydrochloric acid, and then heat the mixture at 100" C,
the antitoxin being in this case destroyed, we shall recover the
whole of the toxin originally employed.
Therefore, as was shown by me so long ago as 1894, if the
mixture of toxin -|- antitoxin produces a chemical combination
between the two substances, this combination is unstable, and can
be effectively broken up into these two constituent elements by
various influences.
259
CHAPTER XV.
TEE ATM EN T OF POISONOUS SNAKE-BITES IN MAN
AND ANIMALS.
OBJECTS OF THE TREATMENT : TECHNIQUE OF
ANTIVENOMOUS SEBUM-THEBAPY.
In all countries the remedies recommended for the bites of
poisonous snakes are innumerable, and native pharmacopoeias
abound in so-called infallible recipes.
Pliny himself wrote on this subject as follows : —
" For poisonous bites, it is customary to employ a liniment made
of fresh sheep-droppings, cooked in wine. Eats cut in two are
also applied ; these animals possess important properties, especially
at the epoch of the ascension of the stars, seeing that the number
of a rat's fibres wax and wane with the moon,
" Of all birds, those that afford most assistance against snakes
are vultures. The black ones are the weaker. The odour of their
feathers when burnt puts snakes to flight. Provided with a
vulture's heart one need not fear encounters with snakes, and can
also defy the wrath of wild beasts, robbers, and princes.
" Cock's flesh, applied while still warm, neutralises the venom
of snakes. The brains of the bird, swallowed in wine, produce the
same effect. The Parthians, for this purpose, make use of chicken's
brains. The fresh flesh of the pigeon and the swallow, and owls'
feet burned, are good against snake-bites.
" If one has been bitten by a snake or by any venomous animal,
another method of cure is to take salt fish and wine from time
to time, so as to vomit in the evening. This remedy is chiefly
260 VENOMS
efficacious against the bite of the CJialcis, Cerastes, Seps, Elaps and
Dipsas.''
In Equatorial America, and especially in India, a multitude
of plants are credited with marvellous properties, which they
possess only in the imagination of the snake-charmers or medicine-
men by whom they are employed. None of them stand the test of
experiment, any more than the more or less compound drugs,
numbers of specimens of which from all sources have passed
through my hands.
It cannot, however, be denied that certain chemical substances,
of well-defined composition, are very useful, not as physiological
antidotes to venoms, but as agents for their modification or destruc-
tion in the poisoned wounds, when they have not yet been absorbed.
In this way permanganate of potash, chromic acid, chloride of
gold, and the alkaline hypochlorites, especially hypochlorite of
lime, may be extremely useful under many circumstances.
Permanganate of potash was recommended in 1881 by Professor
de Lacerda,^ of Eio de Janeiro, as the result of experiments made
by bini with venoms of Brazilian snakes. When a few cubic
centimetres of a 1 per cent, solution of permanganate of potash are
quickly injected into the actual wound caused by the bite and
around the point of inoculation, there can be no doubt that the
venom not yet absorbed is destroyed. When mixed in vitro with
venom, permanganate renders the latter innocuous.
Here, however, it is a case of actual destruction by direct
contact. If we inject a lethal dose of venom into the right thigh
of an animal, for example, and several cubic centimetres of per-
manganate solution into different parts of the body, or beneath the
skin of the left thigh, neither the general intoxication nor the local
effects of the venom are modified.
The same may be said with regard to cliromic acid (1 per cent.
' Comj^tcs Tcnd'us de l' Academic dcs Sciences, Paris, September, 1881.
TREATMENT OF POISONOUS SNAKE-BITES 261
solution), recommended by Kaufraann^ for the bite of tiie common
viper.
No other effect is produced by a 1 per cent, sokition of chloride
of gold, or the alkaline hypoclilorites, which I have shown to
possess a strong" oxidising action on the different venoms, even on
those that are most rapidly diffusible, such as cobra-venom (see
Chapter V.). They possess, however, owing to their slight causti-
city, the advantage of not producing severe local disorders, and
in this respect they are to be preferred.
The chemical reagent most to be recommended is hypochlorite
of lime, in a fresh solution of 2 grammes per cent., and containing
about 90 c.c. of chlorine per 100 grammes. It immediately and
surely destroys the venom by simple contact, and the chlorine gas
that it gives off, owing to its great diffusibility, acts at a fairly long
distance from the point of inoculation on the venom which is
already beginning to be absorbed.
Professor Halford, of Melbourne, advises the direct injection
into the patient's veins of from 10 to 20 drops of ammonia, diluted
with an equal quantity of distilled water. This is a means of
reviving nervous excitability in certain subjects at the commence-
ment of intoxication ; but torpor soon reappears, and, if the dose
of venom inoculated is sufficient to cause death, a fatal ending takes
place notwithstanding. Experimentally the effects of ammonia
are nil.
No better results are obtained by injections of strychnine, as
recommended by Dr. Mueller, in Australia. Moreover, the
statistics published by Kaston Huxtable- positively condemn this
therapeutic method. They show that, in 426 cases of snake-bite,
out of 113 treated by strychnine 15 proved fatal, the ratio of
mortality being 13"2 per cent., while the 313 cases not treated
by strychnine only resulted in 13 deaths, or a mortality of 4"1
per cent.
> "Levenin de la vipere," Paris, 1889.
- Transactions of the Third Intercolonial Confjress, 1892, p. 152,
262 VENOMS
In the case of animals intoxicated by venom, injections of
strychnine, morphia, nicotine, or curare in small doses always
prove ineffective ; they even considerably assist the progress of
the intoxication and hasten death. The use of these drugs in the
case of human beings should therefore be absolutely forbidden.
It appears, on the other hand, that alcohol and coffee, or tea,
absorbed by ingestion, are very often beneficial. Indeed, it was
long ago observed that the swallowing of alcohol until symptoms
of drunkenness appear retards or diminishes the phenomena of
torpor and paresis that precede the ultimate phase of the intoxica-
tion. Its use may therefore be recommended when it is impossible
to have recourse to the only treatment really specific that modern
science places in our hands — antivenomous sencm-therap7j. It is
important, however, to state that, wJien serum is used, alcohol must
he forbidden. The latter hinders the effects of the former.
In practice, the rational treatment of the bite of a venomous
snake must be directed towards : —
(1) Preventing the absorption of the venom.
(2) Neutralising, by the injection of a sufficient quantity of
antitoxic serum, the effects of the venom already absorbed.
In order to prevent the absorption of the venom introduced
into the wound, the first precaution to be taken is to compress
the bitten limb by means of a ligature of some kind, such as a
handkerchief, as close as possible to the bite, and between it and
the base of the limb. The ligature must be tightly twisted, and,
by compressing the tissues around the bite, an attempt should be
made to squeeze out the venom that may have been introduced
into them. The expulsion of the poison should be hastened, either
by making an incision 2 or 3 cm. in length and 1 cm. in depth in
the direction taken by the fangs of the reptile and also parallel to
the axis of the bitten member, or by sucking the wound hard.
The ligature on the limb should not be applied for more than
half an hour ; if it were kept on longer it would interfere with the
circulation to a dangerous degree, and would certainly injure the
TEEATMENT OF POISONOUS SNAKE-BITES 26B
vitality of the tissues. The period in question also usually affords
sufficient time for taking the patient to a place where help can be
obtained, and for the preparation of everything necessary for his
subsequent treatment.
The wound should then be freely washed with a fresh 2 pei- cent.
solution of hypochlorite of lime, or with a 1 in 1,000 solution of
chloride of gold. In default of hypochlorite of lime or chloride of
gold, either can de Javel, diluted with tepid water to a strength
of 1 in 10, or a 1 per cent, solution of permanganate of potash, may
be employed. These reagents should be made to penetrate as
deeply as possible into the tissues, and a few cubic centimetres of
them should even be injected with a Pravaz syringe into the
punctures caused by the bite and all round them.
The wound being then covered with a damp dressing by means
of compresses saturated with hypochlorite of lime, or at least with
pure alcohol, the next thing to be done is to prepare to apply the
serum- therapic treatment in order to arrest the general intoxication,
if this has already commenced to take effect, or to prevent it from
setting in.
For the employment of sermii it is necessary to be in possession
of a sterilisable syringe of the capacity of 10 c.c, similar to those
used in the treatment of diphtheria.
If the life of the patient be not immediately in danger, care
should first be taken to have the syringe boiled, or at least to rinse
it out with boiling water, making sure that the piston fits tightly,
and that the syringe itself is in good working order.
Should a syringe of 10 c.c. not be available, any kind of Pravaz
syringe, previously washed out with boihng water, may be em-
ployed, but in this case the use of so small an instrument renders
it necessary to give several painful injections.
The entire contents of a bottle of serum (10 c.c. of liquid serum,
or 1 gramme of dry serum dissolved in 10 c.c. of boiled water)
should be injected into the subcutaneous areolar tissue of the
abdomen, on the right or left side. There is no advantage m
264
VENOMS
making the injection at the actual spot bitten ; the serum is best
and most rapidly absorbed when injected into the loose tissues of
the abdominal wall (fig. 95).
Fig. 95. — Technique op the Injection of Antiyenomous Serum beneath the
Skin of the Abdomen.
If it has been impossible to apply the treatment until several
hours after the bite, and if the latter has been inflicted by a
poisonous snake of large size or belonging to a very dangerous
TREATMENT OF POISONOUS SNAKE-BITES 265
species, such as the Cobra or Indian Krait, it is preferable to inject
into the patient three whole closes of serum at once.
In cases in which the phenomena of serious intoxication have
already appeared, and when asphyxia threatens, one must not
hesitate to inject 10 or even 20 c.c. of serum directly into a vein.
For such an injection it is most convenient to choose a superficial
vein at the elbow or wrist, or on the back of the hand.
The introduction of serum into the veins is never dangerous if
good care be taken not to allow either bubbles of air or particles
of precipitated albumin to enter.
It is not advisable to repeat the injections beneath the skin or
into the veins unless the general symptoms appear to become more
acute.
In most cases the local pain, excitement, and attacks of cramp
and nausea disappear within a few minutes after the first injection.
Improvement progresses very rapidly, and by the following day the
patient has recovered.
The administration of ammonia, alcohol, morphia, or ether by
the mouth is entirely superfluous. These drugs, as I have already
stated, may even be harmful to the patient and hinder the effects
of the serum. All that should be done is to give copious hot drinks,
tea or coffee, and to cover up the patient warmly in order to induce
abundant perspiration.
The bitten member should not be cauterised with red hot iron
or with chemical agents of any kind, since such cauterisations only
lead to injuries which are too often prejudicial to the normal action
of the affected organs.
Treatment of Poisonous Bites in the Case of Domestic Animals.
— It often happens that dogs, horses, or cattle are bitten and
succumb to the poisoning in a few hours or in two or three days.
Such accidents are especially frequent among sporting dogs, even
in Europe, in regions in which vipers are found.
In most cases, dogs, horses, and cattle are bitten on the nose,
and such bites are immediately followed by a very painful swelling.
266 VENOMS
which arouses the suspicion of the owners of the animals. It is
then necessary, as soon as possible, to inject subcutaneously in the
right or left flank, or at the base of the neck, one or two doses
of antivenomous serum, according to the gravity of the effects
observed.
The injection of the serum and the dressing of the wound should
be performed as in the case of poisonous bites in human beings.
Influence of the Doses of Antivenomous Serum injected, and of
the Time that lias elapsed since the Veno^noiis Bite. — I have stated
above that antivenomous serum possesses a preventive and curative
power of such intensity, that it is capable in a few minutes of
rendering animals into which it has been injected absolutely in-
sensible to the most strongly neurotoxic venoms, such as those of
Naja or Bungarus. On the other hand, I have established the
fact that, the more sensitive are the animals to intoxication
by venom, the greater is the quantity of antivenomous serum
necessary to immunise them passively or to cure them.
In experimenting upon mice, guinea-pigs, and rabbits, it is
found that in order to preserve, let us say, a mouse of 25 grammes
against inoculation with half a milligramme of venom, which is
ten times the lethal dose for this little animal, it is necessary to
give a preventive injection of 1 c.c. of serum ; while half a cubic
centimetre of the same serum is sufficient to render the dose of
half a milligramme of venom innocuous, when venom and serum
are mixed in vitro before being injected.
In the case of the guinea-pig, it is likewise found that the dose
of serum to be injected preventively, in order to protect the
animal from intoxication by ten times the lethal dose of venom,
is about twice as much as the quantity of the same serum that
it is sufficient to mix i?i vitro with venom, in order to render ten
times the lethal dose of venom innocuous.
If we inject into animals first venom, in doses calculated to
kill the controls of the same weight in from two to three hours,
and the serum fifteen 7ninutes afterwards, it is found that the
TREATMENT OF POISONOUS SNAKE-BITES 267
quantity of serinn that must be injected in order to prevent death
is about thrice as great as that which neutrahses in vitro the dose
of venom inoculated.
It is also found that the amount of curative serum, that an
anijnal intoxicated hij vowm must receive is inverselij proportional
to its weight.
The experiments upon dogs, performed at the Pasteur Institute
at Lille by my collaborator C. Guerin, are highly demonstrative
in this respect.^
A dog of 12 kilogrammes, inoculated with 9 milligrammes of
venom (a dose lethal to controls of the same weight in from five
to seven hours), is completely cured on receiving, tivo hours after
inoculation with the poison, 10 c.c. of serum.
When the treatment does not take place until three hours after
the injection of the venom, it is necessary to inject 20 cc. of serum
in order to prevent the animal from dying. With a longer delay
than this, death is inevitable, since the bulbar centres are already
affected, and paralysis of the respiratory muscles commences to
appear.
These facts show that : —
(1) The more sensitive animals are to venom, the greater is the
quantity of serum necessary in order to prevent their intoxication
by a given dose of venom.
(2) For a given species of animal and a given dose of venom,
the longer the delay in applying the remedy, the greater is the
quantity of serum that must be injected in order to arrest the
poisoning.
It will be understood from what has been already stated, that
a man weighing 60 kilogrammes, if bitten by a snake which
injects, let us say, what would amount to 20 milligrammes of
venom if collected in the dry state (the mean quantity that a
' " Les morsures de viperes chez Ics animaux," liecueil de medecine veteri-
naire d'Alforl, May 15, 1897.
268 VENOMS
Naja is able to inocnlate in a single bite), would only require,
in order to escape death, to receive the quantity of antivenomous
serum sufficient to neutralise the portion of venom in excess of
the amount that he could tolerate without dying.
Let us suppose, for the sake of example, that the man of 60
kilogrammes can withstand intoxication by 14 milligrammes of
Naja-Ysnom. It follows that, in the case with which we are
dealing, we must inject sufficient serum to neutralise 20 — 14 ( = 6)
milligrammes of venom ; that is to say, the injection of serum
being made immediately after the bite, 6 c.c, if the serum employed
neutralises i)i vitro 1 milligramme of venom per cubic centimetre.
Of course, if the serum is more powerful, less of it will be
necessary, while more will be required if the remedy is applied
later, or if the quantity of venom inoculated by the snake is
supposed to have been greater.
For this reason, in practice, but very little serum is usually
necessary in order to augment the natural resistance of a man
of average weight or of a large animal ; it is sufficient in most
cases to give an injection of 10 or 20 c.c. in order to cure human
beings who have been bitten. The clinical proof of this is, more-
over, to be found in the cases, already very numerous, that have
been published in the course of the last few years in the scientific
journals of all countries. I have gathered together a few of these
in the concluding pages of this book, and I would beg the reader
to be good enough to refer to them.
269
PART IV.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES.
CHAPTER XVI.
1.— INVERTEBRATES.
Besides reptiles, many other animals possess poison-glands
and inociilatory organs which they employ, either to defend them-
selves against their natural enemies, or to capture the living prey
upon which they feed.
The venoms that they produce are still, for the most part, but
little understood. A few of them, however, have excited the
curiosity of physiologists, especially those secreted by certain
batrachians, such as the Toad, and certain fishes, such as the
Weever. Some of them exhibit close affinity to snake-venom, and
are composed, like the latter, of proteic substances modifiable by
heat and precipitable by alcohol ; others possess altogether special
characters, and resemble alkaloids.
The lowest animal group in which these secretions begin to be
clearly differentiated is that of the Coelenterates.
A. — Coelenterates.
It has been shown by Charles Richet^ that the tentacles of sea-
anemones {Anemone scultata) contain a toxic substance which has
' Comptes renclus de la Societe de Bioloyic, December 13, 1902 ; June 6,
July 25, 1903 ; February 20, 1904.
270 VENOMS
the curious property of causing intense itching, pruritus, and even
urticaria. This poison is perfectly soluble in alcohol, and can be
prepared in the following manner : —
The tentacles are cut off close to the body of the animal, and
immersed for a few days in an equal weight of alcohol at 95° C.
The red liquid that results is decanted, and then filtered. The
insoluble material is compressed, and yields large quantities of fluid,
which is filtered and mixed with the previous liquid.
The whole is then evaporated in vacuo until there remains a
thick oily liquid, which forms a red deposit. Filtration through
paper is again employed, in order to separate this colouring matter,
and to the filtered liquid is added an equal amount of alcohol at
95' C. By this means there is precipitated a blackish, gummy
matter, insoluble in alcohol. The remaining liquid is decanted
and once more evaporated until it is reduced to a smaller volume
than before. It is again treated with twice its volume of absolute
alcohol, when it precipitates, in addition to salts and gummy
matter, a white flocculent substance, which is crude thalassin.
This can be purified by redissolving it in alcohol at a temperature
of 98° C. On cooling it separates from the fluid in the form of
crystals, which are placed on a filter and can then be redissolved in
a small quantity of water. Absolute alcohol, added to this solution,
precipitates the thalassin in the shape of very pure crystals, which
contain 10 per cent, of azote, and melt at 200° C.
This substance, in aqueous solutions, rapidly deteriorates owing
to ammoniacal fermentation. When injected intravenously into
dogs it produces pruritus, sneezing, and erythema, with intense
congestion of the mucous membranes ; 1 decigramme per kilo-
gramme is a dose sufficient to produce these symptoms. It is not
very toxic, since 1 centigramme is not lethal.
One kilogramme of anemones is capable of furnishing about
3 grammes of pure crystallised poison.
In addition to thalassin, Kichet succeeded in isolating from the
tentacles of the same sea-anemones another poison insoluble in
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 271
alcohol at 50' C, and richer in azote (14 per cent.), to which
he has given the name congestin. This is not destroyed by
heating to 107 C. It is prepared by precipitating, by four times
its volume of alcohol, a solution of anemone-tentacles in 5 per
cent, fluoride of sodium. The solid matter, after being precipi-
tated and dried, is redissolved in six times its volume of water,
and then filtered. On adding to the filtered and fluorescent
liquid its volume of alcohol at 90' C, the congestin. is precipi-
tated. It is purified by redissolving it in water, and freeing it
by dialysis from the fluoride of sodium that it has retained. In
this way there is obtained, after evaporation, a product sufficiently
toxic to kill dogs in twenty-four hours in a dose of 2 milligrammes
per kilogramme.
Congestin exerts a sensitising or anaphylactic effect upon
animals as regards thalassin, and is lethal in a dose of about
•5 milligrammes per kilogramme of animal, and sometimes even
in a dose of 7 decimilligrammes. It is therefore a very active
poison.
Dogs, on the other hand, into which is injected first thalassin,
and then, some time afterwards, congestin, are perfectly resistant
to inoculation by the latter. Thalassin is therefore antitoxic or
antagonistic to congestin.
The latter, on the contrary, if injected first of all in non-lethal
doses, renders animals so sensitive to inoculation with thalassin,
that from 4 to 5 milligrammes are sufficient to cause death.
The tentacles of these anemones therefore contain two toxic
substances antagonistic to each other, which can easily be separated,
since one {thalassin) is soluble in concentrated alcohol, while the
other is completely insoluble in this reagent.
These poisons are not only extremely interesting from a physio-
logical point of view, but also possess a practical interest, since it
is at the present time almost a matter of certainty that they are
the cause of a malady which specially affects sponge-divers in the
Mediterranean.
272 VENOMS
A good description of the disease has been given by Dr.
Skevos Zervos, of Athens.' It is observed exclusively in men
who dive quite naked, without a diving-dress. Now, beside the
bases of the sponges and sometimes on their surface there Hve
numbers of anemones which secrete a viscid substance, which is
extremely virulent, especially in the month of August.
The first symptoms that supervene after contact with these
CoBlenterates are an intense itching and burning sensation ; a papule
of a horny consistency appears at the outset at the spot at which
contact took place ; this is soon surrounded by a red zone, which
becomes bluish and then black, and spreads to a greater or lesser
extent, according to the region attacked and the virulence of the
venom. After a few days the skin sloughs and leaves a deep ulcer,
which suppurates in spite of antiseptic treatment. The onset of
the disease is marked by a febrile attack with shivering, which is
soon accompanied by cephalalgia, thirst, and pains in the back and
limbs.
Zervos reproduced these disorders experimentally by rubbing an
anemone, held with forceps, on the shaven abdomen of a dog. In
a few minutes the region affected became quite red and prurigi-
nous ; twenty-five minutes later phlyctenas full of serum appeared ;
three days afterwards five abscesses of different sizes developed,
while at the place where it had been touched by the venom the
skin assumed a deep blue colour ; on the fifth day an area 2 cm.
in diameter was completely gangrenous.
When ingested, anemones possess toxic properties which are
well known to the sponge-fishers, for they frequently make use of
them for the purpose of poisoning domestic animals. With this
object they cut them up into small fragments, and mix them with
bread or meat, which is given to the animals to eat ; the latter die
in convulsions in a few minutes.
In order to preserve the divers from the harmful effects produced
' Semaine medicale, June 24, 1903.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 273
by contact with the anemones, they should be advised to cover
their bodies with a layer of grease, a simple artifice which con-
stitutes an efficient protection.
B. — ECHINODERMS.
The Echinoidea (Sea-urchins) are provided with soft prehensile
organs, the ijediceUarice, of which four kinds are distinguished :
gemmiform, tridactyle, trifoliate, and ophiocephalous.
These pedicellariae contain a special venom, which causes the
paralysis and death of animals into which it is injected. Uexkull,
who was the first to mention it, considered that the gemmiform
pedicellarias alone are toxic.
From this point of view various species of sea-urchins, Strong ij-
locentrotus lividus, Arhacia cBquituherculata, SphcBrechinus granu-
laris and Spatangiis purpureus, have recently been studied by
V. Henri and Mdlle. Kayalof.'
The pedicellarise were removed and pounded up in sea-water,
and the pulp was injected into crabs, holothurians, star-fish, cuttle-
fish, frogs, lizards, and rabbits ; in the case of cuttle-fish and rabbits
the injection was made intravenously ; in that of the other animals
into the body-cavity.
For crabs the lethal dose was from 20 to 30 gemmiform pedi-
cellarise of Strong ylocentrotus lividus.
The holothurians, star-fish, and frogs proved immune.
In the case of rabbits weighing 1^ kilogrammes, 40 pedicellariae
of SphcBrechinus granularis, pounded up in 1 c.c. of water, produce
death by asphyxia and general paralysis in from two to three
minutes. The heart continues to beat after respiration has ceased.
For lizards and fishes the toxic dose is the same as for the crab.
The cuttle-fish is paralysed and killed in two hours by 50
pedicellariae.
' Comptes rendus de la Societe de Biologie, May 19, 1906.
18
274 VENOMS
This venom resists ebullition for fifteen minutes,
V. Henri and Mdlle. Kayalof made experiments in immunisa-
tion. Rabbits that receive every third day increasing doses of
gemmiform pedicellarise of SiyhcBrecliiniis granularis tolerate well,
after four injections, the toxin of 40 pedicellarise, a lethal dose.
The serum of these rabbits is not protective for either rabbit,
crab, or fishes.
Frog serum (1 c.c.) injected into the body cavity of a crab,
protects this animal against the pulp of pedicellariae injected
immediately afterwards.
The pedicellariae easily become detached from sea-urchins.
They remain fixed to objects which come into contact with them,
and the urchin abandons them like poisoned arrows.
On touching a point on the surface of the body of an urchin,
the spines are seen to incline towards the spot touched, and the
pedicellarise stretch themselves out and lean with their valves open
towards the seat of the stimulus. In SphcErechinus granularis the
heads of the gemmiform pedicellariae are covered with sticky mucus
forming a tiny drop, visible under the lens. A specimen of this
species possesses more than 450 pedicellarias.
C. — Arthropods.
(a) Araneida (Spiders).
Almost all Arachnids possess poison-glands, which are con-
nected, in some cases with the buccal apparatus, in others with
a special inoculatory organ situated at the posterior extremity of
the body. The spiders and scorpions belong to this group, and
their venom is particularly active.
On each side of the mouth of spiders is found an appendage
ending in a fang {chelicera), at the extremity of which opens the
excretory duct of a more or less developed poison-gland. The
venom produced by these glands is instantly fatal to all small
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SEIUES
275
\£/
animals upon which spiders feed. In man and large mammals
their bite produces sensations of pain accompanied by swelling
and muscular contractions as though caused by localised tetanus.
The venom of certain species of spiders
sometimes causes very serious and even
fatal results. Latrodectus malmignattus
(the malmignatte of the South of France
and Italy), and especially Latrodectus
mactans, of Chile (fig. 96), are greatly
dreaded.^ The area of distribution of the
latter includes the whole of Tropical and
Sub-tropical America. It is said that it
frequently causes the death of milch cows,
and that in man its bite produces tetanic
effects, which last for several days, but
are in most cases amenable to treatment.
Another dangerous spider is the Katipo
(Latrodectus scelio), of New Zealand.
This creature is confined to the sea-shore,
and the natives are often bitten when
collecting shell-fish or sea-weed. The
Maoris are so much afraid of the bite of
the Katipo that, when one of them has
been bitten in his hut, and the animal
cannot be found, they do not hesitate to
burn the dwelling to the ground. More-
over, they are convinced that the death of
the spider is absolutely necessary for the recovery of the patient.-
Fig. 96. — Lactrodectus
mactans (formidabilis olim).
1, Female, twice natural size ;
la, its eyes, greatly enlarged.
•"El Latrodectus formidabilis de Chile," by Frederico Puga-Borne, Santiago,
1892 ; and " Biologia Centrali- Americana," Arachnida, vol. ii., pi. 35.
-Blaekwell, "Experiments and Observations on the Poison of Araneida,"
Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, 1855, p. 31. See also "Insect
Life" (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1889), vol, i., parts 7, 8, 9 and 10,
and vol. ii., part 5.
276 VENOMS
Kobert^ has made an experimental study of the venom of
species of Latrodectus and Epeira. That of Latrodectus erehus
(the Karakurte of South Eussia) is particularly toxic.
If a dry extract of these spiders be prepared and injected into
the veins of dogs or cats, it is found that a few milligrammes
per kilogramme are sufficient to cause death, with phenomena of
dyspnoea, convulsions, and progressive paralysis of respiration
and the heart. Eabbits, rats, birds, frogs, and leeches are also
sensitive to this poison, though the hedgehog is almost refractory,
The young spiders, and even the eggs, are more toxic than the
adults.
Spider-venom is destroyed by heating for forty minutes at
+ 70" C, and is precipitated by alcohol. When absorbed by
ingestion it has no effect : it is heemolytic and coagulates blood.
The study of arachnolysin by Ehrlich's methods has been
undertaken afresh by Hans Sachs," who has shown that rat's and
rabbit's blood are most rapidly dissolved. Twenty-eight milli-
grammes of extract of Epeira are capable of completely dissolving
0-05 c.c. of blood.
By immunising guinea-pigs and rabbits, Sachs succeeded in
obtaining a strongly antitoxic serum, which entirely prevents the
haemolysis of the sensitive red corpuscles.
(b) Scorpionidea (Scorpions).
The poison-apparatus of the scorpion is constituted by the last
abdominal segment {telson), which is swollen and globular, and
terminated by a hard, carved spine, with a very sharp point, near
which can be distinguished, under the lens, two small oval orifices
by which the poison is enabled to escape (fig. 97).
The poison-glands are two in number, symmetrically placed in
' "Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Giftspinnen." Stuttgart, 1901.
^" Zur Kenntniss des Kreuzspinnengiftes," Hofin. Beitrage, ii., p. 12.5, 1902.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES
277
cavities, each of which is completely filled by the gland. They are
separated from each other by a muscular septum formed of striated
fibres inserted in the chitinous skeleton ; by the contraction of this
septum the animal is enabled to eject its venom.
The scorpion never stings backivards, but always in front of
itself. It delivers stabs with its sting in two distinct ways. For
Fig. 21. — Scorpio occitamis. (After Joyeux-Laffuie.)
1, Scorpion seizing a spider, and piercing it with its sting (natural size) ; 2,
extremity of the abdomen (telson) enlarged, showing the poison-apparatus ; 3, poison-
apparatus detached from the abdomen, showing an isolated poison-gland.
the purpose of defending itself from attack it elevates its abdomen
into a bow, and then regains its former position by suddenly unbend-
ing it. To strike an animal, such as a spider, which serves it for
food, the scorpion seizes it with its pincers and holds it as in a vice.
Then it raises its abdomen, brings the end of it close to its captive,
278 VENOMS
and, with a lever-like movement, drives the sting into its body.
The victim immediately becomes paralysed and motionless.^
The poison-glands of a Scorpio occitanus from the South of
France contain about 1 to 10 centigrammes of a toxic liquid,
capable of furnishing 10 to 15 per cent, of dry extract. This liquid
is decidedly acid ; it reddens litmus paper and is miscible with
water.
Its physiological effects are especially intense in the case of the
arthropods upon v/hich the scorpion habitually feeds, and in that
of vertebrates in general. Batrachians, fishes, birds, and mammals
are extremely susceptible to this poison. Half a milligramme of
dry extract injected subcutaneously is sufficient to kill a guinea-
pig, and 1 milligramme is lethal to the rabbit.
In poisoned animals there is first observed a period of violent
excitement, accompanied by very acute pains ; these are followed
by muscular contractions, and finally by paralysis of the respiratory
muscles, as in the case of intoxication by cobra-venom.
The effects of scorpion-poison, which clearly indicate the
presence of a neurotoxin, have been very well described by Valentin, -
Paul Bert^ and Joyeux-Laffuie. Kyes' has prepared a lecithide
from scorpion-venom, which haemolyses red corpuscles as do the
lecithides of cobra-venom, and I myself'^ have established the fact
that the antivenomous serum of a horse vaccinated against cobra-
venom effectively protects mice and guinea-pigs against intoxication
by the venom of Scorpio occitanus; this has been verified by
Metchnikoff. There is, therefore, a close affinity between this
venom and that of Colubrine snakes.
^ Joyeux-Laffuie, " Appareil venimeux et venin de scorpion " (Thesis for the
degree of Doctor of Science), Paris, 1883 ; and ComiJtes i^endus de VAcademie
des Sciences, November 6, 1882.
- " Ueber die Giftwirkung des Nordafrikanischen Skorpiones," Zeitsclirift filr
Biologie, Bd. xii., p. 170, 1876.
* Comities rendus de la Societe de Biologie, 1885, p. 574.
^ Berliner Jclinische Wochenschrift, 1903, Nos. 42, 43.
^ Annales de Vlnstihit Pasteur, 1895, p. 232.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 279
On the other hand, it lias been shown by the investigations of
C. Nicolle and G. Catouillard that the same antivenomous serum
has no effect upon the much weaker venom of the scorpion of
Tunis {Heterometrus maurus), which, in the case of man and
mammals in general, scarcely does more than produce a transient
oedema at the point of inoculation.
The venom of Heterometrus maiirus is, however, toxic enough
to the sparrow. When one of these little birds is inoculated in
the pectoral muscles with the contents of the poison-glands of a
single scorpion belonging to this species, the following symptoms
are observed : Immediate rigidity, doubtless connected with the
pain, then, after a few seconds, depression and relaxation of the
muscles. The bird remains upright, but its body sinks down more
and more until it comes into contact with the ground ; if on a
perch, it soon becomes unsteady and drops off. There is dyspnoea,
which any effort increases, and death supervenes suddenly ; all at
once the sparrow falls on its side, stiffens, sometimes has a few
convulsions, and then finally becomes still. The time occupied by
these phenomena is always short, although it varies from two
minutes to half an hour.
Scorpion-venom is a strong irritant to the mucous membranes.
When dropped into the eye of a rabbit it produces acute ophthalmia.
It has often been asserted that scorpions kill themselves with
their own venom if enclosed in a circle of fire. This is an absolute
myth, for it is easy to prove by experiment, as was done by Bourne
at Madras,^ that these animals cannot be intoxicated by their own
poisonous secretion, nor by that of other individuals of the same
species. Moreover, it has been established by Metchnikoff," in
very definite fashion, that the blood of the scorpion is antitoxic.
If O'l c.c. of this blood be added to a dose of venom lethal to mice
in half an hour, a mouse injected with this mixture resists inde-
finitely. This antitoxic power is exhibited both by Scorpio afer
and the Algerian Androctonus.
' Proceedings of the Boyal Society, vol. xlii., 1887, p. 17.
- " L'immunite dans les maladies infectieuses," Paris, 1901.
280
VENOMS
(c) Myriopods.
It has been shown by PhisaHx and Bertrand that certain
species of Myriopods, inckiding those of the genus Juhis (Order
Chilognatha , e.g., Julus teiTestris) , secrete throughout the entire
extent of their body a volatile venom, which these authors com-
pared to quinone.
The species of the genus Scolopendra (Order Chilopoda ; Scolo-
pendra cingulata, found in the South of France, Spain and Italy ;
S. gigantea and other forms, common in Africa, India, Indo-
China and Equa-
torial America),
have the second
pair of post max-
illary appendages
transformed into
formidable poison-
claws, with which
they can inflict bites which are very painful to human beings.
The tropical species may attain a length of 10 or even 15 cm.
Their bodies are composed of 21 segments, each provided with a
pair of jointed legs. They live in shady places, such as woods,
hidden under stones, dead leaves, or the bark of old trees.
They feed upon small insects, spiders, and larvae, which they
kill with their venom. The latter is secreted by a racemose
gland situated at the base of the poison-claws ; it escapes by a
duct which opens at the apex.
This venom, the physiological study of which was commenced
by Dubosq, is an acid, opalescent liquid, hardly miscible with water.
More complete experiments on this subject have been made by
A. Briot,^ who prepared a solution by sectioning the labium and
poison-claws, and crushing the whole in physiological salt solution.
When injected intravenously into rabbits, it produces immediate
Fig. 98. — Scolopendra viorsltans (S. Europe).
(After Glaus.)
Comities renclus de la Societc tie Biologic, November 15, 1904.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES
281
paralysis, with coagulation of the blood ; subcutaneously it leads
to the formation of enormous abscesses, with necrosis of the tissues.
Small animals, such as spiders, species
of Scutigera, beetles, &c., are very sen-
sitive to it.
The bite of ScoIopendridcB is very
painful to human beings. In the
Tropics such bites often cause some-
what serious results : insomnia, ac-
celerated and intermittent pulse, and
local oedema, which usually disappears
after twenty - four hours. AVell-
authenticated fatal accidents have
never been recorded (Bachelier,^
Saulie-).
(d) Insects.
^/.al
A very large number of insects
produce acrid or irritant secretions,
which serve them as a means of de-
fence, but cannot be considered as true
venoms ; the species of Melo'e (oil-
beetles) and Cantharis (blister-beetles),
are the most remarkable in this respect.
The Order Hymenoptera is the only
one that includes a multitude of species
really provided with poison- glands and an inoculatory apparatus.
The poison-organs, which have been w^ell studied, especially by
Leuckart,^ Leydig,^ Carlet,''^ and more especially by L. Bordas,*^
Fig. 99. — Poison-appaeatds
OF THE Bee.
gl.ac, Acid gland and its two
branches; F, poison-sac ; gl.al,
alkaline gland ; gor, gorget.
(After Carlet : figure bor-
rowed from Hommel.)
■ " La scolopendre et sa piqure," These Paris, 1887.
- " Appareil venimeux et veniu de la scolopendre," These Moiitpellier, 1885.
^ " Lehrbuch der Anatoruie der Wirbellosen Tiere," 1848.
* Arcli filr anat. Wisscnsch., ISo'd.
* Comptes rendus de VAcad. des Sciences, 1884.
^ " Appareil glandulaire des hymenopteres," Paris, 1894.
282
VENOMS
Janet,^ and Seurat,^ always include two and sometimes three kinds
of glands : the acid gland, the alhaline gland or gland of Dufour,
and the accessory poison-gland (fig. 99).
The acid gland comprises a glandular
portion (which sometimes takes the shape
of a long fiexuous tube, always bifid at its
extremity, sometimes that of two tubes,
simple or ramified, or again is composed of
a bundle of cylindrical, simple or multifid
canals), a poison-sac or reservoir, ovoid or
spherical in shape, and an excretory duct,
which is usually short.
The alkaline gland, or gland of Dufour,
exists in all Hymenoptera, and presents the
appearance of an irregular tube, with a
striated surface and a spherical or conical
upper extremity. Its excretory duct opens,
beside that of the acid gland, at the enlarged
base of the gorget of the sting (fig. 100).
The accessory poison-gland, which is
lanceolate or ovoid in shape, consists of a
small, granular mass, the extremely narrow
excretory duct of which opens at almost the
same point as that of the alkaline gland.
It does not exist in all Hymenoptera.
The stings of hive bees {Apis mellifica),
wasps {Vespa vulgaris), violet carpenter bees
(Xylocopa violacea), and humble bees (Bom-
hus lapidarius) cause considerable discom-
fort. The venom of the carpenter bee, which is of some strength,
has been studied by P. Bert, and I have myself made experiments
with that of the hive bee {A. mellifica). The venom extracted
Fig. 100.— Interior of
THE Gorget op the Bee,
SEEN from its POSTERIOR
Aspect.
cv, Poison chamber ; gor,
gorget ; st, stylet ; ca,
piston. Between the two
stylets is seen the cleft fa,
by which the air is able
to enter into the air-
chamber cai.
(After Carlet: figure bor-
rowed from Hommol.)
' Comptes rcnilus cle VAcademie cles Sciences, 1898.
^ Annales sc. Anat. Zoologie, 8^ serie, t. x., 1898.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 283
from a couple of bees, by crushing the posterior extremity of
the body in 1 c.c. of water, is sufticient to kill a mouse or a sparrow.
Death supervenes in a few minutes from respiratory asphyxia,
as in the case of intoxication by the venom of Colubrine snakes
(Cobra). In the blood-vessels and in the heart the blood is black
and remains fluid. It therefore appears that this venom contains a
very active neurotoxin.
The phenomena of intoxication caused by the venom of these
insects are, as a rule, slight, being limited to an acute pain, accom-
panied by a zone of oedema and burning itching. Sometimes
however, when the stings are in the eyelids, lips, or tongue, they
produce alarming and even fatal results, as shown by the following
incident : —
On September 2G, 1890, a young girl of Ville-d'Avray was
eating grapes in the woods of Fausse-Repose, when she inadver-
tently swallowed a wasp. The unfortunate girl was stung in the
back of the throat, and the wound became so rapidly inflamed that,
in spite of the attentions of a doctor, she died in an hour from
suffocation, in the arms of her friends.
Phisalix^ has studied the physiological action of bee-venom on
sparrows inoculated either by the sting of the insect, or with an
aqueous solution obtained by crushing the glands. In both cases
a local effect, paralysis of the part inoculated, is first produced ;
this is followed by convulsions, which may last for several hours ;
the final stage is marked by coma and respiratory trouble, which
ends in death.
After being heated for fifteen minutes at 100° C. the venom
has no further local action ; the general phenomena are merely
diminished. If heated at 100° C. for thirty minutes, the venom
ceases to cause convulsions, but remains stupefactive. Exposure
for fifteen minutes to a temperature of 150° C. renders it completely
inert.
' Comptes rendus de I'Academie des Sciences, July 25, 1890.
284 VENOMS
This venom therefore comprises : (1) A phlogogenic substance,
destroyed by ebulHtion, contained in the acid gland of the bee ;
(2) a poison causing convulsions, which does not resist a tempera-
ture of 100° C, if prolonged, and is probably produced by the
alkaline gland ; (3) a stupefactive poison, which is secreted by the
acid gland, and is not entirely destroyed until a temperature of
J 50° C. is reached.
The poison-glands can easily be extracted by gently pulling at
the stings of bees anfesthetised by chloroform.
The eggs of bees, hke those of the toad and the viper, contain
the specific venom. The amount, however, is small, since in order
to produce lethal results in the sparrow it was found necessary to
inoculate an emulsion obtained by crushing 926 eggs.
Phisalix^ makes the approximate calculation that, in the egg the
weight of the toxic substances amounts to the one hundred and
fiftieth part of the whole. Their effects are similar to those pro-
duced by the venom itself, but the convulsions are not so severe.
The predominant poison in the egg appears to be that causing
paralysis.
I have easily succeeded in vaccinating mice against doses of
bee-venom certainly lethal, by repeatedly inoculating them with
very small doses. Moreover, we find the same thing in the case of
human beings, for we know that those who are in the habit of
handling hives become quite accustomed to bee-stings, and finally
feel not the slightest effect from them.
It has been shown by J. Morgenroth and U. Carpi,- in a
paper recently published, that the venom of bees, like that of the
scorpion, possesses the property of haemolysing the red corpuscles
of several species of animals (the rabbit, guinea-pig, and goat), and
that it is capable of combining with the lecithin to form a lecithide
analogous to cobra-lecithide, the curious properties of which we
have studied in detail.
^ Comjptes renclus de VAcade'mie des Sciences, July 24, 1905.
^ Berliner Minisclie WochenscJiriff, 1906, No. 44.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 285
This lecitbide of bee-venom is from 200 to 500 times more
haemolysing than the venom itself, and resists ebullition like that of
the cobra. In order to isolate it Morgenroth and Carpi employed
the method recommended by P. Kyes : li- c.c. of a solution of pm'e
venom is mixed with 1^ c.c. of a 5 per cent, solution of lecithin
in meth5dic alcohol. After being kept for twenty-four hours at
37^ C, 22 c.c. of absolute alcohol are added; the liquid is decanted,
and the clear filtrate is mixed with 150 c.c. of ether. There is slowly
formed a somewhat copious flocculent deposit, which is collected
on a filter, washed several times with ether, and finally dried. The
lecithide that remains on the filter dissolves completely in physio-
logical salt solution.
It must be remarked that bee-venom, without the addition of
lecithin, gives a scanty precipitate with ether. This precipitate,
dissolved in physiological salt solution, possesses no hgemolysing
power. The lecithide, on the contrary, dissolves red corpuscles
almost instantaneously.
Normal horse-serum considerably inhibits haemolysis by bee-
venom -f lecithin. This protective action of normal serums has
already been observed by Langer ; it is perhaps attributable to
the cholesterin that they contain.
Among other Hymenoptera capable of inflicting very severe
stings may be mentioned the species of Polistes and certain
Pompilids, especially a species of Pompilus found in Natal, the
painful stings of which have sometimes been experienced and
described by travellers (P. Fabre, of Commentry).^
In the family CrahronidcB the females are provided with a
sting and venom, which usually has little effect upon man, but
is toxic to other insects. Thus, Cerceris hupresticida is remarkable
for the stupefying effect of its venom upon the Buprestidce destined
for the food of its larvae. It stings the beetles between the first
and second segments of the thorax, with the result that the victim
' Comptes renclus cle V Academic de Medecme, t. liii., 1905, p. 498.
286 VENOMS
is paralysed, though in other respects its bodily functions appear
to continue ; in fact, its intestine is seen to empty itself at long
intervals. These effects are attributed by Mons. J. H. Fabre, of
Avignon, to the direct action of the venom upon the ganglia of the
thoracic nervous system.
Instances of Hymenoptera belonging to the tribe Entomophaga
actually depositing" their eggs beneath the skin of man are men-
tioned by Raphael Blanchard.^
According to P. Fabre, the best treatment for wasp- or bee-
stings would appear to consist in the application of strong saline
solution, or a liniment of anniionia and olive oil. For my own
part, I have tried hypochlorite of lime, in a 1 in 60 solution, or eau
de Javel diluted to 1 per cent., and have always obtained such
excellent results from these remedies that I do not hesitate to
advise their use.
D. — Molluscs.
Certain Gastropodous Molluscs, chiefly Murex hrandaris and
M. trunculus, possess purple glands from which it is possible to
extract a very active venom (Eaphiiel Dubois)' by crushing them
up with sand and alcohol. The alcoholic liquid, filtered and evapor-
ated in a water-bath, yields a brown oily fluid. The subcutaneous
injection of a few drops of this into a frog is sufficient to produce
very decided toxic effects. Sluggishness and slowness of move-
ment are seen to supervene fairly quickly ; reflex actions are still
exhibited, but the animal is no longer able to jump.
If the dose be not too strong, this condition of paresis lasts for
several hours, and then disappears. In most cases, however, the
paresis is succeeded by complete paralysis, and the animal appears
as though suffering from curare. Yet the fact is that the venom
is neither curare-like nor cardiac ; the heart, muscles, motor end-
^ " Traite de zoologie medicale," t. ii. (Paris).
- Coinjites rendus de la Societe de Biologic, January 17, 1903.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 287
plates, and motor and sensory nerves are spared ; the nervous
centres alone are attacked, especially the encephalon. The animal
dies without convulsions.
Sea and fresh-water fishes (golden carp) are very sensitive to
this venom ; warm-blooded animals are refractory. It is therefore
probable that, in the species of Murex, the purple gland is a poison-
gland serving for defence, or for the capture of the prey upon which
these molluscs feed.
Among the Cephalopods, the Octopods {Octopus vulgaris,
common octopus, Eledone moschata, musky octopus, of the
Mediterranean) possess two pairs of salivary glands, a small
anterior paii;, and a posterior pair of considerable size.
The Decapods (cuttle-fishes [Sepia], &c.), have only posterior
salivary glands, of smaller dimensions in proportion to the size of
the body.
On being crashed and macerated in water, the anterior glands
yield a limpid and slightly acid juice ; the posterior glands produce
a viscid, ropy fluid, filterable with difficulty and neutral. The
latter has an immediate paralysing effect upon Crustacea. It
contains a substance of a diastasic nature, precipitable by alcohol,
and destructible by heating for an hour at 58' C.
Owing to the poisonous properties of this juice, Octopods
succeed in overpowering large prey, such as lobsters and crabs.
Once they are seized by the tentacles of the octopus, or cuttle-fish,
a bite inoculates these animals with venom that immediately
destroys their power of movement, and the Cephalopod is able to
contmue its meal in perfect security,' without having to fear the
pincers of its prey.
An experimental study of this venom has been made by A. Briot,^
who found that crabs are very sensitive to it, while rats, frogs,
rabbits, and fish do not appear to experience any inconvenience.
^ Comptes rendus de la Societe de Biologie, February 25, 1905.
288
CHAPTER XVIL
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SEBJES (continued).
%—VENOMO US FISHES.
The means of defence in fishes are extremely varied. Some
species (torpedoes or electric rays, electric eels) destroy their enemies
by electric discharges ; others are provided with true poison-glands
and inoculatory organs, usually represented by opercular spines or
by the fin-rays. The species of the genus Murccna, however,
possess a poison-apparatus connected with the buccal teeth, as in
the case of snakes.
It has been clearly established by Bottard^ that at least three
very distinct types of venomous fishes exist, according as the venom-
apparatus is : —
(1) Entirely closed {Synanceia type) ; (2) half closed {Thalasso-
pliryne type) ; (3) in more or less direct communication with the
exterior {Trachinus and Scorpcpua type).
The greater part of the following statements has been borrowed
from the excellent work of the author referred to, from the writings
of A. Corre," the fellowship thesis of Henry Coutiere,'^ and the
magnificent atlas published at St. Petersburg in 1886 by P. Savt-
schenko, of the Russian Imperial Navy.
Except in the case of the species of MurcBiia, the venom of fishes
' " Les poissons venimeux," These Paris, 1889.
- " Poissons venimeux et poissons veneneux," Archives de Physioloffie, May,
1872 ; Archives de viedeciiie navale, February, 1865, and January, 1881.
^ " Poissons venimeux et poissons veneneux," Thhsc Paris, 1899.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 289
is generally found in one or more special glands, situate at the
base of the dorsal or caudal tins, or beneath the opercular spines.
When the animal defends itself it inflicts wounds with these rays,
and ejects from its poison-glands a toxic or irritant liquid, which
enters the sores.
The flesh of these fishes is not usually poisonous, whereas a
fairly large number of other species, ivhlcJi do not inflict wounds,
cause intoxicating" effects when eaten. These latter do not come
within the scope of this work ; but the reader who may desire to
obtain information with regard to them will find them well described
in J. Pellegrin's memoir,' in that by Dupont, and especially in the
papers of A. Corre.
Venomous fishes almost all belong to sedentary species, as in the
case of the genera Trachinus, Cottus, Scorpcena, and Synanceia.
This fact suggested to Dissard and Noe - a very hazardous theory
in order to explain the existence of a poison-apparatus in these
animals. The venomous fishes being sedentary, say these authors,
have no need of a poison-apparatus ; their prey offers itself to them
without effort on their part, and, on the other hand, they escape
destruction by their enemies. If, therefore, they possess a poison-
apparatus it is because the conditions under which they live entail
the lowest value for the co-efficient of respiration, diminish the
quantity of the ambient radiations and the oxygenation of the
medium, and lead to diminished h^ematosis. For these reasons the
activity of anaerobic life becomes greater, and the formation of
venoms takes place.
This theory, derived from the conceptions of A. Gautier with re-
gard to the formation of toxic leucomaines, appears scarcely tenable,
for it is evident that the weever, for example, erects its first dorsal
spine as soon as it is seized, and that Scorpcena and Synanceia like-
' " Les poissons veneneux," Paris, 1900.
- " Sedentarite des laoissons venimeux," Comptes renclus cle la Societe de
Biologic, 1895, p. 86.
19
290 VENOMS
wise protrude their venomous spines when conscious of danger. The
poison-apparatus of these fishes is therefore of an eminently defen-
sive character.
According to Bottard, the spawning season increases the activity
of the poison-glands and at the same time the toxicity of the secreted
product. Several species, such as- those of the genus Cottus and the
perch, possess no apparent secreting cells except at this period.
Certain toxicoplwroiis or poisonous fishes, such as the species of
Tetrodon, are particularly noxious at the time when their genital
glands are at their maximum activity.
A. — TeLEOSTEI. — ACANTHOPTERYGII.
1.— Triglidse.
The fishes of this family are all repulsively ugly. They have an
elongate and but slightly compressed body, covered with ctenoid
scales, and a large head in which the suborbital bones, which are
broad, unite with the prgeopercular so as to form an osseous plate
in the malar region. The pectoral fins are large, and provided
with a few detached rays, which perform the function of tactile
organs ; the ventral fins are situate on the breast. These fishes are
extremely voracious.
The most interesting type is the Syiiaticeia termed by the Creoles
of Eeunion Crapaucl de mer, and by those of Mauritius Laffe. In
Java it is called IJian-Safan (Devil-fish), and in Tahiti Nohu. It is
distributed throughout almost all the warmer regions of the Indian
and Pacific Oceans, and is found in Cochin-China and New Caledonia.
It is never taken in the open sea, but only among the fringing
reefs, where it lives constantly concealed in holes or buried in the
sand. It does not come out except to make a sudden dart at prey
passing within its reach. AVhen irritated it does not eject venom ;
for the latter to be expelled one has either to press hard upon the
poison-sacs, after pushing back with the fingers the membranes
covering the dorsal defensive armature, or the naked foot must be
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SEEIES
291
placed on the back of the fish. The wound is very painful, and is
accompanied by a series of alarming symptoms, which sometimes
terminate fatally : fishermen are consequently much afraid of it.
There are a large number of species of this fish, peculiar to
different regions. Sijnanceia brachio (fig. 101), the largest specimens
of which attain the length of 45 cm., is the most common form in
the Tropical Pacific.
4 A. .^-
Fig. 101. — Synanceia brachio, var. verrucosa. (After Savtscbenko.
The spiny rays of the dorsal fin of Synanceia are sharp-pointed,
stout in the middle, and provided on each side with a small canal
hollowed out in the thickness of the spine. Towards the middle of
the latter there is attached a little double sac, or kind of closed pouch,
which, on being compressed, allows the venom to escape in a thin
jet which flows into the grooves of the spine. The expulsion of the
venom is therefore not a voluntary act on the part of the fish ; in
order that it shall take place, pressure must be applied to the sacs in
which it is contained.
This venom, when extracted from the glands, is limpid, bluish,
and slightly acid. When introduced into the tissues, it produces very
acute local pain, which extends throughout the affected limb. The
292 VENOMS
pain is excruciating, and sufferers have been observed to become
actually delirious, striking and biting those around them, throwing
themselves from side to side, and beseeching that the limb should be
cut off; some of them have amputated the injured part themselves.
This condition is accompanied by considerable anxiety, and by
attacks of leipothymia and sometimes of syncope. In some cases
syncope has been followed by death ; in others serious phlegmons,
complicated by septicaemia, supervene. The inoculated spot be-
comes bluish, and then sphacelates over a larger or smaller area.
These gangrenous wounds heal very slowly, more especially since
they are usually produced on the sole of the foot (Bottard).
A single drop of the venom is sufficient to kill frogs in about
three hours.
Fig. 102. — Cottus scorjmis (Sea Scorpioo). (After Savtschenko.)
The genus Cottus, which also belongs to the family Triglid^,
includes some forty venomous species found in the seas of the
northern hemisphere, in Europe, Asia, and America.
In France the species of Cottus are generally called chabots
(bullheads or miller's thumbs), chaboisseaux (sea-scorpions), or
cara7nassons. They are abundant on the coast of Normandy,
and some of them (river bullheads) live in fresh water ; they
do not exceed 25 cm. in length. They have a liking for holes
VENOMS IX THE ANIMAL SEEIES
293
in rocks, and fishermen are afraid of being stung by them
(fig. 102).
Their poison-apparatus resembles that of the Weevers, but is
less developed. It is situated in the culs-de-sac formed by the
opercular spines. The culs-de-sac are lined with cells which pro-
duce a toxic secretion only during the spawning season, from
November to the end of January. This fact explains how it is that
the species of Cottus are declared by certain fishermen to be very
venomous, while others say that they are absolutely harmless.
The genera Scorpcena, Pterois and Pelor also belong to the
same group.
Fig. 103. — Sccri'pcsna grandicornis (Caribbean Sea). (After Savtschenko.)
In ScorpcBua the body is clothed with scales, and the head is
large, slightly compressed, armed with spines, and has a bare pit
behind ; the single dorsal fin is provided with eleven spiny rays,
and there are seven branchiostegal rays. ScorjJCByia grandicornis
(fig. 103), found in the Caribbean Sea, is from 30 to 50 cm. in
length, and has the back red and the eyes and belly yellow ;
Scorpcena diaholus (fig. 104), which occurs in the Indian Ocean
294
VENOMS
and Tropical Pacific, is red and brown, obliquely striped with
white and brown ; a third species, Scorpcena porcus {Scorphie
truie), of smaller size, is met with in the Mediterranean.
The venom of the latter has been studied by A. Briot,^ who
sectioned the dorsal and opercular spines, and macerated them
either in physiological saline solution, or in glycerine ; he then
tested the toxicity of these macerations on certain animals —
frogs, rabbits, and rats.
Fig. 104. — ScorpcEna diaholiis (Indian and Pacific Oceans). (After Savtschenko.)
The frogs alone exhibited, as the result of subcutaneous injec-
tion into a limb, slight transient paralysis. No effect was found
to be produced by the venom when injected intravenously into
the rabbit, or subcutaneously into the rat.
The poison-apparatus of Scorpcena is situated in the spiny rays
of the dorsal and anal fins. These rays are enveloped in the inter-
radial membrane, which forms a sheath for them, and are scored
with a double cannelure. At the bottom of these grooves are the
Comptes rendus de la Societe de Biologie, 1904, p. 666.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES
295
secreting cells, which are elongate, pressed one against the other,
and supported at the base by a highly vascular substratum of
connective tissue. The venom flows out between the layer of cells
and the ensheathing membrane, which is capable of being pushed
Fig. 105. — Pterois artemata (East Coast of Africa, Indian and Tropical Pacific Oceans),
(After Savtschenko.)
slightly back as the result of the penetration of the spine into the
tissues, and then exerts pressure upon the reservoir. The latter is
formed by the distension of the sheath under the pressure of the
secreted liquid.
There are twelve pairs of dorsal and three pairs of anal glands.
296
VENOMS
The pairs attached to the second anal spine are, as the direct result
of the size of the latter, more developed than those of the other
spines.
In the Bascasse, the opercular spines of which are greatly
developed, there is a rudiment of a poison-apparatus at the bot-
tom of the sheath formed by the skin of the gills.
The species of Pterois (fig. 105) are distinguished from those of
Scorpccna by their dorsal fins, the rays of which are very long and
Fig. 106. — Pclor filamentosum (Family Triglldce, Mauritius).
curved backwards, above the membrane by which they are united.
They are found in the Indian and Equatorial Pacific Oceans, and are
very beautiful in colour, varying from reddish-brown to bright rose.
The poison-apparatus of these fishes is situated in the dorsal fin,
and is precisely similar to that of ScorpcBiia.
The species of Pelor (fig. 106) present greater resemblance to
those of Synanceia, owing to their heads being crushed in in front.
Their eyes stand up above the head and are very close together,
which helps to give them an extremely ugly appearance. The skin
is soft and spongy, and bristles with jagged fleshy shreds.
VENOMS fN THE ANIMAL SERIES
29^
Their poison-apparatus is placed in the dorsal fins, as in the case
of Scorpcena and Pterois.
2. — Trachinidae.
Genus Tracliinus (Weevers). — Four species of Weevers are
found in European seas : the Greater Weever {Trachinus draco),
the Lesser Weever (T. vipera), the Striped-headed Weever {T.
radiatus), and the Mediterranean Spider Weever {T. araneus) ;
other species are met with on the coast of Chile.
Weevers possess two sets of poison-apparatus, one of which is
situated on the operculum, the other at the hase of the spines of
the dorsal fin (fig. 107).
Fig. 107. — Trachinus vipera (Lesser Weever).
The spine surmounting the operculum exhibits a double can-
nelure connected with a conical cavity excavated in the thickness of
the base of the opercular bone. This spine is covered with a sheath,
beneath which lie the secreting cells. The gland is an offshoot from
the skin, and appears as a simple follicle invaginated in the opercular
bone (fig. 108).
The dorsal apparatus is composed of from five to seven spines, to
which the inter-radial membrane forms an adherent sheath which
extends almost to the end of the rays. Each spine exhibits a deep
double cannelure. The venom fiows between the layer of cells cloth-
298
VENOMS
ar'
ing the cannelures and the skin, which is distended to allow it to
pass.
Towards the base of the spine, the edges of the cannelure are
united, and form a hollow, bony cone, the walls of which are lined
with the cells that secrete the toxic fluid.
Greater Weevers are
usually from 12 to 30 cm. in
length, and of a reddish or
yellowish-grey colour, with
blue or violet spots. They
are caught in trawls and are
fairly common on sandy
bottoms. In the month of
June they approach the shore
for the purpose of spawning.
The venom of the Weever
has formed the subject of
interesting studies by Giin-
ther, Gressin,^ Bottard,
Phisalix,- and more recently
by Kobert^ and A. Briot.'*
In order to procure suffi-
cient quantities of it for ex-
perimental purposes, Briot
cuts off the venomous spines and the surrou7iding tissue with a pair
of scissors ; he then pounds the whole in a mortar, and mixes the
pulp with pure glycerine. After filtration through paper, a toxic
solution is obtained, which does not deteriorate by keeping, and is
neutral to litmus.
Fig. 108. — A, Operculum and opercular spine
of the Lesser Weever {Trachiniis vipera) ; ar,
articular surface of the operculum ; c. op, borly
of the opercular spine ; c. an, canal of the
spine ; z, space occupied by the poison-gland.
B, Spine belonging to the first dorsal fin ; c. an,
efferent poison-canal in the spine.
' Thhe Paris, 1884.
- Bulletin dio Museum d' his toire naturelle, 1899.
^ " Giftfische unci Fischgifte," Vortrdge im BostocJcer Fischerverein, 1902, and
Die tnedizinische WochenscJiriff, 1902.
^ Comytes rendus de la Societe de Biologie, October 25 and November 8, 1902,
and June 21, 1904 ; Journal de Physiologic^ March, 1903.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 299
A few drops of this liquid are sufficient to kill guinea-pigs, which,
immediately after receiving an injection in the thigh, exhibit paralysis
of the leg with tetanic convulsions ; twenty-four hours later an
eschar is formed, and death supervenes on the second or third day.
Two or three drops, introduced into the marginal vein of the ear
of a rabbit, cause death from asphyxia in from four to ten minutes.
The heart continues to beat for a fairly long time after respiration
has entirely ceased ; the blood is not coagulated.
The toxicity of this venom is completely destroyed by heating it
to 100'' C, by chloride of lime, and by chloride of gold. Anti-
venomous serum prepared from horses vaccinated against cobra-
venom has absolutely no effect upon it in vitro. There is therefore
no affinity between this venom and that of snakes.
Weever-venom dissolves the red corpuscles of the horse in the
presence of normal heated horse-serum, but does not dissolve them
in the presence of fresh serum. The non-heated serum, therefore, as
I have shown with reference to the action of cobra-venom on the
blood, contains a natural antihaemolysin.
Briot succeeded in vaccinating rabbits by accustoming them to
the venom, and in obtaining from them a serum capable of neutral-
ising the latter in vitro, and of immunising fresh rabbits against
doses several times lethal, even when injected intravenously.
According to Gressin, the following phenomena are produced in
man as the result of Weever-stings : —
" At first there is felt an excruciating, shooting, paralysing
pain, which, in the case of nervous persons, may cause attacks of
leipothymia ending in syncope. A kind of painful formication next
pervades the injured limb, which becomes swollen and inflamed,
and may even, if treatment be neglected, form the starting point
of a gangrenous phlegmon.
" This condition is frequently accompanied by certain general
phenomena — such as fever, delirium, and bilious vomiting, the
duration of which is variable, since they may only last for two or
three hours, or may continue for several days. Fishermen rightly
300
VENOMS
consider this variability to depend upon the amount of venom that
has penetrated into the wound, and especially upon the season
at which the accident takes place. The most serious results are
recorded during the spawning season, and fishermen regard the
Lesser Weever as being the more poisonous."
3.— Gobiidae.
In the fishes belonging to this family the body is elongated and
depressed, while the spines in the anterior dorsal fin and in the
ventral fins are slender, flexible, and seldom very solid. The ventral
Fig. 109. — Callionymus lyra (Dragonet or Skulpin. Family GobiidcB).
fins are inserted on the breast or on the throat, and are either
separated or united together in the shape of a funnel. The skin is
naked or covered with large scales, and the mouth is furnished with
teeth. The males are distinguished by the presence of a long
genital papilla. These fishes are carnivorous.
Several species of venomous Gobiidse are met with on the shores
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SEBIE8 301
of France and in the tropical zone. The most important of these
belong to the genus CalUonijmus [C. helennus, C. lacertus, C. vidsus,
and C. hjra—^^y. 109).
The Dragonet or Skulpin {Galllonyynus lyra), which is common
on the coast of Calvados, may attain the length of 30 cm. In
France it is popularly known as the Doucet, Dragonnet, Lavandiere,
Gornaud, or Capouri. Its colours are very vivid, orange and deep
lilac.
In this fish the prseopercular bone ends in three strong, conical,
and very sharp points, diverging like the prongs of a trident. The
upper margin of the opercular bone bears another point, which is
directed upwards.
The skin of the gills forms a common sheath for this defensive
armature, and the base of the sheath is prolonged into two culs-de-
sac, the surface of which is clothed, during the spawning season,
with cylindrical cells, the secretion of which is poisonous.
This venom, which is small in amount, does not appear to have
any marked effect upon man (Bottard).
4. — Teuthididae.
This family of Acanthopterijgii includes several species of bril-
liantly coloured fishes with elongated and laterally compressed
bodies, provided with a long dorsal fin, and having, on each side of
the tail, a sharp spine placed in front of the anal fin. They are
herbivorous, and are confined to the tropical seas.
The principal genera are : Teuthis (India), Acanthuriis (Tropical
Atlantic), Prionurus (Japan), and Naseus (Red Sea and Indian
Ocean). The fishermen of Reunion are much afraid of the wounds
inflicted by Acanthurus luridus, which they call Marguerite Pore or
Grande Marguerite. A sting from this fish causes a very acute
smarting pain, which may last for several hours, but usually has no
serious consequences.
The poison-apparatus of these fishes is situated in the dorsal and
anal fins, as in Scorpcena.
302
VENOMS
5. — Batrachiidae.
The venomous species belonging to this family are few in
number. They are found in all tropical seas, but have no repre-
sentatives in Europe. The best-known species are Batrachus tan
(shores of Central America), and B. grunniens, or Grunting Batra-
chus (fig. 110).
Fig. 110. — Batrachus grunniens (West Indies).
Fig. 111. — Thalassophryne reticulata (Panama; Tropical Pacific).
(After Savtschenko.)
The Grunting Batrachus, which does not exceed 30 cm. in
length, is especially common in West Indian waters. When taken
from the water it makes a peculiar grunting sound, whence its name
is derived. The pectoral fins are reddish, the back is brown, and
the sides are yellow, marbled with black. It has three spines in the
anterior dorsal fin, and a fourth spine on the top of the operculum,
with a small poison-sac at the base of each.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SEBIES
303
Next to this genus come the species of Thalassophryne, T.
reticulata (fig. Ill), found on the shores of Panama, and T.
maculosa, of Bahia (Brazil), which are provided with a precisely
similar poison-apparatus.
The physiological action of the venom of these two species
has not yet been studied, but it is probable that it does not
differ from that of the venom of the Weevers and the species
of Synanceia.
Fig. 112. — Lophius setigenis (China Sea and Sea of Japan). (After Savtschenko.)
6. — Pediculati.
The fishes belonging to this family are of large size and compact
shape, with the anterior part of the body greatly expanded. The
head, which is broad, bears ven6mous spines, and the mouth is
furnished with large teeth. These fishes are voracious, and lie
304
VENOMS
in wait for their prey at the bottom of the water in the mud
of the shore. In order to attract it, they make use of cutaneous
appendages attached to their spines, which they are able to ele-
vate, and of filaments situated near the mouth.
The principal genus is Lophius, one species of which, L. setigerus
(fig. 112), is found in the seas of China and Japan. Another species,
L. piscatorius (the Sea Devil or Angler), occurs in the temperate
climates of Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.
Certain other Acanthoptej-ygii are capable of inflicting wounds,
but, although fishermen often believe them to be venomous, or such
%i:|:&^:^--A
I//
Fig. 113. — Scrranus ouatabili. (After Savtschenko.)
properties are frequently attributed to them in stories, it is doubt-
ful whether they possess poison-glands. The accidents produced
by them are due rather to the fact that the spines in their fins
are extremely sharp, and that their flesh is toxic. Those belonging
to the Percidcs (the Perch family), especially the genus Serranits
and S. ouatihili (fig. 113) in particular, are above all remarkable
in this respect. The last-mentioned fish has two or three spines
on its operculum.
The same may be said of certain Squamipinncs, another family
of Acanthopterygii, whose stout bodies are brightly coloured, and
have very sharp, spiny rays in their dorsal and anal fins. The
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES
305
most curious genus among the fishes belonging to this family is
Holacanthus, in which the praeoperculum is provided with an
enormous spine like that of the Weever. Holocanthiis imperator
(fig. 114) is met with fairly often in the Indian Ocean and Malay
Archipelago.
f.^^SjiL...
''€>:>::>-"^'
^w"""*'
Fig. 114. — Holacanthus imperator (Indian Ocean and Malay Archipelago),
(After Savtschenko.)
B. — Teleostei. — Plectognathi.
The Order Plectognatlii (Family Gymnodontes) includes the
genera Diodon, Tetrodon and Triodon, globular fishes, in which
the jaw is transformed into a beak and furnished with a sharp
dentary plate. Their oesophagus is dilated into a resonant air-
pouch. When removed from the water they swallow air and
dilate the pouch, and the expulsion of this air is accompanied
by a loud noise.
Several species of Tetrodon are armed with spines, which pro-
20
306
VENOMS
duce very painful wounds. Their flesh is toxic, but it has not been
proved that poison-glands exist at the base of the spines.
On the shores of the Cape of Good Hope, Brazil, China, and
Japan these fishes are much feared. The principal species are
Fig. 115. — Tctroclon stellatns (Indian and Pacific Oceans). (After Savtschenko.)
Fig. 116. — Tetrodon ruhripes (Japan). (After Savtschenko.)
Tetrodon stellatns (Indian and Pacific Oceans; fig. 115) and
T. ruhrijjes (Japan; fig. 116).
Closely allied to Dioclon, and feared like the foregoing on account
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SEBIE8
307
of their spines, which are sometimes scattered all over the body, are
the species of the genus Chilomycterus, the most important of which
are C. orbicularis (fig. 117), and C. tigrinus (fig. 118), both of
which are found in the Indian Ocean.
Fig. 117. — Chiloinyctems orbicularis (Indian Ocean). (After Savtschenko.)
y
Fig. 118. — Chiloviycterus tigrinus (Indian Ocean). (After Savtschenko.)
C. — Teleostei. — Physostomi.
This Order is characterised by the presence of a pneumatic duct to
the air-bladder. It consists of a large number of families, only two
of which, the SiluridcB and MurcenidcB, include venomous species.
308
VENOMS
1.— Siluridae.
The majority of the very large number of species belonging to this
family live in fresh water, and have the free margin of the lips
almost always furnished with barbules (Sllitrus glanis ; fig. 119).
A few of them possess a poison-apparatus, which, however, attains
its greatest development in Plotosus, the only genus of Siluridae
found exclusively in the sea.
The species of Plotosus frequent the shores of the Indian Ocean,
and are met with in the Seychelles, Eeunion, and Mauritius. In
shape they resemble eels, and they bury themselves in the sand or
mud, a habit which renders them very dangerous to fishermen.
Fig. 119. — Siliirus glanis (Rivers of Central and Eastern Europe).
Plotosus lineatus, which is of a greenish-brown colour, striped
with from four to six longitudinal whitish bands, is the most
common. By the Creoles of Mauritius and Eeunion it is called
Machoiran, by the Malays Samhilang, and by the Abyssinians
Koo7nat.
Its poison-apparatus is situated at the base of the dorsal and
pectoral spines. These spines are strong, sharp, slightly incurved,
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SEIilES 309
and furnished with hooked denticnlations, which cause them to
remain in the wound, in which they break off. Near their extremity
there opens a small canal, which communicates with the culs-de-sac
situated at the base of the spiny rays, which produce a venomous
secretion. The dorsal spine has only a single cul-de-sac, while the
pectoral spines have two.
The contraction of the local muscles, by compressing these culs-
de-sac, can cause the venom to make its way into the canal of the
spine, but the fluid does not spurt forth in a jet as in the case of
Si/nanceia. The poison-apparatus is therefore passively defensive in
character, Plotosus is capable of wounding only when the hand
or foot is placed on its dorsal or pectoral spines.
Fishermen who are stung immediately feel an" excruciating pain,
which is soon accompanied by fever, and lasts for several days.
Accidents caused by this fish are of fairly common occurrence in
Keunion.
2. — Muraenidse.
Of the fishes belonging" to this family, the species of the genus
Murcena alone concern us. They have an elongated body, without
pectoral fins, and a naked skin, covered with a thick layer of viscid
slime, as in the case of the eels. Their dentition is powerful, formed
of long, recurved fangs, arranged in one or more rows. These fishes
may attain a large size, exceeding 2 metres in length. More
than one hundred species are known, all of which live in tropical or
subtropical seas. Murmia helena is common in the Mediterranean
in the vicinity of Nice and Toulon ; M. moringa (fig. 120) is found
in the Tropical Atlantic.
The species of MurcBna live in deep water, and feed upon fishes or
crustaceans, , In hot countries they frequently venture into fresh
water. Their skins are adorned with brightly coloured markings,
which vary very greatly according to the species.
The poison-apparatus in Murcena consists of a pouch situated
310
VENOMS
above the membrane of the palate, which may contain | c.c.
of venom, and three or four conical, curved teeth, with the convex
surface in front, as in the fangs of snakes. The teeth are not
pierced by a central canal, and the venom flows between them and
the mucous membrane of the palate, which forms a sheath. The
latter is withdrawn to the base of the teeth, while they are pene-
trating the tissues. The teeth are mobile ; they are articulated
with the palatine bone, in which they are inserted in small depres-
sions, and a resistant fibrous tissue serves as the means of union.
-2j ^-v^f^\^ v 1 ^^\_c ■
Fig. 120. — Murcena moringa (Tropical Atlantic). (After Savtschenko.)
They can be deflexed backwards against the mucous membrane of
the palate ; in this position the first, second and fourth tooth (when
the latter exists) disappear completely between the folds of the
membrane. The third tooth normally remains erect, and it is this
by which wounds must in most cases be inflicted. None of these
teeth can be protruded beyond the vertical.
In addition to the palatine teeth there are, among the groups of
maxillary teeth, several mobile teeth, which are connected with the
poison-reservoir.
Besides its toxic action the venom of MurcEiia has manifest
digestive properties, and, in the case of a fish which has been dead for
some little time the gland is no longer to be found, since its walls
have undergone a rapid autodigestion.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 311
The venoms of all the fishes of which I have just given a brief
description, as regards their physiological action, present a fairly
close resemblance to the venom of the Weever, and show scarcely
any variation except in the intensity of their effects. They have
been but little studied hitherto, and it is desirable that they should
be better understood.
312
CHAPTER XVIII.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES (continued).
3.—BATBACH1ANS. LIZARDS. MAMMALS.
A. — Batrachians.
By the ancients the venom of salamanders and toads was dreaded
as much as the most terrible poisons. These animals, however, are
not very formidable, since they are devoid of inoculatory organs ;
their poison-apparatus is localised exclusively in the parotids and
the skin. It is represented simply by more or less confluent glands
in the form of sacs, secreting a viscid mucus, which has a nauseous
odour and is highly toxic', even to animals of large size.
The salamander belongs to the Order Urodela, which is charac-
terised by the persistence of the tail. Its body is heavy and thick-
set, and the flanks and the sides of the tail exhibit a series of
glandular crypts, which secrete venom.
" The mucus which flows from the mouth, and resembles milk,
eats away human hair," wrote Pliny ; " the spot moistened by it loses
its colour, which subsequently returns. Of all venomous animals
the salamander is the most terrible ; it is capable of annihilating
whole nations by poisoning the vegetation over a vast area. When
the salamander climbs a tree all its fruit is poisoned, and those who
eat of it die as surely as if they had taken aconite. Moreover, if
bread be baked with wood touched by the animal, it is dangerous,
and may occasion serious disorders. If the naked foot be defiled
with the saliva of this creature, the beard and hair soon fall out.
Sextius says that a salamander, preserved in honey, after the
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SEIUES 313
removal of the entrails, head, and Hmbs, acts as a stimulant if taken
internally."
In ancient Kome, and also in Mediaeval France, it was believed
that the most furious fire could be extinguished simply by contact
with one of these animals ; charlatans sold the inoffensive sala-
mander, which, if cast into the most terrible conflagration, was
bound, they declared, to arrest its disastrous progress !
The explanation of this superstition is furnished by Dumeril,
who writes : "On being placed in the middle of burning charcoal,
these victims of so cruel a curiosity, when put to the test, instantly
allow'cd to exude from the many pores with which their skins are
riddled a slimy humour, sufficiently abundant to form a viscid layer
over that part of the glowing charcoal with which the animals were
in contact. Since this surface, being no longer exposed to the
air, immediately became quite black, it was supposed to be ex-
tinguished ; but the salamanders sustained such severe burns that
thev soon succumbed."^
The principal species of salamanders are : —
Salamandra atra (Black Salamander), which is found in the
Alps and the mountains of Central Europe, close to the snow-line,
and up to an altitude of 3,000 metres.
Salamandra maculosa (Spotted Salamander, fig. 121), distributed
throughout almost the whole of Europe, and also found in North
Africa.
Triton cristatiis (Crested Newt), likewise common all over
Europe.
Triton marmoratus (Marbled Newt, fig. 122), which is met with
in damp and dark places, in Portugal, Spain, South and Central
France, and as far north as the Forest of Fontainebleau.
Cryptobranchus japonicus (Great Japanese Salamander, fig.
123), which often exceeds 1 metre in length, and has a clumsy
^ Brehm (Sauvage's translation), " Les Merveilles de la Nature — Reptiles et
Batraciens " (Paris, 1885).
314
VENOMS
body covered with large warts, and an enormous head, broad
behind and flattened in front.
This giant salamander is now confined to a few provinces in the
centre of Japan, between long. 34" and 36", in damp, shady places,
from 200 to 800 metres above sea-level. It is eaten by the Japanese,
Fig. 121. — Salamandra maculosa (Europe and North Africa).
Fig. 1'2,2. —Triton marmorattis (male). (Europe.)
who also use it as a remedy for, or prophylactic against, contagious
disorders. By nature it is extremely sluggish, but tries to bite
when irritated, and then covers itself copiously with slime.
The venom secreted by salamanders evidently serves to protect
these creatures against their enemies. So long ago as 1866,
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES
315
Fig. 123. — Cryptobraiichus japonicus (Great Japanese Salamander).
316 VENOMS
Zaleski^ isolated from it a substance soluble in alcohol, insoluble
in ether, and with a very strong alkaline reaction, to which he gave
the narae salamandarin. This substance, which is better known
to-day as salajnandrine, has been studied afresh by A. Dutartre,^
Phisalix and Langlois,^ and subsequently by Edwin and S. Faust.^
The action of this poison on the frog is characterised by a period
of violent convulsions, with general tetanic crises, followed by a
period of paralysis, with arrest of respiration and complete muscular
relaxation. According to the quantity of poison absorbed, this
paralytic period may be followed by death, with arrest of the heart
in diastole, or else by return to life, with more or less acute
recurrence of convulsions.
S. Faust prepares salamandrine by pounding up whole sala-
manders in a small quantity of physiological saline solution. The
thick pulp obtained in this way is filtered. One cubic centimetre
of the filtrate, taken as a unit, contains about 5 decimilligrammes of
active substance, which can be purified by treating the filtrate with
alcohol, which dissolves the salamandrine and precipitates all the
proteic substances that give biuret reaction. The salamandrine
thus freed fiom proteins is saturated with sulphuric or phosphoric
acid, when there is formed a crystallisable salt, which is washed
and dried. This salt is soluble in alcohol and in water. Its
chemical composition is as follows : —
C-^^'H^^'Az^0- + H'^80^.
The toxicity of this substance is such that from 7 to 9 deci-
milligrammes per kilogramme represent the lethal dose for dogs,
when injected subcutaneously. The lethal dose for the rabbit is
' Hoppe-Seyler's " Med.-cheni. Untersuchuiigen," Berlin, 1866.
^ Comjjtes rendus de VAcadcmic des Sciences, April 1, 1889, and January 29,
1890.
3 Ibid., 1890.
■* " Beitrage zur Kenntniss des Salamandarins und Salamanderalkaloide,"
Arcliiv. f. exjieriinentale FathoJcxjie und PJtarmah-oloc/ie, Bd. xli., 1898, p. 219,
and Bd. xliii., 1900, p. 84.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 317
still smaller. It produces convulsive phenomena, followed by arrest
of respiration. The administration of chloral to the subjects of
the experiment, either preventively or immediately after the poison,
prevents the latter from taking effect. Besides salamandrine,
S. Faust has isolated a second alkaloid, salamandridine, which, as
a sulphate, corresponds to the formula (C-"H^^AzO)- + H-SO^ crystal-
lises in rhombic prisms, and is soluble with difficulty in water.
The onlj^ difference between the two alkaloids is formed by a
methylpyridic group, and both are derivatives of quinoline. They
must therefore be considered as identical with the exclusively
vegetable alkaloids.
S. Faust concludes from his physiological investigations that
salamandrine takes effect upon the central nervous system, especi-
ally upon the respiratory centres. It is a convulsion-producing
poison, comparable to picrotoxin, but its effects differ from those
of the latter substance in that the convulsions are accompanied by
tetanic spasms.^
The venom of the Japanese Salamander {Cryptohranchus
japonicus) has formed the subject of studies by Phisalix.^ This
investigator has shown that this venom, which is highly soluble in
water and in glycerine, is very unstable ; alcohol and heating for
twenty minutes at 60" C. are sufficient to destroy it. When
inoculated into frogs it produces oedema and haemorrhage ; if
injected into warm-blooded animals it causes necrosis. In suffi-
ciently strong doses it kills by arresting respiration. Its effects
strongly resemble those produced by Viperine venoms. This
venom, if attenuated by being heated at 50^ C. and injected into
mammals, vaccinates them and leads to the formation in their
blood of antitoxic substances, which are capable of preventing
intoxication by salamander- venom, and, curiously enougli, also
confer immunity against viper-venom and the serum of the
common snake.
' Comptes rendus cle la Societe de Biologie, 1897, pi). 723, 823.
318 VENOMS
Toads are easy to distinguish from frogs owing to their squat
and ckimsy shape, and to the mass of glands with which each
side of the neck and a more or less extensive portion of the body is
furnished in these animals. According to G. A. Boulenger, the
number of known species amounts to seventy-six, which are found
in the Old and New Worlds, but have no representatives in
Australia. The species that are the most common, and most
interesting from the point of view of their venoms, are : —
The Common Toad {Bufo vulgaris), in which the skin, which is
very thick and rugose, is covered on the back with large rounded
tubercles with reddish summits. This species is a great destroyer
of insects, and, as such, is very useful to agriculturists.
The Natter- Jack {Bufo calamita), in which the digits are
palmate at the base. When irritated it contracts its skin and covers
itself with a white frothy exudation, which gives off an odour of
burnt powder.
The Green Toad {Bufo viridis), which is especially abundant in
Southern Europe, the Levant, and North Africa.
The Musical Toad {Bufo musicus), a species distributed tlirough-
out North America as far south as Mexico, and in which the back is
covered with pointed conical tubercles resembling spines.
The Brown Pelobates {Pelohates fuscus), common in the neigh-
bourhood of Paris, the skin of which is almost entirely smooth.
Although it appears to be nearly destitute of glands, this animal
secretes a very active venom, which has a penetrating odour and
kills mice in a few minutes, producing vomiting, convulsions, and
tetanic spasms of the muscles.
The toxicity of the venom of toads was long ago demonstrated
by the experiments of Gratiolet and Cloez.^ It is manifest only in
the case of small animals, and in man merely produces slight
inflammation of the mucous membranes, especially of the con-
junctiva.
^ Comptes rcndus de VAcademie des Sciences, April 21, 1851, and May, 1852.
VENOMS IN THE ANIAIAL SEBIES 319
That this venom preserves its toxic properties for more than a
year in the dry state was shown by Vulpian, and satisfactory
studies of its composition and physiological action have been made
by Fornara,' G. Calmels,- Phisalix and Bertrand,'^ Schultz,'*
Proscher,^ and S. Faust.''
Toad-venom was prepared by Phisalix and Bertrand in the
following manner : Holding the head of one of these batrachians
under water, they expressed the contents of the parotid glands with
the fingers or with a pair of forceps. They repeated the same
operation with a second, and then with a third toad, until they had
sufhciently impregnated the water, which serves to dissolve the
venom. In this way they obtained an opalescent, acid liquid, which
they filtered with a Chamberland candle under a pressure of from
four to five atmospheres. There remained on the filter a yellowish
substance, with a highly acid reaction and partly soluble in ether
and chloroform, while there passed through the pores a clear,
reddish, and slightly acid liquid, which on being evaporated left
behind a greyish- white precipitate. This precipitate was separated
by filtration, washed in water, and redissolved in absolute alcohol
or chloroform. The albuminoid matters were thus separated, and
the liquid, after being rendered limpid by filtration, was evaporated
away. The substance obtained in this way represents one of the
two active principles of the venom. It acts on the heart of the
frog, and arrests it in systole. It assumes the appearance of a
transparent resin, the composition of which roughly corresponds
to the formula C"''H"'0--\ It is the hufotalin of Phisalix and
Bertrand, and is probably identical with that obtained by S. Faust,
^Journal de Thcrajieutique, 1877, p. 929.
- Comptes rendus de V Acade mie des Sciences, February 25, 1884.
^Archives de Physiologie, 1893, p. 511.
* Archiv fiir mikroskojrische Anatomic, Bd. ii., 1889, p. 57.
^ " Zur Kenntniss des Krotengiftes,'' Hofm. Beitrage, Bd. i., 1901, p. 575.
^"Ueber Bufonin und Bufotalin," Leipzig, 1902; and Archiv filr ex])erimen-
tale Pathologie und Pharmahologie, December, 1902.
320 VENOMS
the formula of which, according to the latter author, is said to be
BufotaUn is readily soluble in alcohol, chloroform, acetone,
acetate of ethyl, and acetic acid. When water is added to a
solution of it in alcohol it is precipitated, giving a white emulsion,
which has a very bitter taste.
From the aqueous extract whence the bufotalin has been
separated, it is possible to separate a second poison, which acts
on the nervous system and causes paralysis. In order to obtain
it in a pure state, the extract is treated with alcohol at 96^ C,
filtered and distilled ; the residue dissolved in water is defaecated
with subacetate of lead and sulphuretted hydrogen. The solution
thus obtained is successively exhausted with chloroform to extract
the cardiac poison, and with ether, which removes almost the
whole of the acetic acid. The second neurotoxic principle, called
hiifotenin, remains in the residue of the solution after being
evaporated in vacuo.
Toad-venom, therefore, contains two principal toxic substances:
bufotalin, which is of a resinoid nature, soluble m alcohol, but
scarcely soluble in water, and is the cardiac poison; and hufoteiiin,
which is readily soluble in those two solvents, and is the neuro-
toxic poison}
Proscher, on the other hand, has extracted from the skins of
toads a haemolytic substance, termed by him phrynolysin, which
possesses all the properties of a true toxin and is not dialysable.
It is obtained by pounding the skins with glass powder in physio-
logical serum.
Phrynolysin dissolves the red corpuscles of the sheep very
rapidly, and (in order of sensitiveness) those of the goat, rabbit,
dog, ox, fowl, and guinea-pig. The red corpuscles of the pigeon,
frog, and toad are scarcely affected. When heated at 56" C. it
' " Rapports des venins avec la biologie generale," Bevue generate des
Sciences, December 30, 1903.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 321
loses its properties. By the ordinary methods of iiiimunisation
it is possible to obtain a very active antilysin.
There is, therefore, a very close analogy between the venoms
of toads and salamanders. These highly complex substances are
composed of mixtures of poisons, some of which are in all
respects analogous to the vegetable alkaloids, while others are
closely related to the microbic toxins and snake-venoms.
In the spawning season the cutaneous glands of the male toad
are gorged with venom, while those of the female are empty.
Phisalix ^ has shown that at this period the venom of the female
is accumulated in the eggs, which, if extracted from the abdomen
at the moment of oviposition and dried in vacuo, give off in
chloroform a product that has all the toxic properties of cutaneous
venom (bufotalin and bufotenin). No trace of this poison is to be
found in the tadpoles.
B.— Lizards.
The Order Lacertilia includes only a single venomous species,
W'hich belongs to the family Lacertida, and is known as the
Heloderm {Heloderma horridum, fig. 124). It is a kind of large
lizard, with the head and body covered with small yellow tubercles
on a chestnut-brown ground. It sometimes exceeds a metre in
length, and its habitat is confined to the warm belt extending
from the western slope of the Cordilleras of the Andes to the
Pacific. It is met with especially in the vicinity of Tehuantepec,
where it inspires the natives with very great dread. It is a slow-
moving animal, and lives in dry places on the edges of woods.
Its body exhales a strong, nauseous odour ; when it is irritated,
there escapes from its jaws a whitish, sticky slime, secreted by
its highly developed salivary glands. Its food consists of small
animals. Its bite is popularly supposed to be extremely noxious,
but, as a rule, the wound, though painful at first, heals rapidly.
' Comptes rendus de V Academie des Sciences, December 14, 1903.
21
322
VENOMS
Sumichrast caused a fowl to be bitten in the wing by a young
individual, which had not taken any food for a long time. After
a few minutes the parts adjacent to the wound assumed a violet
hue ; the bird's feathers were rufHed ; a convulsive trembling
seized its entire body, and it soon sank to the ground. At the
end of about half an hour it lay stretched out as though dead,
and from its half-open beak there flowed a sanguinolent saliva.
There was no movement to give any sign of life, except that
from time to time a slight shiver passed through the hinder part
Fig. 124. — Heloderma horridum.
of its body. After two hours, life seemed gradually to return,
and the bird picked itself up and crouched on the ground, without,
however, standing upright, and still keeping its eyes closed. It
remained thus for nearly twelve hours, at the end of which time
it once more collapsed, and expired.
A large cat which Sumichrast caused to be bitten in the hind
leg did not die, but immediately after being bitten the leg swelled
considerably, and for several hours the cat continued to mew in
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 323
a way that showed that it was suffering acute pain. It was
unable to stand, and remained stretched out on the same spot
for a whole day, unable to get up, and completely stupefied.
Interesting observations on the Heloderm have been made by
J. Van Denburgh and 0. B. Wight. The saliva of this lizard was
found to be highly toxic at certain times, and harmless at others.
When injected subcutaneously it produces various effects, such as
miction, defaecation, and abundant salivation, with accelerated
respiration followed by vomiting. The animal drinks with avidity,
and remains lying down, in a very depressed condition. Death
finally supervenes, from arrest of respiration and also of the heart's
action. The poison likewise acts upon the arterial tension, which
falls very rapidly and very markedly. The sensory nerves are also
attacked; irritability is at first increased, then diminished, and at
last entirely lost. These changes take place from behind forwards,
and from the periphery to the centre. The coagulability of the
blood is at first intensified and then lessened, as when acted upon
by ViPERiNE venom (H. Conpin).^
C. — Mammals.
The only mammal that can be considered to be provided with
a poison-apparatus belongs to the Order Monotrcmata, and is known
as the Duck-billed Platypus {Ornithorhynchus paradoxus, or 0.
anatinus, fig. 125). The head of this animal is furnished with
a kind of flat duck's bill, armed with two horny teeth in the upper
jaw, while the body, which is covered with dense fur, resembles that
of a beaver. The tail is broad and flat ; the legs are short, and the
feet are provided with five toes, armed with strong claws and webbed.
This singular animal is found only in Australia and Tasmania.
It lives in burrows near watercourses, entered by holes which it
digs in the bank, one above, the other on the water-level. It spends
> H. Coupiii, La Nature, September 19, 1903.
324
VENOMS
much of its time in the water, and feeds upon worms and small
fishes.
In the males the hind feet are armed with a spur, having an
orifice at the extremity. At the will of the animal, there is dis-
charged from this spur a venomous liquid secreted by a gland,
which lies along the thigh, and is in communication with the spur
by means of a wide subcutaneous duct (Patrick Hill).^
It has often been proved in Australia that this liquid, when
inoculated by the puncture of the spur, may give rise to oedema
and more or less intense general malaise. Interesting details with
reference to the effects produced by this secretion have been
published by C. J. Martin, in collaboration with Frank Tidswell.^
Fig. 125. — Ornithorliynchus paradoxus. (After Claus. )
When a dose greater than 2 centigrammes of dry extract of the
venom of 'Ornithorhynchus is injected intravenously into the rabbit,
it produces phenomena of intoxication analogous to those observed
after inoculation with Viperine venoms. Death supervenes in
from twenty-five to thirty minutes, and at the autopsy heemorrhagic
patches are found beneath the endocardium of the left ventricle.
This venom has been studied afresh in my laboratory by Noc,
' " On the OrnitJiorhijiiclius imradoxiis, its Venomous Spur and General
Structure," Trans. Linn. 'Soc, 1822, p. 622.
- " Observations on the Femoral Gland of Ornithorhynchus and its Secretion ; "
Proc. Linn. Soc. Neiv South Wales, vol. ix., July, 1894.
* "Note sur la secretion venimeuse de VOrnitliorlninrlnisjjaradoxus,'''' Comptes
rendus de la Societe de Biologic, March 12, 1904.
VENOMS IN THE ANIMAL SERIES 325
thanks to the acquisition of a small supply kindly forwarded to me
by C. J. Martin. Noc proved that it possesses zw vitro certain
properties of snake-venoms ; like the venom of Lachesis lanceolatiis,
it induces coagulation in citrate-, oxalate-, chloridate-, and fluorate-
plasmas. Heating at 80° C. destroys this coagulant pov^er.
Contrary, however, to what is found in the case of the venoms
of Vipera and Lachesis, the secretion of OniitJiorhyncJms is devoid
of haemolytic and proteolytic properties.
Lastly, its toxicity is very slight, at least five thousand times
less than that of the venoms of Australian snakes. A mouse is not
even killed by 5 centigrammes of dry extract, and in the case of
the guinea-pig 10 centigrammes only produce a slight painful
oedema.
It has been remarked that the volume and structure of the
poison-gland exhibit variations according to the season of the year
at which it is observed. It is therefore possible that these
variations also affect the toxicity of the secretion (Spicer).^
By certain authors the poison of Ornithorliynchus is considered
to be a defensive secretion of the males, which becomes especially
active in the breeding season, and this hypothesis is plausible.
In any case it would seem that as a venom the secretion is but very
slightlv nocuous.
It will have been seen from the papers quoted above that the
chemical nature and physiology of the various venoms, other than
those of 'snakes, are as yet little understood and need further
investigation.
The main outlines of this vast subject have scarcely been traced,
and the study offers a field of interesting investigations, in which
the workers of the future will be able to reap an ample harvest of
discoveries, pregnant with results for biological science.
' " On the Effects of Wounds Inflicted by the Spurs of the Plahjpus,'
Proceedings of the Boyal Socieiij of Tasmania, 1876.
326
PAllT V.
DOCUMENTS.
I. — A FEW Notes and Observations relating to Bites of
Poisonous Snakes Treated by Antivenomous Serum
Therapeutics.
A. — Naja tripudians (India and Indo-China).
I. — Case published by A. Beveridge, M.B., CM., Surgeon S.
Coorg Medical Fund (British Medical Journal, December 23, 1899,
p. 1732).
" A strong coolie, aged 26, was bitten by a cobra on the right
ankle, just above the internal malleolus. He was brought to the
surgery about one hour after being bitten, in a state of comatose
collapse. The pulse was rapid, and the surface of the body cold.
He was given an injection of 10 c.c. of Calmette's antivenene deeply
into the right flank. He was kept under observation : the paresis
and insensibility were very marked. On visiting him some hoars
afterwards I found he could walk without assistance, but staggered,
and complained of weakness and pains in both legs. Next morning
he was much improved, the paresis gradually wore off, and the
pulse steadily gained strength. The patient returned to work four
days later, quite recovered.
"A few days previously a coolie had died after being bitten
by a snake under the same conditions, but without having been
treated. Occurrences like these point to the necessity that every
Government or private dispensary should be supplied with anti-
venene, which is certainly the best remedy for snake-bite available."
DOCUMENTS 327
II. — Case reported by Robert J. Ashton, M.B., Kaschwa
Medical Mission. Mirzapur (N.W.P.).
" A coolie, aged '27, was bitten in the right foot by a cobra at
5.30 a.m., on September 16, 1900. Half an hour later 10 c.c. of
antivenomous serum were injected subcutaneously into the left
forearm. The patient experienced great pain in the foot, torpor,
and great weakness. Recovery, without complications."
III. — Case reported by Dr. Simond (Saigon).
" Nguyen- Van-Tranc, an Annamese, aged 25, employed in the
Botanical Gardens at Saigon, was bitten at 10.30 a.m., on
March 11, 1899, by a cobra which had escaped from its cage. The
bite was inflicted on the palmar surface of the index finger of the
right hand, and the fangs had penetrated deeply.
" This native, to whom a sensible comrade had applied a ligature
round the wrist, was brought to the Pasteur Institute three hours
later. He was drowsy, with drooping eyelids ; his speech was
difficult and almost uninteihgible. Deglutition was impossible,
and ingurgitated liquids caused vomiting. The hand was greatly
swollen at the seat of the bite, and the oedema extended to the
forearm. There was partial anaesthesia of the skin. As soon as
the patient arrived, I gave a single injection, beneath the skin of
the flank, of three doses of serum, that is, 30 c.c. In the evening
I again injected 10 c.c. of serum. At 10 p.m. the general condition
of the patient seemed to be improving. Next morning he was less
depressed, spoke more easily, and was able to swallow. Convales-
cence began from this moment ; the oedema and numbness of the
hand and arm, however, persisted for several days.
" Recovery was complete on March 20. I have no doubt that
in this very serious case the antivenomous serum preserved the life
of the patient, since his condition was desperate when I saw him.
" This is the second instance within four months of the success-
ful treatment of snake-bites at Saigon by Calmette's serum. In the
former case two natives were bitten by the same animal. One of
them, who permitted the injection of serum, which was performed
328 VENOMS
by Dr. Sartre, recovered ; the other, who refused it, died within
twenty-four hours."
IV. — Case reported by the Fathers of the Khurda-Mariapur
Mission (India).
"At 1 p.m., on October 31, 1905, a woman, aged 35, who had been
bitten by a cobra, was brought to us from Khurda. After being
at our dispensary for about an hour she became drowsy ; she paid
no attention to anything that was said to her, and merely replied
that she felt sick. We thereupon injected 10 c.c. of serum. The
woman did not even appear to feel the prick when the needle was
driven into her calf. Immediately after this was done she dozed
and went to sleep. The pulse was feeble, and the entire body cold.
We were disposed to give a second injection, but, since we had
only two bottles left, we hesitated to sacrifice one of them. At
last, after sleeping for about half an hour, the woman awoke of her
own accord, sat up, and began to recover her senses. Bodily heat
returned almost immediately, and a few moments later the patient
asked to be allowed to go home ; she was, however, kept at the
dispensary. In the evening she continued to complain of headache,
but on the following day she was able to walk, and was quite well."
V. — Case reported by Dr. Brau (Saigon).
" Nhuong, an Annamese agriculturist, on passing through a piece
of waste ground beside the barracks, at about 5.30 a.m. on Sunday,
September 11, felt himself suddenly bitten behind the right knee-
He caught a glimpse of a large blackish snake, with all the charac-
teristics of a cobra, including the raised head and dilated hood,
gliding hurriedly away, but was unable to overtake it.
" The seat of the bite merely showed two small blackish
punctures. The part soon became painfully swollen, and the patient
began to feel giddy. Other natives came to his help ; he was lifted
into a Malabar cart and brought to the Military Hospital, whence
he was sent to my house, where he arrived about a quarter past six.
"I entered the vehicle, and immediately drove with the patient
to the Pasteur Institute. The only treatment that he had received
DOCUMENTS 329
was a ligature ronud the middle of the right thigli. The lower
leg was enormously swollen, and the swelling was not stopped by
the slight barrier formed by the ligature, but had already extended
to the base of the limb.
" The patient lay stretched out between the two seats of the
vehicle, with head thrown back and eye-balls turned up and ghastly.
His skin and extremities were cold, and his pulse was scarcely
perceptible. In order not to lose time, he was not even taken up
to the first floor of the Institute, but was carried to an inoculating
table. He was then made to swallow black coffee and rum, and
was given an injection of as much as six doses of antivenomous
serum, which had just been received from the Pasteur Institute at
Lille.
" Under the stimulus of this injection, somewhat drastic I admit,
an absolute resurrection took place in the sick man. The pulse
became strong and bounding, bodily heat returned, and, although
the swelling did not at once diminish, its progressive extension
seemed to be sharply arrested, while the pain was also greatly
lessened. The patient was able to sit up without assistance, and
relate the incidents of his misadventure.
"In a few minutes time I thought it possible to have him taken
to the Choquan Hospital, the Director of which Institution, First-
class Surgeon-Major Angier, has been good enough to furnish me
with a note of the subsequent history of this case.
"'The Annamese Nhuong, who entered the Choquan Hospital
on September 11, suffering from snake-bite, was discharged on
September 20.
" ' On admission, heat and puftiness were observed in the calf
and thigh. Slight dyspncBa, severe fever, tendency to coma.
September VI, temperature 88', 39"2° C. September 13, tempera-
ture 37-3", 37-6' C. September 17, temperature 36-8% 37° C.
" 'On discharge, slight oedema and pufiiness in the region of the
bite. General condition good.' "
VI. — Case recorded by Dr. Eobert Miller, Bengal-Nagpur Eail-
way Company {Advocate of India, Bombay, January 15, 1902).
330 VENOMS
" On the evening of October 23 I was called to a coolie woman,
who had been bitten by a large cobra about 7 o'clock ; some two
hours had already elapsed since the accident. The woman was,
so to speak, moribund, unconscious, and suffering from paralysis
of the throat, after having exhibited all the characteristic symptoms
of poisoning by cobra-venom. I immediately injected 10 c.c. of
Calmette's serum, without any hope of a successful result, however,
so desperate did the condition of the patient appear. The effect
of the serum was marvellous ; fifteen minutes later she regained
consciousness. I gave a fresh injection of 10 c.c, and three hours
after the first the patient was out of danger. Dr. Sen, my assistant-
surgeon, was present. I have forwarded a note of this case to
Dr. L. Rogers, Professor of Pathology at the Calcutta Medical
College."
VII.— Case recorded by Captain H. A. L. Howell, R.A.M.C.
(British Medical Journal, January 25, 1902).
" Shortly before 4 p.m. on November 17, 1901, Lance-Corporal
G., Royal Scots, was bitten on the right forefinger by a snake. On
being brought to hospital, Assistant-Surgeon Raymond tied a tight
ligature round the finger, scarified the wound, and applied a strong
solution of calcium chloride. On my arrival I found the patient
apparently quite well, and not at all alarmed. As I could get no
information as to the nature of the snake, I injected into the
patient's flank at 4.30 p.m. 3 c.c. of Calmette's serum, and sent for
the snake, which was the property of one of the men in barracks.
The snake was brouglit to me just before 6 p.m., and I found it to
be a cobra about 3^ feet long, of the pale-coloured variety that
natives call Brahmini cobra. I at once injected 7 c.c. of Calmette's
serum into the other flank. The patient thus received one full
dose of serum. The ligature was removed from the finger, which
was swollen and very painful.
" Up to half an hour after the bite the patient, a healthy and
powerful man, presented no abnormal symptoms : pulse, respira-
tion, pupils, temperature, and general appearance, all were normal.
DOCUMENTS 331
His pulse and respiration began to increase in frequency, and the
pulse became very compressible, but quite regular. After the first
injection of serum his temperature was 98"" F., pulse full, high
tension, regular, 88, and respirations greatly increased in frequency.
He now became very drowsy, and had to be roused when the second
injection of serum was given. Soon after this the patient's general
condition and pulse improved. . . . He had complete loss of
sensation in the bitten finger, in the part terminal to the site of
the puncture, for some days. . . . The injection of Calmette's
serum gave rise to no local reaction, and caused no pain. It did
not affect the temperature, but was followed in half an hour by
perspiration, which was very profuse four hours after the injection.
. . . The patient made a complete recovery. . . . The
serum used in this case was fresh, having been prepared at Lille
in July, 1901."
A^III. — Note of case treated by Major Rennie, E.A.M.C., trans-
mitted by M. Klobukowski, French Consul-General at Calcutta,
September 5, 1899 :—
"A remarkable cure effected by Major Bennie, by means of
Calmette's method, has just taken place at Meerut. Since the
introduction of this remedy three years ago, its efficacy has been
abundantly proved, but the present case is especially interesting,
since it seems to show that the serum can be successfully employed
even in cases apparently desperate. The well-known symptoms
of poisoning by cobra-venom were already so advanced that the
patient, who was insensible, was kept alive by artificial respiration
in order to give time for the serum to be absorbed and to take effect.
" The truth of the above statements is attested by six doctors,
and is also vouched for by the Commissioner and Magistrate of
the militar}^ cantonment, wlio, although not medical men, have,
nevertheless, had long experience of Indian matters."
IX. — Case recorded by Binode Bihari Ghosal, Assistant-Surgeon,
Jangipur ("A Case of Snake-bite [Cobra?]. — Eecovery," Indian
Medical Gazette, January, 1905, p. 18).
332 VENOMS
"While fastening her door about 10 o'clock one night a Hindu
woman was bitten by a cobra in the left foot, about 1 inch above
the metatarso-phalangeal joints of the second and third toes.
About ten minutes after the bite natives applied three strong
ligatures, one above the ankle, one below, and one above the
knee-joint. Four hours later 'Fowl' treatment was applied, which
it appears gives marvellous results. The author arrived about
nine hours after the accident, during the ' Fowl ' treatment, for
which nineteen chickens had already been sacrificed. In spite of
this the patient was pulseless (no radial pulse — the brachial pulse
was thready and flickering) ; respiration about six per minute. An
injection of strychnine improved her condition for a few minutes.
When the incision, which had been made over the bite, was
crucially enlarged, large quantities of dark blood were withdrawn
by cupping. In spite of this the patient's condition grew worse,
and her respiration fell to three a minute ; she then received an
injection of 10 c.c. of Calmette's serum in the left buttock. The
pulse immediately became stronger, and respiration increased to
ten per minute. About half an hour after the first, a fresh injection
of 10 c.c. of serum was given in the same place. Within five
minutes the appearance of the patient, who had seemed to be
dying, became normal. The pulse grew stronger, and respiration
was about fifteen per minute. One hour after the injections the
patient was practically cured.
"The 'Fowl' treatment consists in applying directly to the
wound, after the latter has been slightly enlarged by means of an
incision, the anal apertures of living fowls, from which the sur-
rounding feathers have been removed. The fowl immediately
becomes drowsy, its eyes blink, and its head falls on its breast with
the beak open, after which the bird rapidly succumbs. Twenty
fowls had been employed in the present case, but in vain." (The
author does not appear to have troubled himself to ascertain
whether the fowls were really dead, or had merely fallen into
a hypnotic condition.)
DOCUMENTS 333
X. — Case reported by Major G. Lamb, I. M.S., Plague Eesearch
Laboratory, Parel, Bombay, October 18, 1*.)00.
" Ten days ago I was bitten by a large cobra, from which I was
collecting venom. I had only some very old serum in the labora-
tory, but I immediately gave myself an injection of 18 c.c. Three
hours after being bitten [ felt faint, my legs became paralysed,
and I was seized with vomiting. In the meantime, fresh serum
had been obtained at a chemist's, and I received an injection of
10 c.c. The symptoms improved very rapidly, and an hour later
I felt perfectly well. I applied no local treatment, relying
altogether upon the serum."
XI. — Case reported by Dr. Angier, of Pnom-Penh (Cambodia).
"At 11.80 one night in April, 1901, His Majesty, the second
King of Cambodia brought to me in a carriage one of his
wives who, when crossing the courtyard of the palace at about
8 o'clock, was bitten by a snake, which she said was a cobra (in
Cambodian Povek).
" The bite was situated in the lower third of the leg, in front
of the internal malleolus. The patient complained continually ;
she was suffering greatly from the leg, which was swollen as high
as the knee. Great lassitude. An injection of 10 c.c. of anti-
venomous serum was given, half in the leg and half in the flank.
The wound was washed, squeezed and dressed. Twenty minutes
later the pain had ceased, and the patient went away, feeling
nothing more than a slight dulness in the injured limb."
B. — Naja haje (Tropical Africa).
XII. — Cases reported by Dr. P. Lamy, of the Houdaille
Expedition.
"Lamina, a Senegalese, bitten on the outside of the left thigh,
on February 18, 1898. Treated with serum. Kecovery.
" Momo Bolabine, bitten in the heel on April 20, 1898. Ten c.c.
of serum. Kecovery."
334 VENOMS
XIII. — Case reported by Dr. Deschamps, of Thies (Senegal).
" In the month of October, 1898, I was called to a native, a
local constable, who had just been bitten by a Naja. The Ouoloffs
of Senegal are much afraid of the bites of this reptile, since they
are generally fatal. In this case the man had been bitten in the
forehead by a snake, which was coiled up in his bed, as he was
placing his head on the pillow. Being in the dark, he got up
greatly frightened, lit a candle, and saw the snake glide from his
bed and escape through the half-open door. I arrived a few
minutes after the accident ; the constable already felt very weak,
and complained of nausea and of pains in the head and back of
the neck. In the middle region of the forehead I found two
adjacent wounds, around which the tissues were oedematous. I
washed the wounds with a solution of permanganate of potash,
and had a telegram sent to St. Louis asking for antivenomous
serum. Half an hour after the bite, the patient was seized with
vomiting and cold sweats. At 6 a.m.' on the following day there
was considerable oedema of the face and dyspnoea, while the pulse
was small and intermittent. The patient, who had not slept, was
dull and depressed. He vomited a little milk which I tried to
make him take. Forty hours after the bite the patient, who
was already paralysed, became comatose ; the face and neck were
enormously swollen. The dyspncea had increased ; it was difhcult
to hear the respiratory murmur ; the pulse was thready, slow, and
intermittent ; the skin was cold ; the temperature, taken in the
axilla, was 35"8° C. At this moment the serum asked for arrived
from St. Louis. I injected into the buttock the only dose that
I possessed, 10 c.c. The coma persisted throughout the evening
and durmg part of the night ; at 6 a.m. on the following day,
fourteen hours after the injection, the patient awoke and said
that he felt quite well. The cedema of the face and neck had
diminished, that of the eyelids had disappeared. Three days
later the constable returned to duty."
XIV. — Case reported by Professors H. P. Keatenje and A.
Buffer (Cairo).
DOCUMENTS 335
"A girl named Hamida, aged 13, while picking cotton on
October 7, 1896, at Gbizeh, near Cairo, was bitten in the
left forearm by a large Egyptian cobra, which measured 3 feet
in length. She cried out, and her brother and others who were
working with her ran up. She was brought to hospital by the
police at 7 p.m. in a state of complete collapse. She was almost
cold, with upturned eyeballs and imperceptible pulse. The
forearm had been bandaged with a dirty cloth, and the entire
arm was covered with a thick layer of Nile mud (a favourite
remedy among the Fellahin). Above the wrist two deep punctures
were clearly visible, evidently corresponding to the fangs of the
reptile. The patient, whose condition seemed absolutely desperate,
had no longer an}^ reflexes ; she was completely insensible ; the
moderately dilated pupils scarcely reacted at all to luminous
impressions. Dr. Buffer injected, with the customary antiseptic
precautions, 20 c.c. of Calmette's antivenomous serum beneath the
skin of the abdomen. The" child gave a groan while this was
being done ; this was at 7.30 p.m. At 11 o'clock at night her
condition improved ; the pulse was 140, and bodily heat returned ;
the patient replied to questions that were put to her. A second
injection of 10 c.c. of serum was given in the flank. She slept
for the remainder of the night, and passed her water four times
under her. At 8 a.m. on October 8 she appeared to be out of
danger. She took food, and dozed throughout the day. On the
9th she was convalescent. There were no complications resulting
from the injection, neither eruptions nor pains in the joints."
XV. — Case reported by Dr. Maclaud, of Konakry (French
Guinea).
"At 7.30 p.m., on June 22, 1896, there was brought to the
Konakry Hospital a native soldier, named Demba, who had just
been bitten by a snake. This man, who was employed in the
bakery, was stacking firewood, when he felt an extremely acute
pain m the left foot ; simultaneously he saw a large snake making
off; he succeeded in killing it, and found it to be a black Naja.
336 VENOMS
After having applied a stout ligature to the limb, the injured
man hastened to the hospital, where, immediately afterwards, he
fell into a condition verging on coma. The body was bathed
with cold sweat ; the temperature was subnormal ; the pulse,
which was small and thready, was 140. There was difficulty in
breathing, and severe vomiting. At intervals the patient was
aroused by spasms, and excruciating pains in the injured limb,
which exhibited considerable oedema above and below the ligature.
Tendency to asphyxia. I washed the wounds with 1 per cent,
solution of permanganate of potash, and injected a dose of anti-
venomous serum into the subcutaneous cellular tissue of the left
flank. In view of the severity of the symptoms I gave two other
injections of serum, an injection of 3 c.c, followed by one of '2 c.c.
The patient dozed all night. Next day the general symptoms had
entirely disappeared. Two days later Demba returned to duty."
C. — Bungarus fasciatus.
XVI. — Case reported by Surgeon-Captain Jay Gould (Now-
gong. Central India, British Medical JouniaL October 10, 1896,
p. 1025).
"On June 11, 1896, a punkah coolie was bitten on the dorsum
of the left foot, between the second and third toes. He had only
the distinct mark of an incisor, a very slight prick, with a stain
of blood which marked the spot. Within ten minutes we had
injected 20 c.c. of Calmette's serum into the abdominal wall, after
which we made a local injection of a 1 in 60 solution of hyper-
chlorite of calcium. Two hours after the injection the temperature
was subnormal, the pulse full and slow. Twelve hours later the
patient was perfectly well and walking about.
" The snake was a Bungarus, full grown, measuring 28 inches.
Unfortunately the syces killed it ; it died the very moment I
arrived, so that I was unable to test its virulence."
DOCUMENTS 337
D.— Bungarus caeruleus.
XVII. — Case reported by Major S. J. Kennie, E.A.M.C., Meerut,
N.W.P., India.
" A twelve-year old Hindu boy, named Moraddy, was brought to
me at 6 p.m., on July 10, in a semi-comatose condition, with
commencing paralysis of the respiratory muscles. I was told that
the child was sleeping on the ground, when he was bitten in the
left hand. He immediately felt very great pain and giddiness, and
his arm began to swell. Two small wounds were clearly visible,
corresponding to the marks of the fangs of a krait, or Bungarus
cceruleus.
" The child had salivation, and ptosis of both eyelids. Respira-
tion was difficult, and deglutition impossible ; the pulse was 110 and
dicrotic. The patient's breathing was of an abdominal character ;
the surface of the body was covered with cold sweat. The child
soon became lethargic and collapsed ; his condition appeared
absolutely desperate. I gave a subcutaneous injection of 1'2 c.c.
of antivenomous serum, and commenced artificial respiration, which
I continued for half an hour in order to give the serum time to take
effect. In forty-eight hours the symptoms gradually disappeared,
and the child became quite well. Diplopia of the left eye persisted
for a few days, but this also entirely passed away.
" This case shows that, in Calmette's antivenomous serum, we
have a very powerful remedy against snake-bites, which may take
effect even in desperate cases. It further proves that the serum
will keep for a very long time, even when exposed to all the vicissi-
tudes of the Indian climate, for the serum employed by me had
been in my possession for nearly four years."
E. — Sepedon haemachates (Berg- Adder).
XVIII.— Case reported by Mr. W. A. G. Fox, Table Mountain,
Cape of Good Hope.
" On February 9, 1898, I was summoned to the Town Councilb
22
838 VENOMS
Camp to treat a native who had been bitten by a berg-adder in the
left leg, just below the knee. I immediately injected a dose of
Calmette's antivenomous serum in the left flank, and the wounds
were washed. The injection was given two and a quarter hours
after the accident. The patient was already very ill when I saw
him, and I have no doubt that, without the antivenomous serum,
he would have died.
" On the following day he had recovered, and I saw him again
three months later ; since then he has not experienced any
functional trouble."
F. — Hydrophiidae (Sea-Snakes).
XIX. — Case recorded by Mr. H. W. Peal, Indian Museum,
Calcutta {Indian Medical Gazette, July, 1903, p. 276).
" On April 1, 1903, at 7.30 p.m., a man was bitten at Dhamra,
in Orissa, by a sea-snake which had been caught in a fishing net.
He was not brought to me until 2.30 the next day, when he was
in a state of collapse, semi-unconscious, and unable to speak, with
eyes dull and almost closed. The bite was on the third finger of
the left hand, just above the first joint. The finger was swollen,
tense, and stiff. I gave the man an injection of 5 c.c. of antivenene
ten minutes after he was brought to me. Three or four minutes
after the injection the man with some assistance was able to sit
up, and said he felt much better. He complained of great pain at
the back of the neck and also in the lumbar region. He was able
to speak fairly coherently after a little time. His eyes were brighter
and he seemed to be aroused from his lethargy.
" I had about one hundred living sea-snakes with me, belonging
to the three genera Enhijdrina, Hi/drus, and Distira. He identified
Enhydrlna valakadien as being the snake which bit him ; so did
the men who were with him. The snake was said to be about
3^ to 4 feet long.
" The antivenene did the man so much good, that he himself
DOCUMENTS 339
asked me to give him a second injection. This I gave him at
2.25 p.m. (5 c.c).
" Date on bottle used, May 8, 1900.
" The pains in the joints had disappeared on the second injection
(which wa^s given in opposite flank) . At 5 o'clock the man walked
away with assistance. He was quite well a couple of hours
after the second injection, and when I saw him again on May 8
he w^as in perfect health."
G. — European Yipers {Pelias herns and Vipera aspis).
XX. — Case published by Dr. Marchand, of des Montils, Loir-et-
Cher {Anjou medical, August, 1897).
" About 11 a.m., on Friday, July 23, Jules Bellier, aged 20, was
mowing in a damp spot, when he was bitten in the heel by a large
viper (Vipera herns). The bite, which was deep, was situated on
the outside of the foot, 1 cm. behind the malleolus and 3 cm. above
the plantar margin ; at this point there w^ere two punctures in the
skin, 1 cm. apart. Directly after the accident the patient left his
work, tied his hankerchief tightly round the low'er third of his leg,
made the wound bleed, and came to me with all speed, hopping on
one foot for about a kilometre. When I saw him scarcely twenty
minutes had elapsed since the accident ; his general appearance was
altered, and his pulse rapid. The patient had vomited twice ; he
complained of pains in the head, and of general weakness, and
' was afraid,' he said, ' of fainting.' The foot and leg were painful
under pressure ; a slight tumefaction was visible in the peri-
malleolar region, around the bites, which bled a little. Forthwith,
after washing the wound freely with a solution of permanganate
of potash, I injected 10 c.c. of Calmette's serum into the antero-
external region of the middle part of the thigh ; then I enveloped
the leg in a damp antiseptic dressing as high as the knee. The
patient breathed more freely and plucked up his spirits. After
lying down for quarter of an hour he went home on foot (he lives a
hundred yards from my house).
340 VENOMS
" In the evening I saw my patient again. He was in bed, with a
temperature of 37'2° C. ; pulse GO ; no malaise, no headache, no
further vomiting ; he had taken a little soup, and a small quantity
of alcoholic infusion of lime-tree flowers. He complained of his
leg, which was swollen as high as the knee ; the pain was greater
in the calf than at the malleolus. I applied a damp bandage.
The patient had a good night, and slept for several hours, but still
had pain in the leg. On the following morning, July 24, I found
him cheerful, with no fever, and hungry. Around the bite the
oedema had become considerable, and had extended to an equal
degree as high as the instep ; the calf and thigh were swollen, but
to a much less extent. I gave a second injection of 10 c.c. of anti-
venomous serum in the cellular tissue of the abdominal wall. The
day was good ; indeed, the patient had no fever at any time ; the
spots at which the injections were made were but very slightly
sensitive on pressure. In the evening the general condition of the
patient was satisfactory ; he complained most of his calf. Thinking
that a contraction was possible, due to his having hopped along
quickly on one leg after the accident, I ordered him a bath.
" On July 25, the second day after he was bitten, the only
symptom still exhibited by the patient was a somewhat consider-
able amount of oedema in the peri-malleolar region and lower third
of the leg. This oedema was slowly and gradually absorbed on the
following days.
" Bemarks. — (1) At this season of the year viper-bites are both
frequent and dangerous in this district of the Loir-et-Cher. A year
never passes without several cases occurring, and it has very often
happened that deaths have had to be recorded in spite of the most
careful treatment.
" (2) The therapeutic effect of Calmette's serum was rapid and
efficacious ; the injections did not cause any pain or febrile reaction.
" (3) The (Dedema resulting from the bite was a long time in being
absorbed ; this, indeed, was the only remarkable symptom after the
injection of the serum."
DOCUMENTS 341
XXI. — Case recorded by Dr. D. Paterne, of Blois {Anjou medical,
September, 1897).
" My confrere and friend Dr. Marcband (des Montils) pubbsbed
in last month's Anjou medical an interesting case of viper-bite,
cured by Cabnette's serum. May I send you particulars of anotber
case, which can only increase the interest of the one that you have
ah-eady published ? The facts are as follows : —
"Leon Bertre, aged 55, living at 17, Kue du Puits-Cbatel, Blois,
professes to be a snake-charmer, and really catches and destroys
large numbers of dangerous reptiles in the vicinity of Blois.
" On Sunday, the 30th of last May, he went among the rocks of
the Chaussee Saint-Victor on his favourite quest, and soon returned
with ten large female vipers, and amused himself by exhibiting
them to a group of interested spectators in an inn. A dog came up
and began to bark. Bertre, whose attention was momentarily
distracted, ceased to fix his gaze on the vipers, one of which, being
no longer under the influence of its fascination, bit bim on the
back of the right hand, between the metacarpals of the thumb and
index-finger. (I here reproduce the account of the occurrence as I
received it from the snake-charmer's own lips.) Bertre immedi-
ately felt an acute pain ; his hand swelled up almost suddenly, and,
since he was perfectly aware of the seriousness of what had
happened, he ran with all speed in the direction of my con-
sulting-room. The unfortunate man, however, had hardly gone
200 metres, when he fell insensible on the higbway. He was
brought to me, and Dr. Moreau, of Paris, locum tenens for Dr.
Ferrand, of Blois, who was away, rendered first aid. He washed
the wound, dressed it with perchloride of mercury, and injected
10 c.c. of Calmette's serum into the right flank. The accident
took place a little before 5 p.m., and the injection was given about
6 o'clock.
" Dr. Moreau, who was interested in the case, asked me to
take charge of it, which I gladly consented to do. The patient's
general condition was very grave, since he remained two days and
two nights without regaining consciousness.
342 VENOMS
"On Tuesday, June 1, about 11 o'clock, Dr. Moreau gave a
second injection of 20 c.c. Considering the condition of the patient,
we hardly hoped for a successful result. To our great surprise,
however, the patient regained consciousness about 3 p.m., and the
improvement progressed rapidly."
XXII. — Case recorded by Dr. Tliuau, of Bauge {AnjoiL medical,
September, 1897).
"X., a young man of Volandry, a parish 10 kilometres from
Bauge, was bitten in the heel at 10 a.m. on the 6th of last August,
by an aspic, about 50 cm. in length, while engaged in harvest-
ing. He at once had himself taken to Bauge, knowing that
there was an antivenomous serum dispensary there, and about noon
he arrived at the house of my confrere and friend Dr. Boell. The
latter, in view of the grave symptoms exhibited by the patient
(nausea, vertigo almost amounting to syncope, pain in the chest,
profuse sweating, &c.), gave hnn, with all the customary precau-
tions, a first injection of 10 c.c. of Calmette's serum in the flank.
After about half an hour, since the alarmnig symptoms did not
appear to diminish, he did not hesitate to give a second injection of
10 c.c, and then had him sent to the Bauge Civil Hospital, where
he came under my care about 3 p.m. I then found that this
young man had been bitten in the left foot, a little below the
external malleolus, midway between the latter and the plantar
margin. The snake's fangs had penetrated rather deeply ; the two
little wounds were about a centimetre apart. About this time
the patient experienced great relief, and his general condition
continued rapidly to improve. The axillar}^ temperature was
37-8' C.
" Locally the patient complained of somewhat acute pain in the
entire foot ; the latter was purple and greatly swollen, and the
swelling had affected the whole of the lower leg and extended to
a little above the knee. I made a slight incision in the region of
the two wounds caused by the bite, made the place bleed a little,
and washed it with a solution of permanganate of potash, advising
DOCUMENTS 343
that the dressing should be changed several times a day. In the
evening the temperature was 37" C, and never varied again from
the normal until recovery was complete on August 25.
" The two injections of antivenomous serum did not produce any
painful or inflammatory reaction."
XXIII. — Case reported by Dr. Clamouse, of Saint-Epain,
Indre-et-Loire.
"Leonie C, a servant at a farm, aged 19, bitten on June 1, 1900,
by a red viper on the dorsal face of the left ring-finger. Somewhat
serious symptoms of intoxication. In default of serum, injection of
Labarraque's fluid, 1 in 1'2. Serum obtained from Tours was
injected at 11 p.m. on June 2, thirty-eight hours after the
accident.
" On the morning of June 3, very marked improvement. On
June 7, general condition excellent. Eecovery,"
XXIV. — Case reported by Dr. G. Moreau, of Neung-sur-Beuvron,
Loir-et-Cher.
"A. B., aged 12, living at Villeny, in the canton of Neung-
sur-Beuvron (Loir-et-Cher), was bitten on June 23, 1900, on the
left external malleolus. The parents contented themselves with
applying a ligature above the wound, and did not bring the child
to me until 12.15 p.m.
" Tumefaction of the entire foot. Ecchymosis of the skin
extending half-way up the leg. General condition excellent. I
gave antiseptically an injection of 10 c.c. of antivenomous serum
in the right flank, followed by a draught of acetate of ammonia
and syrup of ether. Damp bandage applied to wound and swollen
part.
"I saw the child again on the following day. Generalised
oedema and tumefaction of the bitten limb. Heart excellent ; no
vomiting, no fever. I again gave an injection of 20 c.c. of serum,
and ordered a continuance of damp phenic dressings to be applied
to the entire limb. Condition very good.
" On June 25, no fever at the time of my visit. Pulse irregular.
Ordered treatment to be continued.
344 VENOMS
" I did not see the patient for four days, when I was summoned
by telegram. I found that the child had fever, 39° C. Complete
tumefaction of the left leg, abdomen, and trunk, with ecchymosed
patches. Prescribed quinine. Arhythmia of pulse and heart.
Prescribed digitalis and Jaccoud's tonic. The febrile condition
was due to congestion of the base of the right lung. I ordered
cupping and sinapisms alternately.
"I saw the child again two days later. The congestion still
continued. Temperature 39° C, but the general tumefaction
showed a tendency to diminish.
''On July 4 I again saw the child. Now only shght oedema.
General condition very satisfactory. Temperature normal. The
child was making rapid strides towards recovery. The leg was
doing well, and the wound was almost healed.
" Summary : A very serious bite and, above all, great delay in
injecting serum (injection not given until four hours after the
accident) ; unforeseen complications in the lung, by which recovery
was delayed."
XXV. — Case reported by Mons. H. Moindrot, Assistant to Dr.
Martel, of Saint-Etienne (Loire).
" Claude L., aged 8, living at Eicamarie, was brought, on May 26,
1904, to the Bellevue Hospital. The parents stated that about 10
o'clock the same morning, while playing near a stack of faggots, the
child was bitten by a snake in the third finger of the right hand.
Since the wound caused by the bite seemed to them of little import-
ance, they contented themselves with squeezing the injured finger in
order to make it bleed a little. A few moments later, however, the
child began to complain of a feeling of distension in the region
of the bite, caused by oedema, which soon increased to an alarming
extent. A doctor, who was called in, carefully washed the wound,
applied an aseptic dressing, and at once sent the little sufferer to the
Hospital.
" On admission, enormous oedema, including fingers, hand, entire
right arm, cervical region on the same side, and the anterior
DOCUMENTS 345
face of the thorax, nearly as far as the inner margin of the false
ribs. This oedema was not very painful, though fairly tense,
yielding but slightly to pressure. In the affected region the skin
was cold, of a dull livid colour, with a few ecchymosed patches.
In the bitten finger, a small wound with no special characteristics.
" General condition bad ; the child was unable to stand. He
was indifferent to what was passing around him, merely groaning
a little when examined. The pulse was feeble, thin, and easily
compressible ; it was also very irregular. The extremities were
cold. Lungs : nothing abnormal on auscultation, rapidly performed,
it is true. Kespiration, however, was distinctly accelerated, 80
per minute. Temperature not taken on admission. No urine
passed since the accident.
" The patient's condition being so alarmmg, not to say desperate,
we thought it almost useless to have recourse to Calmette's method,
more especially since at least seven hours had already elapsed since
the child was bitten. Nevertheless we gave a hypodermic injection
of 20 c.c. of Calmette's serum. At the same time the wound was
crucially incised, and bathed with a 1 in 1,000 solution of perman-
ganate of potash, after which a damp dressing was applied to the
whole of the swollen Hmb. The patient was put to bed, and kept
warm. He was given an injection of 50 centigrammes of caffeine,
and 800 grammes of artificial serum. In the evening the tempera-
ture was 36 '8° C.
" May 27. — General condition more satisfactory ; pulse still weak,
but less irregular. Persistence of dyspnoea, explained by a series
of small rales at the bases of both lungs. This morning the Httle
patient passed his urine, about 200 grammes. He is more lively,
and rephes better to any questions addressed to him.
" May 28. — The improvement continues ; the dyspnoea has almost
entirely disappeared ; only a few rales are still heard at the extreme
base. The pulse is stronger and remains regular. The secretion
of urine gradually reappears. The temperature of the extremities
has become normal.
346 VENOMS
" On May 29 and following days the oedema continued to dim-
inish, and had totally disappeared eight or ten days later.
" Recovery was complete by about June 15. The child was
discharged on June 23, 1904.
" It seemed to us worth while to report this case, in order to
emphasise the conclusion that forces itself upon us, namely that
in all cases of bites from poisonous snakes an injection of Calmette's
serum should be given, without considering the efficacy of this
therapeutic agent as being rendered doubtful by the length of time
that may have elapsed since the bite was inflicted.
" In the present case, as we have seen, there was extensive
intoxication, which had seriously affected the functions of the
various organs, since we found cardiac arhythmia and pulmonary
oedema, and that the patient was threatened with collapse, algidity,
hypothermia, and anuria. Impregnation by the virus having
continued for seven hours, we might have felt ourselves justified,
on the one hand in merely employing the proper means for the
relief of the general condition, on the other hand in treating the
local condition, without havmg recourse to the serotherapeutic
method, that seems to us in this case, in so far as it is permissible
to make such a statement, to have been the determining factor in
the recovery."
XXVI. — Case recorded by Dr. Lapej^e, of Fontainebleau (from
I/Aheille de Fontainehleau of June 27, 1902).
" M. X., who arrived at Fontainebleau on Sunday morning with
a friend, keeps grass snakes at home, in Paris; he finds his hobby
as good a means as any other to remind him of the forest and its
charms. Human nature includes all kinds of tastes, so that this
particular one need not be further discussed.
" The journey, therefore, had a twofold object : firstly to spend
a whole day in sunshine and in the open air, and secondly to
catch grass snakes to add to the collection.
" On leaving the train, our Parisian walked up the Amelie Road,
and saw a snake under a rock. Never doubting that it was one
DOCUMENTS 347
of the kind that he knew so well, to kneel down, pass his left
arm into the hole, and seize the snake, was the work of a moment ;
he quickly succeeded, even better than he intended, for instead of
his seizing a grass snake, the viper bit him so hard in the left
forefinger, that he could only make it let go by pulling it off with
his other hand. Well knowing that he had been dangerously
bitten, he went down to the Station Road to get the wound dressed,
after which, thinking that all necessary precautions had been taken
he returned to the forest, but soon felt uncomfortable. His arm
and then his body swelled up, and he was seized with vomiting.
It was time to go to Fontainebleau to seek medical assistance, for
he had acute pain in the abdomen and stomach, his tongue was
swollen, and his body was turning black.
"Accompanied by his friend he reached the town. His condi-
tion becoming more serious every moment; the injured man was
carried into a hotel, where Dr. Lapeyre administered injections of
antivenomous serum. After three hours — the same period as had
elapsed between the accident and the first treatment — the general
condition of the patient, which had never ceased to be alarming,
showed marked improvement. By the end of the day he appeared
to be out of danger, and left for Paris on Tuesday evening, delighted
at having got off so cheaply."
H.— Echis carinata.
XXVn. — Case recorded by Lieutenant C. C, Murisou, I. M.S.
{Indian Medical Gazette, May, 1902, p. 171).
" G. W. R., a Mahomedan, aged about VI, was admitted into
hospital on March 10, 1902, at 9.30 p.m., having been bitten by
a snake on the dorsum of the right foot an hour and a half
previously. The snake was killed by his sister, and was subse-
quently identified at the Research Laboratory, Bombay, as an
Echis carinata (Phoorsa).
" I saw the patient at about 9.45. The dorsum of the foot was
348 VENOMS
swollen, and the swelling extended above the ankle-joint. The
knee reflexes were very exaggerated, and the boy was somewhat
drowsy. Since he was gradually getting worse, I decided to inject
5 c.c. of Calmette's antivenene. I got the hospital assistant under
my supervision to inject it into the right calf, to cauterise the bite
with silver nitrate, and to apply a 1 in 40 carbolic poultice. Very
soon (fifteen minutes) after this the pain in the thigh, which had
reached to the right groin, began to disappear. During the night
the patient was very sleepy, and the attendants had great difficulty
in keeping him awake.
" March 12. — This morning the patient is much better ; there
is still considerable swelling of the foot, but the pain is much less.
All other symptoms are gone."
XXVIII. — Case reported by Surgeon - Captain Sutherland
I.M.S., Saugor, C.P., India.
Case of a woman bitten on the finger on July 22, 1898, by
an Echis carinata. Treated six hours later with 10 c.c. of serum.
Recovery.
I.— Cerastes.
XXIX. — Case reported by Dr. Moudon, of Konakry, French
Guinea.
" On December 9, 1898, a Foulah woman, eight months preg-
nant, was collecting wood when she was bitten in the heel, behind
the internal malleolus of the right foot, by a snake which, from the
description given, must have been a Horned Viper. When I saw
her, four hours after the accident, the whole of the lower leg was
swollen and painful. The swelling extended to the groin, and the
patient complained of vertigo and nausea. I immediately gave her
an injection of 10 c.c. of antivenomous serum in the right flank,
followed by a second injection at 10 p.m. Ten days later, with the
Commandant of the Fulton, I saw her again at her village ; she
had no symptom of malaise, and the pregnancy was taking its
normal course."
DOCUMENTS 349
XXX. — Case of a bite from a Horned Viper reported by Dr.
Mons, in charge of the Mihtary Hospital of Laghouat, Algeria.
" Mohamed ben Naouri, a day labourer, aged '■26, during tlic
sumnier catches Horned Vipers, which he stuffs and sells.
" On August 3 a Cerastes, which he was holding down on the
sand with a forked stick, disengaged itself and fastened on his
hand. The snake was a large one, about 50 cm. in length.
" The accident happened at 6.30 a.m., G kilometres from Lag-
houat, and the man was bitten on the joint between the second
and third phalanges of the third finger of the right hand. He
applied a ligature to his wrist, and started to run as fast as he
could towards the Military Hospital, where he arrived an hour
later.
" He was immediately given an injection of antivenomous serum,
in accordance with the instructions, and, around the bite, five or
six injections of permanganate of potash, 1 in 20. On the next
and following days, tense oedema of the arm and left side of the
chest. Extensive purplish ecchymosis of the inner face of the
arm ; no fever. The phenomena gradually diminished, and, on
August 17, there was merely a trifling wound where the bite had
been inflicted. The patient was discharged at his own request.
"Like Dr. Marchand (des Montils), we can certify that the
action of Calmette's serum was rapid and efficacious. The injection
did not cause any pain or febrile reaction."
XXXI. — Case reported by Dr. Blin, of Dahomey.
" On March 5, 1906, native hospital attendant C, while gathering
vegetables in the hospital garden, was bitten in the right hand
by a Cerastes. The bite was inflicted in the tip of the index finger.
Ten minutes later a ligature was applied to the base of the finger
and another to the upper arm, and as soon as we saw the man,
which was after the lapse of about an hour, he was given an
injection of 10 c.c. of antivenomous serum. The patient com-
plained of feeling cold and vomited. The axillary temperature
was 36"1" C. ; the pulse was weak, irregular, and rapid. The
350 VENOMS
finger and hand were swollen. A few minutes later we gave
a second injection of serum. Until evening (the accident took
place at 11 a.m.) the patient suffered from nausea, but sweating
set in, and at 7 o'clock the temperature had risen to 36'7° C. The
feeling of depression was much less. On the following day the
symptoms had disappeared, and forty-eight hours afterwards the
patient returned to duty."
K.— Bitis arietans (Puff Adder).
XXXII.— Case reported by Dr. P. M. Travers, Chilubula
Mission, North-eastern Ehodesia.
" On Thursday, September 6, 1906, information was brought to
me that a child, aged 7 or 8, in inserting his hand into a mole's
hole had been bitten by a Ufwafwa (' Death-Death,' i.e., Puff
Adder). I set off in all haste on my bicycle. An accident obliged
me to leave the road when half-way, and, to complete the series
of mishaps, I went to a village with a similar name, a good
half-hour distant from that where the patient lived. The result
was that by the time I arrived I should say that about two hours
had elapsed since the child had been bitten. The snake had been
killed, and was, indeed, a puff adder. It had bitten the child in the
middle finger of the right hand, and half the arm was greatly
swollen, and as hard as stone. As quickly as possible I gave
an injection of 10 c.c. of antivenomous serum, and then vainly
endeavoured to make the wound bleed. In a very short time the
serum was absorbed. On the following morning the child was still
ill, with wild eyes resembhng those of an epileptic. He yawned
continually, and did not seem altogether conscious ; the inflamma-
tion, however, had greatly diminished. A few days later recovery
was complete, but a large abscess formed on the forearm, and the
hand became necrosed. I was obliged to amputate all the pha-
langes. The natives said the child was going to die during the
night. In my opinion the serum saved the child's life, and recovery
would have been more rapid had I not been so late in arriving."
DOCUMENTS 351
L. — Lachesis ferox (known as the Gragc, in French Guiana).
XXXIII. — Case reported by Dr. Lhomme.
"In May, 1898, A., aged 48, a European convict undergoing
sentence, was admitted to the Penitentiary Infirmary, of Koches de
Kouvous (French Guiana), suffering from a poisonous bite.
" The man liad been bitten while engaged in felHng timber, at
the place called Passouva. The locality is one that is infested witli
snakes, especially at the end of the wet season. Two venomous
species in particular are found there in considerable numbers, the
rattle-snake and another called the Grage by the blacks, which
appears to be a Lachesis.
" The patient arrived at the Infirmary in the evening, about
twelve hours after the accident. We endeavoured to obtain precise
details, but, owing to special circumstances, A., who was alone,
had been unable to see what animal had bitten him. The clinical
signs, however, pointed to a venomous snake ; inflammatory pheno-
mena and pain set in soon after the wound was inflicted, and in
a very short time became acute.
" Clinical Signs. — On examining the patient we found that the
whole of the right arm was swollen. The skin, which was of a
dark red colour, was acutely inflamed. The slightest touch or
the least movement caused the patient to cry out. The hand
showed traces of the bite, in the shape of two small red marks,
each surrounded by a bluish areola. The general condition was
good. The thermometer, however, indicated a slight rise of tem-
perature, and the pulse seemed a little soft. The urine on being
examined on the day after the accident contained a small quantity
of albumin. Organs normal. General health before the accident
excellent. Nothing worth mentioning in the previous history.
" Progress. — The conditions that we have just described dis-
appeared very quickly, once the treatment was applied. The pain
soon ceased, the temperature fell, and the patient was able to
get a few hours sleep. By the following day the inflammatory
phenomena had noticeably diminished. The oedema of the forearm
352 VENOMS
and hand, however, persisted for some time, though there was no
formation of pus. On the third day after the accident the albumin
had completely disappeared from the urine. Finally, after the
lapse of a fortnight, the condition became normal, and the convict,
who had recovered the entire use of his arm, was able to resume
work.
" Treatment. — On admission to the Infirmary, A. received a hypo-
dermic injection in the thorax of the contents of a bottle of
antivenomous serum. At the same time he was given tonics
(alcoholised coffee). The injured limb was placed in a hot phenic
arm-bath. These baths were continued on the following days,
alternately with damp dressings. Milk diet, and daily aperients.
" We saw the patient again more than a year after the accident ;
his recovery had been complete ; there was no loss of power in
the arm whatsoever, and he had never suffered from the nervous
troubles mentioned by some authors as a complication ensuing
after a long interval, and attributed by them to the antitoxic
serum."
XXXIV.- — Case reported by M. Jean, Veterinary Surgeon of
Artillery in Martinique.
" C, a negro, aged 26, employed in the artillery quarters at the
Eiviere d'Or, was bitten in the right leg by a snake measuring
about 1 metre in length, which he declared was a Trigonocephalus.
The patient came to me twenty minutes after the accident. The
marks of the bite were clearly visible a hand's breadth above the
external malleolus. The wounds were inflamed, and appeared as
two small red spots 15 cm. apart, from which a few drops of
serum were exuding. I did not notice any congestion. The
patient, however, complained of a feeling of weight in the leg,
and supported himself upon the sound one. After making the man
lie down upon a bed, I applied a tight ligature above the bitten
part, and, with a penknife passed through a flame, I endeavoured
to incise the wounds. The instrument, however, was blunt and
I obtained but little blood.
DOCUMENTS 353
" The treatment prescribed in Dr. Calraette's directions was then
strictly followed. With the usual antiseptic precautions, I made
several hypodermic injections of the solution of hypochlorite of
calcium round the bite, and injected the dose of serum indicated
in two places in the abdominal wall. The patient was then
vigorously rubbed and covered with woollen blankets. He was
made to take two cups of a strong infusion of black coffee. Since
he could not be induced to go to hospital, he was carried half an
hour later to his home, where he placed himself in the hands of
a ' dresser.'
"According to information furnished by Captain Martin, who
lived on the spot and was able to follow the course of the case,
the patient remained throughout the day in a state of profound
prostration, and had several attacks of syncope. The injured limb
was greatly swollen, and the swelling, which extended to above
the knee, produced a mechanical difficulty in using the joint,
leading to a belief that paralysis was setting in. During the
first five days the condition of the patient was so alarming as
to cause a fatal issue to be apprehended. By degrees these
symptoms diminished, until they disappeared about the fifth day.
" On the twentieth day, C. returned to his work. I saw him
again a month later, when he was in perfect health ; his leg had
returned to its normal size, and all that remained were two small
fibrous nodules showing where the bite had been inflicted."
XXXV. — Case reported by Dr. Gries, Fort-de-France, Mar-
tinique.
"On June 21, 1896, a young black, who had just been bitten in
the foot by a Bothrops of large size, was brought to the Fort-de-
France Hospital. The entire limb was swollen and benumbed.
" Two hours after the accident I gave an injection of 10 c.c. of
serum in the abdomen, and the patient was taken back to his
family. I saw him again ten days later, and found that he was
quite cured. His friends stated that recovery had taken place
much more quickly than could have been hoped after so serious
a bite, and without the usual complications."
23
354 VENOMS
XXXVI.— Case reported by Dr. Gries, Fort-de-France, Mar-
tinique.
" About 7 a.m., on November 25, 1896, G., aged 23, a fusilier
belonging to the disciplinary battalion, was bitten by a Bothrops
at Fort Desaix under the following circumstances. One of his
comrades had just caught the snake, and was holding its head
down on the ground by means of a forked stick applied to the
neck. G. passed a running noose round the reptile's neck, but,
his comrade having" withdrawn the fork too soon, the snake
had time to dart at hiin and bite him in left thumb. At the
moment when he was bitten the man was squatting, but he
quickly stood up, carrying with him the snake, which remained for
a few seconds suspended from the thumb by its fangs, and did
not let go until its victim had struck it on the head with his fist.
G. immediately ran to one of his officers, who applied a tight
ligature to the base of his thumb, and sent him off to the hospital,
where he arrived on foot and quite out of breath, ten or twelve
minutes after the accident. He was at once given a hypodermic
injection of 10 c.c. of antivenomous serum in the left flank ; the
thumb was washed with a 1 in 60 solution of hypochlorite of
calcium, after which the ligature was removed. A few moments
later, thinking the case a serious one, I caused a second injection
of 10 c.c. of serum to be given in the right flank.
" Immediately after being bitten the patient experienced com-
plete loss of sensation in the limb, as far as the middle of the
arm. About 9 a.m. he complained of acute shooting pams in the
hand. At 11 o'clock the limb was still benumbed, but by degrees
sensation returned. Profuse sweating.
" On November 26 sensation was restored in the whole limb ;
no inflammatory phenomena. The patient was perfectly well.
" The Bothrops on being brought to the hospital measured
1 metre 47 cm. in length."
XXXVII. — Case reported by Dr. Lavigne, Colonial-Surgeon
at Fort-de-France.
DOCUMENTS 355
" At 7 a.m. on January 19, 1897, G., aged 22, was going along
a footpath near Trouvaillant, when he was bitten in the left
external malleolus by a Trigonocephalits which was rutting (a cir-
cumstance which, according to the natives, aggravates the character
of the bite).
"After killing one of the reptiles (the other having escaped),
the young man made his way to the detachment of gendarmery
stationed close by. The officer in command applied a ligature
to the upper part of the leg, cupped the man a few times, and
sent information to us at the Military Hospital. On reaching
the spot at 9.15 we found, on the postero-inferior surface of the
left external malleolus, two small wounds resembhng those caused
by the bite of a snake. The leg was swollen and painful, and the
patient could hardly put his foot to the ground.
" At 9.30, after taking the usual antiseptic precautions, we gave
an injection of Calmette's anti-venomous serum, from a bottle
dated December 26, 1896. Not having any hypochlorite of calcium
at our disposal, we washed the wound with a 1 in 60 solution of
hyposulphite of soda, and apphed a dressing of carbolic gauze. An
hour later the patient was taken to Saint Pierre in a carriage.
Temperature 37'2" C. No vomiting, or tetanic phenomena. In
the afternoon the pain was , less acute, and the oedema seemed
to have diminished a little. Mercurial ointment rubbed in.
" Four days later the patient, being cured without having had
the least rise of temperature, proceeded to the country.
" This case is interesting, since a single dose of antivenomous
serum (20 grammes), injected two hours and a half after the
accident, sufficed to cure a young man bitten by a Trigonoceplialus
measuring 1 metre 20 cm. in length."
M.— Crotalus horidus.
XXXVIII.— Case recorded by Dr. P. Kenaux, of Piriapolis,
Uruguay (La Trihuna popular, Piriapolis, December 14, 1898).
356 VENOMS
Silverita, aged 20, bitten in the ankle by a Crotalus, on
December 7, 1898. Symptoms of serious intoxication. Treated
with a dose of antivenomous serum, injected half in the right
flank, half in the left. Kecovery.
II.— A Few Notes and Observations Kelating to Domestic
Animals Bitten by Poisonous Snakes and Treated with
Serum.
A. — Naja haje.
XXXIX. — Case reported by Dr. Maclaud, of Konakry, French
Guinea.
" A hound belonging to the Governor of Konakry was bitten
in the ear by a black Naja. A similar accident happened last year,
and the animal died on the fifth day. In the present case, serious
phenomena had already manifested themselves : depression, con-
vulsions, and great swelling of the entire head and anterior portion
of the trunk. A dose of 10 c.c. was injected at three different
points : in the flank, neck, and cellular tissue of the injured ear.
Improvement was almost immediate. On the following day the
animal recovered its appetite, and two days later was completely
cured."
XL. — Case reported by Dr. Marotte, of Konakry.
"At 10 a.m. on November 1, 1898, a large dog (a German brach),
weighing 33 kilogrammes, was running about in some tall grass.
It returned to its master, looking unhappy, with its eyelids swollen.
Thinking that his dog had been bitten by a Naja, a snake which
swarms round Konakry, he took it to the hospital. The animal
was unable to cover the distance, which was only 300 metres ; it
was dragged along, but collapsed, and had to be carried. Its head
was swollen, it panted, and its breathing was rapid and irregular;
there was profuse salivation. On the inner face of the right ear
the marks of the two fangs of the reptile were distinctly visible.
DOCUMENTS 357
A hypodermic injection of 10 c.c. of antivenomous serum was
immediately given in the right flank : this was at 10.10 a.m. At
11 o'clock the symptoms appeared to hecome less acute ; the
animal was easier, and its breathing became less rapid and more
regular. At 1 o'clock the animal succeeded in getting on to its
feet ; the oedema had somewhat diminished, and it was able to
half open its eyes. At 6 o'clock the dog was taken back to its
master's house ; it seemed just as lively as though nothing had
happened.
" On the following morning there was still a small amount of
CEdema in the eyelids, but the appearance of the head had become
normal."
B. — Pelias berus (Common Viper).
XLI. — Case reported by M. de Maupas, of Challay, by Troo.
" About 1 p.m., on July 30, 1898, a fairly large pointer was
brought to me, bitten in the right paw. On shaving off the hair the
marks of the tw'o fangs of the snake were clearly visible. The wound
had bled a little, and the injured limb was painful and swollen. I
ligatured the paw above the joint, and injected a bottle of anti-
venomous serum, which had been in my possession since September
6, 1897. The effect was very rapid ; after a quarter of an hour the
dog reopened its eyes, which until then had been half closed.
Tow^ards 5 o'clock I removed the ligature. On the next day but
one the swelling had almost disappeared, and the dog took its
food of its own accord ; it ran about and seemed lively."
XLIL— Case reported by M. de Villiers, Mayor of Villiers-le-
Duc, Cote-d'Or.
"About 2 p.m., on May 23, 1898, the widow Veillard, of Villiers-
le-Duc, while driving her herd of cows to pasture among the
brush W'Ood, saw a viper which she killed, and then, a few moments
later, three others in succession, which she likewise killed.
Madame Veillard thought of leaving this place, which seemed to
her to be too much infested, when one of her cows, which was
358 VENOMS
quietly feeding, swerved violently and dashed off through the
scrub. With the help of her dog she succeeded in recovering the
cow, which appeared uneasy, ceased to feed, and had a swollen
muzzle. Madame Veillard then decided to return to the village.
" Towards 6 p.m., that is to say about three hours after the
accident, I was sent for. The head and tongue of the cow were
swollen, there was foam on the mouth, and the animal had
difficulty in breathing. I injected a dose of antivenomous serum,
from our first-aid station, beneath the skin of the shoulder, and
gave a second injection a few moments later. The cow" was then
led back to her shed.
" At 9 p.m. she was quiet. The swelling did not increase, and
the cow, which had previously refused all food, ate a handful of hay.
" On the following morning there was nothing to be seen
beyond a little swelling in the neck. The animal fed as usual,
and gave her normal quantity of milk."
XLIII. — Case reported by M. P. Eat, engineer, of Saint-
Rambert-en-Bugey, Ain.
" About 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 7, 1902, while I was
out shooting, my bitch was bitten in the lower lip by a very
large viper. Since I was a long way from home, I was unable to
give the injections until 6 p.m., by which time the poor beast was
in a pitiable condition. Her head was as large as a saucepan ;
she had no strength left, trembled, and was unable to stand. I
injected 15 c.c. of serum in the left flank. This was all that I did.
" At 7 o'clock on the Monday morning the bitch ate and drank
a little. She began to walk about, and by the evening had com-
pletely recovered. There was nothing but a very little swelling
left."
C. — Cerastes.
XLIV. — Case reported by Dr. Boye, of Kissidougou, French
Soudan.
'*At Kan-Kau, on December 19, 1896, a cow belonging to the
DOCUMENTS 359
post, Nvhich had been bitten by a snake at 8 a.m., seemed about
to die. The snake, which was killed by the herdsman, was a
Cerastes (Horned Viper) .
" On going to the cattle-shed I found the animal on her side
and panting, with the limbs completely relaxed. A thick foam
was dropping from the half-open mouth, and asphyxia seemed
imminent. The cow had been bitten in the teats, which were
enormously swollen ; the cedema extended over the whole of the
belly and inner face of the thighs. Two doses of serum were
injected, one at the base of the teats, the other in the sub-
cutaneous tissue of the flank.
" On the following morning the oedema had diminished, and
the breathing was much easier ; the animal seemed to be conscious
of what was passing around it.
" Forty-eight hours later the cow was able to walk and went
out to graze, having apparently entirely recovered from the
accident."
III. — Note on the Collection of Venom and the Treatment
OF Bites from Poisonous Snakes in the French Settle-
ments IN India.
By Dr. Paul Gouzien.
Principal Medical OflQcer of Colonial Troops.
From the time of our arrival in India, in February, 1901, we
turned our attention to ensuring the regular collection of snake-
venoms, with a view to satisfying the desire for them that had been
expressed by our friend Professor Calmette, Director of the
Pasteur Institute at Lille.
To gain this end, the moral and financial support of the
Administration was indispensable, and this did not fail us. Acting
on our suggestion, as formulated by letter on May 25, 1901,
Governor Rodier, on June 11, issued an order by the terms of
which a sum of 200 rupees was placed at the disposal of the
360 VENOMS
Chief of the Sanitary Service, " with a view to encourage the
catching of poisonous snakes, and to assist the collection of snake-
venom by the granting of bounties to natives."
On the issue of this order, we drew up instructions for the
collection of venom, which we caused to be distributed to all
posts in the Colony. At the same time an appeal in the
vernacular was posted up in each of our sanitary institutions,
inviting the Hindus to commence the campaign forthwith. The
notice placarded on the door of the Pondicherry Hospital ran as
follows : —
" Public Notice.
" For the public good the Governor requests the population
to capture poisonous snakes in all places where they are found ;
to take them alive if possible ; and to bring them to the Hospital
without removing their fangs.
" One rupee will immediately be paid for each snake brought in.
" Those who read this notice are requested to communicate it to
their acquaintances."
The Indian snake-charmers at once responded to this appeal,
and the harvest of snakes was soon abundant. The first provision
of 200 rupees, allotted to us by the Administration in June, 1901,
had to be successively renewed in May and October, 1902. Since
then, on the proposition of our successor. Dr. Camail, this sum of
200 rupees has been included in the local budget, thus definitively
sanctioning the principle of the collection of venom in our Indian
Settlements.
The venom forwarded by us to France has been exclusivel}'
derived from the cobra, or Naja tripudicDts. Other venomous
serpents are found in the French Settlements in India, especially
the species of Hijdrophis, or sea-snakes ; but the cobra is by far the
commonest species, and our trading stations teem with it. Yanaon
is infested by it at all seasons, but especially at the time when the
Godavari is in flood ; the reptiles then make their way towards
DOCUMENTS 361
spots spared by the inundation, and the natives frequently kill them
in their houses. Thus M. Mariapregassam, the Sanitary Officer in
charge of the the Medical Service of this dependency, was in a
position to procure for us, at the very commencement of our
operations, important doses of venom : it should be added that he
acquitted himself of this task with a perseverance and devotion
worthy of the fullest recognition. Of the 653 cobras captured
between August 1, 1901, and February 23, 1903, 229, or more than
one-third, were furnished by Yanaon. Moreover, the cost price of
the cobra fell in proportion to its nunibers, and Yanaon paid for
its snakes on the average at the rate of 33 centimes apiece; while
at Chandarnagar and Pondicherry the snake-charmers frequently
received 1 rupee (1 franc 67 centimes) per reptile, though it is
true that even this was an extremely poor remuneration, when we
consider the risk of the calling.
Again, owing to the limited amount of our grants, we were
obhged to restrict our expenditure, regulating the purchase-price
of the snakes according to the quantity of venom collected. Thus
at Pondicherry, having observed that each cobra yielded on an
average twenty drops of venom, we fixed the value of two drops at
one /anon (one-eighth of a rupee), never more. In this way it was
decidedly to the snake-charmer's interest to bring us fresh snakes,
and not such as had been previously deprived of their venom.
In spite of this new regulation, snakes continued to pour into
the hospital, and several were repeatedly brought to us at the same
time ; in October and November, 1902, the figure 9 appears three
times in our statistics.
The combined reslilts of the snake-harvest at our five settle-
ments, from August 1, 1901, to February 23, 1903, are shown in
following table : —
-.T ■, c c Quantity of Average weight . „ • „ Average price
Number of Sum ^ •' . -, ° ° Average price ^r , „° .-5^,„
, J , venom of dry venom f tu u „ oi 1 gramme
cobras expended ^^llected per cobra of the cobia ^f venom
653 K. 446 242 0-37 R. 0.68 R. 1.84
grammes gramme (1.13 fr.) (3.07 fr.)
362 VENOMS
On an average, therefore, nearly three cobras are necessary to
furnish 1 gramme of dry venom, since freshly collected venom
weighs more, owing to the proportion of water contained in it,
which is greater than half the total weight. Thus the quantity
of fresh venom extracted from an average cobra may be estimated
at about 80 centigrammes. It may be added that the product of the
glands differs considerably in appearance, according as it is derived
from a dead or living snake. In the former case it takes the form
of extremely small, glistening lamellae, of a golden-yellow colour,
similar in appearance, when in bulk, to iodoform. Venom extracted
from the living snake, on the other hand, is of an amber-brown
colour, and forms much larger lamellae, which are translucent and
slightly elongate, resembling particles of gum arable. When the
product is impure and mixed with a small quantity of blood, it
has a dull appearance, and is of a dark, dirty brown, almost black
colour.
At the Pondicherry Hospital venom is collected in the following
manner :^ The snake is brought by the snake-charmer in a chatty,
a kind of earthern pot, covered with a rag, or half a calabash.
Ensconced at the bottom of this receptacle, the reptile has a
difficulty in making up its mind to emerge, which it does only
after having been stirred up several times. Once it is outside
the charmer forces the cobra to uncoil, and, while the animal is
moving slowly along, fastens it to the ground by placing the end
of a bamboo on its neck, quite close to the head. The Indian
then cautiously seizes the head of the cobra with his forefinger
and thumb, and, with a rapid movement, throws it into a jar pre-
pared for the purpose, containing a few tampons of absorbent wool
impregnated with chloroform. As soon as the snake is inside, an
assistant quickly slips a metal plate over the opening of the jar
and presses his hand firmly down upon it. In a few minutes the
' The photographs, by which this note was accompanied, are reproduced in
Chapter IV. of this volume, pp. 155,. 157, 15b.
DOCUMENTS 363
animal is dead ; it is then taken out of the jar and its mouth
is swabbed out ; next, the fangs having been raised by means of
a probe, a saucer is placed between the jaws, and, by pressure
exerted upon the poison-glands laterally and from behind forwards,
the venom is made to spurt out. The fresh product obtained
in this way is of a very pale yellow colour, and viscid. It is pro-
tected from the air and light until completely desiccated ; then,
when it is in sufficient quantity and distributed in flakes round
the sides of the saucer, like the colours on a palette, it is cautiously
detached with a spatula, taking care to protect the eyes against
risk from flying particles of venom. After being placed in well-
corked bottles, the product is despatched to France.
In spite of the precautions observed in the course of these
proceedings, and although the venom has not been extracted until
after the death of the animal, some regrettable accidents have taken
place, as we shall show further on.
Cases of bites from poisonous snakes appear but seldom in the
statistics of our settlements in India, and, contrary to what is the
case in the neighbouring English possessions, hardly any deaths
are officially recognised in the annual returns as being due to
this cause. It is true that the death statistics are very badly
authenticated, and that the natives frequently conceal the real
cause of death.
We have been informed by Dr. Cordier, Surgeon-Major of the
Sepoy Corps, that, during a previous tour of duty in Bengal, he
had successfully treated two cases of cobra-bite with Calmette's
serum.
At the end of 1901 the following note was forwarded to
us by Dr. Paramananda Mariadassou, Physician to the Karikal
Hospital : —
"Case I. — In the month of November, 1901, a woman of robust
habit was brought about midnight to the Karikal Hospital, in a
semi-comatose condition. Her husband stated that an hour before,
while lying on a mat stretched on the ground, she felt herself bitten
364 VENOMS
in the shoulder when in the act of placing her head on the pillow.
With a start of surprise she half rose and then lay down again.
It was only on being bitten for the third time that she made up
her mind to seek for the cause ; passing her hand beneath the pillow
in the darkness she touched the body of a snake and cried out.
Directly afterw^ards she pointed out to her husband, who had at
once hastened to her, the snake coiled up against the wall ; the man
killed the reptile and burnt it on the spot. According to him the
snake was about a metre in length, and as thick as all five fingers
put together. The woman had barely time to tell her husband
what had happened, for she speedily became unconscious, and was
in this condition when brought to the hospital.
" On admission the following symptoms were observed : The
patient did not reply to questions put to her, the eyelids remained
closed, and the teeth clenched. On the right shoulder, a little on
the inner side of the deltoid prominence, two or three punctures
were distinguishable, marked by a small spot of coagulated blood.
The respiration was normal, but the pulse was feeble and thready.
"When a pledget impregnated with ammonia was held under her
nose the woman reacted, but immediately relapsed into the soporose
condition.
"Two doses of antivenomous serum were at once injected, one
in each flank : the patient seemed scarcel}^ to feel the insertion of
the needle. The wound on the shoulder was then washed with
a fresh solution of hypochlorite of calcium, 1 in GO, and six in-
jections, each of 1 gramme, of the same solution were given
round the wound. The latter was covered with a pad of cotton-
wool saturated with the solution, and two more doses of serum
were injected into the flanks. As the result of this treatment,
which altogether took nearly half an hour, the woman began to
unclench her teeth, and to respond to her name. She was made
to swallow a few mouthfuls of very hot black coffee. A little later
she resisted when a fresh injection of serum was about to be given
her. After having taken a second cup of cofl'ee she sat up, opened
DOCUMENTS 365
her eyes, and recognised those about her. She immediately asked
to go home, but was detained for some time longer. After being
carried from the operating table to a bed, she was wrapped in a
blanket ; a few minutes later profuse perspiration set in, and the
patient felt so well that she was allowed to go.
"On the following day the husband came to thank us, and stated
that his wafe had quite recovered, and that, while she had been
unable to sleep for the remainder of the night, it was rather from
fear caused by what had happened than in consequence of the
pain."
Case II. — We feel it our duty to relate in detail the following
case, having regard to the peculiar circumstances under which it
took place.
Coupin, the son of Ponnin, aged 25, living at Carouvadicoupom,
near Pondicherr}', is a snake-charmer, and one of those who regu-
larly supply us with venom. In the course of July, 1902, this
man pointed out to us a shrub ^ growing in one of the alleys of
the hospital, to which he attributed so marvellous a power against
the bites of poisonous snakes, that he offered to make a cobra bite
him in our presence, little as w'e showed any desire to witness such
an exhibition. AVe allowed him to talk, not wishing to encourage
such an act of bravado.
However, on July 23 he returned to the charge, and, as we
were leaving the hospital accompanied by our colleagues, he showed
us a cobra which he had just caught, and declared himself ready
to carry out the proposed experiment there and then. In the face
of so much confidence and sang-froid, and, apart from this, being
interested in learning the justification for the reputation for im-
munity possessed by Hindu snake-charmers, we thought we ought
not to oppose this voluntary test.
Coupin then turned out from the chatty in which it was im-
prisoned a medium-sized cobra, and amused himself for a few
^ Poly gala tdopliioides, Will.
366 VENOMS
moments by teasing it. Irritated by this sport, the snake reared
itself np, hissed, and struck at its aggressor several times, as though
it would bite him ; but, at each dart, Coupin stopped it with his
hand and gaze, and the snake remained fascinated, with open
mouth, hesitating to drive home its fangs. At one moment the
snake even crawled np to the native's outstretched hand, and ap-
peared to lick it : it was evident that the animal's only intention
was to defend itself, not to attack.
Coupin, however, was bent on getting bitten, and, by dint of
exciting the snake, the latter became so exasperated that, with
hood dilated, it struck at the snake-charmer's right hand and drove
in its fangs. The man quietly raised his arm, to allow it to be
clearly seen that the cobra had a firm hold ; then, forcing the
animal to let go, he came to us to prove that he was really bitten.
There were two bleeding spots, 6 millimetres apart, in the centre
of the fourth intermetacarpal space of the right hand. The time
was exactly 4.40 p.m.
The snake, which was immediately killed, was still able to
yield twelve drops of venom, when lateral pressure was applied
to its glands.
Coupin walked towards a shrub of the kind mentioned above,
which he had planted that very morning in the courtyard of the
hospital,^ plucked some leaves from it and began to chew them,
making rather a wry face, for he said that they were very bitter.
He then seemed to meditate for a few moments before the shrub.
We asked him whether he was afraid, but he stoutly denied it,
declaring that this was not his first experience, and that indeed
he had been bitten by cobras so often that he could not remember
the first occasion. We endeavoured to discover whether he was
not rendered immune, as Indian snake-charmers are reputed to
be, by inoculating themselves subcutaneously with increasing doses
of venom, according to a principle to a certain extent analagous
• We subsequently learnt that he had informed his friends of his intention, but
had not said a word about it to his wife.
DOCUMENTS 367
to that on which the preparation of antivenomous serum is based.
He, however, assured us that he knew nothing about such practices,
and that the properties of the plant in question had always sufficed
to cure him without other treatment. Such was his confidence
in his specific that, before the cobra was killed, he suggested to
our hospital-warder that he should allow himself to be bitten in
his turn, in order to render the experiment still more conclusive,
adding that his own assistant would be the subject at the next
demonstration.
Nevertheless, a slight oedema began to appear round the bite.
The injured man seemed to be suffering a little, but the pain
did not extend above the wrist ; a slight trembling appeared in
the other arm. From time to time Coupin gently massaged the
affected limb with his left hand from above downwards, in order,
he said, to lessen the pain, and perhaps also with a view to check-
ing the diffusion of the venom. A shght perspiration broke out
over the body ; the pulse was regular, 92, twenty minutes after
the bite.
Towards 6.15, or about an hour and a half after the experiment,
the man, refusing an injection of serum, prepared to go home,
but we insisted that he should remain at the hospital for at least
two hours longer, so as to enable us to watch his condition. He
consented to this, and asked for something to eat. At this time
the back of the hand was somewhat more swollen, but Coupni
seemed to be little disturbed by it ; he even declared that the
swehing would increase still further on the following day, and
that, in two or three days, he would make an incision in order
to let out the impure blood collected at the spot ; also that the
trouble was now localised, and would not extend higher. He
merely complained of acute thirst, and of a certain difficulty in
swallowing, which was due, he declared, to the extreme bitterness
of the leaves that he had just masticated. Temperature 36'8° C. ;
pulse 36. After the brief reaction at the outset, there was a certain
amount of hypothermia, but the general condition seemed satisfac-
368 VENOMS
tory, and the man remained perfectly calm. We therefore left
him under the supervision of the resident student and the male
attendants, giving orders that we should be sent for immediately
in case of any serious symptoms arising.
At 7.15 we received a note from the student to the effect that
Coupin had vomited, that his pulse was small, there was difficulty
in breathing, and that lie had just received an injection of anti-
venomous serum. We hastened to the hospital, where we were
speedily joined by Drs. Cordier and Lhomme.
On our arrival we found Coupin in a rather prostrate con-
dition. The pupils were fixed, he was foaming slightly at the
mouth, respiration was regular, the pulse was strong and quite
rhythmical at 96 ; the man was somewhat chilly. The patient
was unable to speak, but had not lost consciousness, for, when
we asked him how he was, he indicated by signs that he felt very
ill. We subsequently learnt, from the student on duty, that
towards 6.45 the condition of the patient became suddenly worse,
after his companion had administered to him some medicine, the
nature of which we have been unable to discover ; on swallowing
tliis drug Coupin was seized with vomiting, and became collapsed.
We thought it more likely, however, that this was a mere co-
incidence, rather than the result of a poison adding its effects
to those produced by the bite of the snake.
While waiting for our arrival a ligature had been applied to the
injured arm, and near the bite there had been made two deep
incisions, from which some dark blood escaped. At the same time
the patient received hypodermically a first injection of 10 c.c. of
Dr. Calmette's antivenomous serum, and two injections of ether
and caffeine. As the result of this treatment we found a marked
increase in pulse-rate. After a subcutaneous injection of 500
grammes of artificial serum, there appeared to be a further distinct
improvement until about 8.45 (four hours after the bite). From
this moment, however, tbe patient gradually sank. A second dose of
DOCUMENTS 369
antivenomous serum was injected beneath the skin/ and, since the
respiratory movements gradually became slower, artificial respiration
by Sylvester's method was resorted to, while the tongue was
rhythmically drawn forward. From time to time these proceedings
were interrupted for a few moments, in order to observe the con-
dition of the respiration ; at the base of the thorax and in the flanks
abrupt, jerky, tetaniform undulations were observable, but there
was no free respiratory movement. The abdominal aorta, the
pulsations of which were visible behind the navel, raising the
anterior wall of the abdomen, was somewhat misleading, simulating
the rhythmical oscillations of the abdominal respiratory type. The
heart, however, continued to beat regularly, without any appreciable
w^eakness. The radial pulse persisted, although weak and slow :
rate 48.
The patient was kept alive by repeated injections of ether and
artificial serum (1;^ litres in three doses). About 8.30 there appeared
to be a slight improvement ; the patient was warmer, and showed
some degree of sensation in the region of the bite. On pinching
the vasculo-nervous bundle in the left axilla reflex movements were
produced in the fingers, which closed convulsively. The pulse,
which had momentarily disappeared in the radial artery, could again
be felt, weak but regular. At the same time, when the epigastric
region was examined, a few faint respiratory movements were just
perceptible. A third injection of antivenomous serum was given
and artificial respiration was continued.
This factitious amelioration, however, was not maintained, and
after a few scarcely visible movements of the thorax the end soon
came. The eyes were fixed and insensible, the pupils slightly
dilated ; no sweats, no urine passed. The body slowly grew cold ;
the pulse disappeared from the femoral and carotid arteries, and
diminished in the aorta. The contractions of the heart were once
or twice irregular, and its beats became weaker and gradually
• The thick and cloudy appearance of the contents of the bottles made us
hesitate to have recourse to intravenous injection.
24
370 , VENOMS
lower. The reflexes had disappeared. There were still a few
slight muscular contractions near the base of the chest, and the
patient quietly passed away at 11.5 p.m., as the result of the
progressive arrest of the heart's action, respiration itself having
virtually disappeared two hours before the heart had ceased to beat.
Case III. — A week after this sad occurrence, another snake-
charmer, Kingilien by name, aged 25, was bitten in the first
phalanx of the right forefinger, when taking hold of a cobra in
the courtyard of the Pondicherry Hospital. Refusing an injection
of antivenomous serum, the man ran off as fast as he could go,
after having a simple ligature applied to his wrist. Scarcely had
he reached his dwelling, when he fell into a deep coma, in which
condition he was carried to Cottacoupom, to the abode of one
Souraire Kramani, a kind of sorcerer, who administered to him a
certain medicament in a betel leaf. After having vomited a large
quantity of bile he was taken home. At this time, according to
the summary investigation that we caused to be made, the patient
was unable to utter a single word ; he could only open his mouth
with difficulty, and his eyelids remained closed. Kingilien, who
had partially regained consciousness, seemed to be suffering from
continuous attacks of vertigo ; his head, if pushed to one side,
drooped, and the man was incapable of voluntary movement.
Respiration was fairly easy, swallowing painful. The entire hand
was greatly swollen ; poultices of leaves were applied to it, after
a few incisions had been made with a knife in the back of the hand,
in order to reduce the congestion. The arm was rubbed from above
downwards with the very bitter leaves of the Vembou, or mango-
tree, and prayers were recited. This is all the information that I
have been able to obtain with reference to this man, who, after
a prolonged convalescence, is said to have recovered (?).
Case IV. — One Latchoumanin, aged 25, also a snake-charmer,
of Caradicoupom, was bitten at the Hospital at 10 a.m., on August 2,
while handling a cobra. The bite was situated in the second joint
of the right thumb. After it had bitten the man, ten drops of
venom were extracted from the reptile's glands.
DOCUMENTS 371
A ligature was immediately applied, and the wound was made
to bleed by hard squeezing. Refusing all other treatment, especially
injection of serum, although we repeatedly urged it, the man made
off home with all speed, but on arrival failed to find the specific
on which he was relying. All that was then done was to recite
a few prayers over him, and a Brahmin priest was called to bless
him. About 11.30, after acute suffering, Latchoumanin sank into
a comatose condition. At 12.30 respiration became stertorous, and
the patient succumbed at 2 p.m., four hours after being bitten.
Just as the medical officer, deputed by us, reached the dying man,
two chatties containing live snakes were deposited at his bedside,
to ward off ill-luck !
On the whole, the evidence collected in the last two cases is
as confused as it is incomplete, and we can scarcely say how much
we regret the obstinacy of these unfortunate victims in refusing to
submit to our treatment, for the serum would undoubtedly have
produced its maximum effect in them, -since it would have been
possible to make use of it in good time. These disastrous occur-
rences, however, will not cure natives of their exclusive reliance
upon empirical practices ; and as regards the inhabitants of the
Tamil country, that is to say. Southern India, it may be foreseen
that for a long time to come they will continue to remain refractory
to the serotherapic treatment, l^submission to which the English
have had less difficulty in securing from the natives of Bengal,
whose intellectual development undoubtedly stands on a higher
plane.
372
INDEX.
d'Abbadie, M., on inoculation, 238.
AcalyptopMs, 133.
Acanthophis, 96.
„ antarcticiis (death adder), 96.
J, ,, ,, „ bite dangerous, 100.
Acanthopterygii, 290, 301, 304.
Acanthurus, 301.
,, htridus, 301.
Adder, 25, 26. See also Viper a berus.
Africa, poisonous snakes in, 57-81.
,, ,, ,, geographical distribution of genera (tables), 143, 144.
,, (Central), witch doctors of, snake-bite remedies, 237.
,, (East), Vatuas' method of inoculation, 239.
Agglutinins of venoms, 202.
Aipysurus, 140.
,, annularis, 140.
,, atistralis, 140.
„ Icevis, 140.
,, eydouxii, 140.
Albuminoid of snake-venom produces hsemorrhages, 102.
Albumins of venom devoid of toxic power, 164.
Albumose of snake-venom attacks nerve-cell of respiratory centres, 162.
Albumoses of venoms of Colubridcs, 162.
,, ,, ,, method of separation, 162.
,, See also Proto-albumoses, Hetero-albumoses.
Alcatifa, extraction of venom from, for inoculation, 239.
Alcock, researches of, on glands of snakes, 147.
Alexins, 198, 209.
,, characteristics of, 207.
fixation of, 210, 211.
,, of normal serum, fixation by cobra-venom, 211.
,, neutralisation of, 212.
Alkaloids in venom, 160.
Alps, and mountains of Central Europe, Salamandra atra found in, 313.
Amboceptors, 198, 210.
fixation of, 208, 220.
America, snakes in, geographical distribution of genera of (table), 146.
,, venomous snakes in, 1 0-131
INDEX 373
America, (Central), Batrachiis tau found on shores of, 302.
,, (North), musical toad found in, 318.
,, (South), witch doctors of, snake-bite remedies, 237.
,, (Tropical and Sub-tropical), Latrodectus mactans found in, 275.
Ammonia, injection of, only temporary antidote against snake-venom, 261.
Ancistrodon, 49, 109, 110.
venom of, precipitation of anticoagulant substance in, 195.
aciitus, 49.
hilineatus, 111.
blomhoffii, 50.
contortrix, 111.
himalayanus, 50.
hypnale, 51.
intermedins, 50.
piscivorus, 110.
rJiodostoma, 51,
Anderson, relation of escape from Naja haje, 60.
Anemcme scultata, 269.
Aniline colours, action of, diminishes toxicity of venoms, 167.
Animals, venomous, definition of, 1.
Arachnolysin, poison from Latrodectus prepared by, 276.
Arancida (spiders), 274.
Armstrong, H., chemical analysis of cobra-venom, 159.
Arrows, poisoned by Hottentots with venom of Bitis arietans, 72.
Arthropods, poisonous species of, 274.
Asia, poisonous snakes inhabiting, 30, 57.
„ ,, „ ,, geographical distribution of genera (tables), 142, 143.
Asp, 27, 28. See also Viper a aspis
Aspidelaps, 64.
,, lubriciis, 64.
,, scutatus, 64.
Atheris, 78.
,, ceratophorus, 78.
,, chlorechis, 78.
sqitamiger, 78.
Atlantic (Tropical), Acantliurus found in, 301.
,, ,, Murcena moringa found in, 309.
Atraetaspis, 78.
aterrima, 80.
bibronii, 80.
congica, 79.
corpuleiita, 80.
dahomeyensis, 80.
hildehrandtii, 79.
irregularis, 79.
leucomelas, 81.
viicrolepidota, 81.
micropliolis, 81.
rostrata, 80.
374 VENOMS
Australia, health authorities' notices against venomous reptiles, 100.
,, mortality from snake-bite in, 100, 261.
,, poisonous snakes of, 81-100.
,, snakes of, almost all confined to sub-family Elapince, 5.
Bacteriolytic action of venoms, 206.
,, how diSering from that of rat-serum, 208.
Bailey, action of venom on brain, 185.
Batrachians, .312.
Batrachiida, 302.
Batrachus grttnniens, 802.
tau, 302.
Bavay on the spitting snake, 63.
Bee-sting, remedies for, 286.
Bees, venom of, 282.
Bertrand, researches of, 147.
Bertrand and Phisalix, experiments on immunity of hedgehog to venom, 226.
,, ,, preparation of toad-venom, 319.
Bettencourt, R., venom antitoxin treatment of yellow fever, 184.
Bibron and Dumeril on coloration of snakes, 16.
,, ,, Naja worship in Egypt, 61.
Bile, destructive effect on cobra-venom, 215.
Birds, symptoms after inoculation with lethal doses of venom, 172.
Bitis, 69.
,, arietans (puff adder), 69.
,, ,, ,, ,, bite from, 350.
,, „ ,, ,, venom used for poisoning arrows by Hottentots, 72.
atropos, 72.
,, caudalis, 73.
,, cormita, 73.
,, gabonica, 73.
,, ,, does not attack man, 74.
,, inornata, 72.
,, peringueyi, 72.
Black snake, 88. See also Psetidechis porphyriacus.
Blin, bite from Cerastes, 349.
Blindness following bite of viper, 178.
Blood, anticoagulant action of venom on, mechanism of, 195.
,, coagulability, action of venom of Lachesis lanceolatus on, 191.
destroyed by venoms of ColubridcB, 179, 188, 189, 191, 192, 193.
,, ,, ,, ,, certain species of CrotalincB, 191, 192, 193.
,, ,, uncertain action of venom of Vipera berus on, in certain animals,
189, 190.
,, coagulation of, connected with action of venoms of Viperidce on nervous system
185, 186.
,, ,, produced by venoms of ViperidcB, 179, 188, 189.
,, not coagulated after death caused by venoms of ColubridcB, 171, 188, 189.
,, of hedgehog toxic before heating, antitoxic afterwards, 226.
,, of scorpion antitoxic, 279.
INDEX 375
Blood, toxicity of, iu reptiles, -ilT.
,, ,, ,, confers partial immunity to venom, 218, 219.
., „ ,, destroyed by heating, 218.
,, ,, in venomous snakes, 217.
Blood-corpuscles, red, agglutination by venoms, 202.
,, ,, dissolution only effected by combination of venom with blood-
serum or lecithin, 197.
„ ,, dissolved by snake-serums, 219, 220.
,, ,, effects of venom upon, 196.
,, ,, resistance to large doses of venom, 199, 200, 201.
„ ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, explanation, 200, 201.
,, ,, washing of, important before presentation to action of venom,
196, 197.
,, unaltered under action of simultaneous doses of venom and serum, 220.
,, white, effects of venom on, 203.
Bombay, laboratory for production of antivenomous serum at, 248, 252.
Bonaparte, Lucien, chemistry of venom of vipers, 160.
Bothrops, bites from, 353, 354.
Bottard on venomous fishes, 288.
Boulengerina, 58.
,, stormsi, 58.
Brachyaspis, 95.
,, ciirta, 95.
Brain, comparative action of venoms of ColubridcB and Viperidcc on, 185, 186.
,, substance of, fixation of venom on, 186.
Brazil, Thalassoplirync maculosa found on shores of, 303.
Brehm, on Crotalus confluentus, 125.
,, the daboia (Vipera russellii), 46.
,, Echis carinatus (efa, viper of the pyramids), 76, 77.
,, reverence paid by Hindus to Naja, 38.
Broad-headed snake, 94. See also Hoplocephalus variegatus.
Briot, A., experiments with weever-venom, 298, 299.
,, poison of Scolopendra prepared by, 280.
Bromized water, saturated, modifies or destroys venoms, 164.
Brown snake, 87. See also Dicmenia textilis.
Brunton, Sir Lauder, on harmless ingestion of venom exceeding lethal dose, 214.
Bufo calamita (natter-jack), 318.
,, musicus (musical toad), 318.
,, viridis (green toad), 318.
,, vulgaris (common toad), 318.
Bufotalin, 319, 320.
,, first active principle of toad-venom, and cardiac poison, 319, 320.
Bufotenin, 320.
,, second active principle of toad-venom, and neurotoxic poison, 320.
Bungarus, 30.
,, venom of, active hsemolysing power possessed by, 199.
,, cceruleus (common krait), bite, cure of, 337.
,, ,, ,, ,,, venom of, dose lethal for different animals, 174.
,, candidus, 32.
376 VENOMS
Bungarus candidus, resemblance to Lycodon aulicus, 33.
,, fasciatus, 31, 32.
Buprestidce, food for larvae of Cerceris bupresticida, 285.
Bushmaster, or surucucu, 112. See also Lachesis mutus.
Calamarid^. species of Callophis feed only upon, 42.
Callioyiymus, 301.
,, belennus, 301.
,, lacertus, 301.
„ lyra, 300-301.
,, viilsus, 301.
Callophis, 40.
,, feeds only on snakes belonging to Calainaridce, 42.
,, bibronii, 41.
,, gracilis, 41.
,, maclellandi, 41.
,, maculiceps, 41,
,, trimactilatus, 41.
Calmette's serum, cobra-bites treated with, 363-5. See also Serum, autivenomous.
Calvados, Callionymus lyra common on coast of, 301.
Cantharis (blister-beetles), 281.
Cantor, on venom of Naja bungarus, 39.
,, vindictiveness of Naja bungarus, 39.
Captivity, poisonous snakes kept in, 61, 62, 125, 156, 223.
Carawalla. See Ancistrodon hypnale.
Cardiac poison of toad-venom (bufotalin), 319, 320.
Caribbean Sea, Scorpcena grandicornis found in, 293.
Carpi and Morgenroth, lecithide of bee-venom prepared by, 285.
Carri^re, experiments on ingestion of venom, 214.
Cascavella (Crotalus terrificus), 124.
Cato, army of, patronage of snake-charmers by, 228.
Causus, 67.
,, defilipii, 67.
,, lichtensteinii, 68.
,, resimus, 67.
,, rhombeatus, 67.
Cells, dissolution of. See Cytolytic action.
Cerastes, 47, 75.
,, bites from, 348-350.
,, ,, cured, 358.
,, secretion of, 150.
,, venom of, fatal to barefooted pedestrians, 76.
,, cornutus, 47, 75.
,, viper a, 75.
Cerceris bupresticida, 285.
Ceylon, snake-charmers of, 229.
Chameleons succumb rapidly to snake-poisoning, 172.
Chelicera (fang of spider), 274.
Chemical reactions exhibited by venoms, 162.
INDEX 377
Chemical substances modifying or destroying venoms, 164.
Chemistry of snake-venoms, 159.
Cherry and Martin on antagonism between toxins and antitoxins, 253.
Chilomycterus, 307.
,, 01-biciilaris, 307.
„ tigrinus, 307.
China and Japan, Lophius setigerus found in seas of, 304.
Chloride of gold, antidote to venom before absorption, 261, 263.
,, ,, solution, modifies or destroys venom, 164.
,, lime solution, modifies or destroys venom, 164.
Cholesteriu, antidote to lecithin, 198.
Chromic acid, antidote to venom before absorption, 260.
,, ,, solution, modifies or destroys venoms, 164.
Clamouse, on bites from European vipers, 343.
Clot Bey on Egyptian snake-charmers, 228-229.
Clothing protective against dangerous effects of snake-bite, 170.
Cobra, bite of, clinical symptoms, 169.
,, ,, ,, ,, exhibit rapid general intoxication, 169.
„ ,, treated with Calmette's serum, 363.
,, extraction of venom from, method, 153.
,, Egyptian (Naja liaje or liaie), 59.
,, method of carrying after capture, 21.
,, snake-charmers' skill with, 229.
,, venom of, 149.
alkaloids in, 160.
chemical analysis, 159.
comparison of toxicity by means of intra-cerebral injections, 186.
destructive action of bile on, 215.
dissolution of trypanosomes by, 207.
dose lethal for different animals in twenty-four hours, 174.
fixation on nervous elements, 186.
local effects on serous membranes slight, 179.
potency of antineurotoxic antivenomous serum against, 250, 251, 252.
vaccination against, 242, 244, 245.
Cobra-di-Capello, 33. See also Naja tripudians.
,, ,, spectacled, used by Hindu snake-charmer, 229.
Ccelenterates, poisonous species of, 269.
Coelopeltis, 22.
,, moilensis, 23.
,, 7nons]pessulana,23.
Cold, intense, toxicity of venom not diminished by, 166.
Colombia, herons of, probably immune to snake-venom, 227.
,, ,, hunt young snakes for food, 22G.
Coloration of snakes, 15, 16.
,, ,, subject to biological laws of mimicry, 15, 16.
ColubridcB, 3, 30, 57, 82, 100, 101-109. See also Acanthophis, Aspidelaps, Boulengerina,
Brachyaspis, Dendraspis, Denisonia, Diemenia, Elapechis, ElapognatMis,
Furina, Glypliodon, Homorelaps, Hoploceplialus, Micropechis, Notechis,
Ogmodon, Opisthoglypka, Proteroglypha, Pse^ulechis, Pseudelaps, RhinJioplo-
cephalus, Rlnjnclielaps, Sepedon, Tropidechis, Walter innesia.
378 VENOMS
ColuhridcB (sub-family Elapincs). See also Bungarus, Naja, Eemibungarus , Callophis,
Doliophis.
,, resemblance to harmless snakes, 3.
,, species of, bite rapidly produces general intoxication, 168.
,, venoms of, absorption by digestive tract often without ill-effect, 180, 181.
cause, 181.
,, ,, action on nervous centres profound, 185.
,, ,, affinity of scorpion poison to, 278.
,, „ albumoses of, 162.
,, ,, destroy coagulability of blood, 179, 188, 189.
,, ,, ■ dialyse slowly, 161.
„ ,, lethal effects on mammals, 170.
,, ,, minimum doses lethal for guinea-pig iu twenty-four hours, 173.
,, ,, precipitation of anticoagulant substance in, 195.
,, ,, recovery rapid after non-lethal doses, 177.
,, ,, resistant to heat, 161.
,, ,, richness in neurotoxin, 249.
Common rattle-snake, 125. See also Croialus dtirissiis.
Congestin, poison from Anemone scultata, 271.
Conjunctivitis caused by discharge into eyes of venom of spitting snake, 63, 64.
Copperhead, 90. See also Denisonia sjiperba.
Coral-snake, 104.
immunity from bite of, 238.
,, venomous nature of, 108.
See also Flaps corallimis.
Coral or harlequin snake, 106. See Elaps fulvius.
Cordier, D., cobra-bites treated with Calmette's serum. 363
Cotes, E. C, on extraction of venom by charmers, 234.
Cottus, 289, 290, 292,
,, poison-apparatus of, 293.
CrabronidcB, 285.
,, stings of females of, toxic to other insects, nearly harmless to man, 285.
Crotalince {Viperido!), 101, 109.
,, characteristics of, 6.
,, venoms of certain species of, non-coagulant, 191, 192, 193.
, , See Ancistrodon ; Lachesis.
Crotahis (rattle-snake), 110, 122.
,, comparative toxicity of organs, 220.
,, eggs of, rich in poison, 220.
,, poison glands of, 148.
,, venom of, alkaloids in, 160.
J, ,, comparison of toxicity by means of intra-cerebral injections, 186.
,, ,, ingestion causing death, 180.
,, ,, weak hsemolysing power possessed by, 199.
,, adamanteus, venom of, dose lethal for rabbit, 175.
,, cerastes (horned rattle-snake), 129.
,, confluentus (Pacific or mottled rattle-snake), 124.
habits, 125.
„ ,, devoured by pigs, 125.
INDEX 379
Crotalus conflucntics, secretion of, 150.
durissus (common rattle-snake), 125.
liorridus, 127.
,, bites from, 355.
lepidics, 129.
mitchelli, 127.
polysticttis, 129.
sciitulatiis {Tex&s rattle-snake), 124.
terrificus (dog-faced rattle-snake or cascavella), 124.
tigris, 127.
triseriatus, 129.
Cryptohranchus japonicus (great Japanese salamander), 313-315, 317.
,, ,, venom of, 317.
,, ,, ,, action similar to that of viperine venoms, 317.
Gurados de Culebras, immunity produced by inoculation by, 235-237.
Cytolytic action of venoms, 206.
Daboia. See Vipera russellii.
Deafness following bite of viper, 178.
Death adder, 96. See also Acanthopliis antarcticus.
Delezenne, establishment of existence of kinase in venoms, 204.
on the kinasic properties of venoms, 204, 213.
Dendraspis, 65.
angusticeps, 66.
antinorii, 66.
jauiesonii, 66.
viridis, 66.
Denisonia, 88.
Carpentaria:, 92.
coronata, 89.
coronoides, 89.
dccmelii, 90.
flagellum, 91.
frenata, 90.
frontalis, 91.
goiddii, 91.
macidata, 91.
melanura, 92.
viuelleri, 90.
nigrescens, 92.
nigrostriata, 92.
pallidiceps, 92.
par, 92.
punctata, 91.
ramsayi, 90.
signata, 90.
supcrha (the copperhead), 89.
suta, 90.
woodfordii, 93.
380 VENOMS
Dialysis, results of, in experiments with venoms of Colubridcs and Vi2}eridcB, 161.
Diastases, action upon venoms, 214.
Diastasic actions of venoms, 212.
JDiemenia, 86.
modesta, 87.
nuchalis, 87.
olivacea, 87.
psaimnopliis, 87.
textilis (brown snake), 87.
,, ,, ,, bite dangerous, 100.
twqttata, 87.
Digestion of snakes aided by venoms, 213, 214.
Digestive tract, absorption of venoms of CohibridcB often without ill-effect on, 180, 181.
" ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, .,, cause, 181.
Diodoii, 305.
Dipsadomorphincs, sub-family of Opisthoglypha, 3.
,, geographical distribution, 4.
Dipsas, teeth of, 8.
Distira, fresh-water genus of HydropJiiina:, 5, 186.
,, cyanocincta, 137.
,, jerdonii, 137.
„ ornata, 136.
,, suhcincta, 137.
Dog, minimal dose of cobra-venom lethal for, 174.
Dog-faced rattle-snake, 124. See also Crotalus terrificus.
Doliophis, 42.
,, bilineatus, 43.
,, bivirgatus, 4:2.
,, intestinalis, 42.
,, philippinus, 43.
Domestic animals, treatment of poisonous bites in, 265.
Duck-billed platypus (Orjiithorhynchus paradoxus or 0. anatinus), 323.
Dum^ril and Bibron, on coloration of snakes, 16.
,, ,, Naja worship in Egypt, 61.
Dutch Indies, poisonous snakes inhabiting, 30-57.
Dyer, venom antitoxin treatment of yellow fever, 184.
Eau de Javel, antidote to venom before absorption, 263.
,, ,, in treatment of wasp- or bee-stings, 286.
Echidnin, chemistry of, 160.
Echinoidea (sea-urchins), 273.
Echinodenyis, poisonous species of, 273.
Echis, 48, 76.
carinatus {efa, viper of the pyramids), 48, 76.
,, bite from, 347.
,, dreaded by Egyptians, 77.
,, venom rapid in action, 49.
coloratus, 77.
INDEX 381
Efa {Echis carinatus), 48, 76. See also EcJiis carinatus.
Eggs of bees, venom contained in, 284.
,, fowls, artificial intoxication by venom, eSect on embryo, 214.
Crotoiws rich in poison, 220.
Egj-pt, laboratory researches in, 149, 150.
,, snake-charmers of, 228-229.
Egyptians, dread of Echis carinata {Efa) shown by, 77.
,, ,, and pursuit of Naja haje among, 60.
Ehrlich, theory of lateral chains, 208, 220.
ElachistodontincB, sub-family of Opistlwglypha, 3.
,, geographical distribution, 4.
Elapechis, 58.
boidengeri, 59.
decosteri, 59.
hessii, 59.
gtientheri, 58.
niger, 58, 59.
sundevallii, 59.
Elapince, sub-family of Coluhridce, 30.
,, geographical distribution, 5.
Elapognathus, 97.
,, minor, 97.
Elapis, 101, 108.
,, ancoralis, 108.
,, annellatus, 103.
,, anomalus, 103.
,, huckleyi, 103.
,, corallinus (coral snake), 104. See also Coral-snake.
,, decor atus, 104.
,, dissoleuciis, 106.
,, dumerilii, 104.
,, elegans, 103.
,, euryxanthus (Sonoran coral-snake), 102.
,, filiformis, 107.
,, fraseri, 107.
,, frontalis, 106.
,, fulvius (harlequin or coral-snake), 106.
,, gravenhorstii, 102.
,. hemprichii, 104.
,, heterocJiilus, 102.
,, lieterozonus, 103.
,, langsdorfHi, 103.
,, lemniscahis, 107.
,, viarcgravii, 106.
,, mentalis, 107.
,, mipartitus, 107.
,, nardticcii, 108.
,, psyches, 106.
,, spixii, 106.
382 VENOMS
Elaps surinamensis, 102.
,, tschudii, 104.
Electricity passed through solution of venom in form ofi continuous electrolytic current
destroys toxicity, 165. See also High frequency currents.
Embryo, anomalies in development consequent on introduction of venom into eggs of
fowl, 214.
Enhydrina, 139.
,, venom of, fixation on nervous elements, 186.
,, bengalensis (syn. E. valakadien), 139.
,, valakadien (syn. E. bengalensis), 139.
,, ,, venom of, dose lethal for different animals, 174.
Enhydris, 138.
,, curtus, 138.
,, ,, venom of, dose lethal for rat, 174.
Entomopliaga, 286.
Eosin, photodynamic action of, diminishes toxicity of venoms, 167.
Epeira, 276.
Erythrosin, photodynamic action of, diminishes toxicity of venoms, 167.
Europe, poisonous snakes inhabiting, 22-29.
,, ,, geographical distribution of genera (tables), 142.
„ (Central). See Alps.
,, Triton cristatus and T. marmoratus found in, 313.
Ewing, action of venom on brain, 185.
Facial bones, special arrangements of, characteristic of poisonous snakes, 6.
Pasting, prolonged, snake-venom shows greatest activity after, 176.
Faust, S., salamandrine prepared by, 316.
Fayrer, Sir J., fatal results of experimental ingestion of venoms, 180.
,, ,, on the daboia {Vipera russellii), 47.
,, ,, habits of the krait (Bungarus candidus), 33.
,, ,, harmless ingestion of venom exceeding lethal dose, 214.
,, ,, Naja bungarus, 39.
Feeding, artificial, in laboratories for collection of venom, 157.
,, ,, of poisonous snakes, 17, 18.
Fer-de-lance (Lachesis lanceolatus), 112, 113, 114.
Fere, Ch. , experiments on development of embryo after introduction of venom into fowl's
egg, 214.
Fishes succumb rapidly to snake-venom, 172.
,, venomous, 288.
,, f,, poison-apparatus of, 289.
Flexner and Noguchi, on action of snake-serum on red corpuscles, 219.
,, ,, cytolytic action of venoms, 206.
,, ,, investigations on toxicity of snakes' organs, 220.
Food, abstinence from, by snakes, 149.
Fowls killed by causing them to ingest venom, 180.
Fox, W. A., bite from Sepcdon hamachates, 337.
France, mortality from snake-bite in, 3.
Eraser, on destructive action of bile on cobra-venom, 215.
INDEX 383
Frog-serum, auticlote to poison of pcdiccllaria3, 274.
Frogs succumb slowly to saake-poisoning, 172.
Farina, 98.
,, bimacidata, 99.
,, calonata, 99.
,, occipitalis, 99.
Gaboon viper, 73. See also Bitis gabonica.
(rangrene, produced by veuom of Viperidca, 177.
Gautier, Armaud, chemical constituents of venom, IGO.
Geographical distribution of poisonous snakes in Africa, 143, 144.
,, ,, ,, America, 146.
Asia, 142, 143.
,, ,, Europe, 142.
,, ,, ,, Oceania, 145.
Geracki, collection of venom, 156.
Gibbs, Wolcott, chemical constituents of venom, 160.
Glands (acid and alkaline), poison-organs of the hymenoptera, 282.
,, secretion of venom from, 147.
Glandular secretions of persons and animals bitten by venomous snakes, toxic, 181.
Glycerine, means of preservation of concentrated solution of venom, 166.
Glypliodon, 83.
,, tristis, 84.
GobiidcB, 300.
Gouzien, Paul, collection of venom from poisonous snakes in French settlements in
India, 359.
,, ,, on collection of venom, 156.
Grage (Lacliesis atrox), immunity from bite of, 238.
Grass-snakes, parotid glands of, 147.
,, ,, withstand large doses of venom, 172.
Gressin on poisoning from weever-stings, 299.
de Gries on bites from Bothrops, 353, 354.
Ground rattle-snake, 120. See also Sistrurus miliarius.
Grunting batrachus. See Batracluis grunniens.
Guiana, witch-doctors of, snake-bite remedies, 237, 238.
Guinea-pig, minimal doses of various venoms lethal for, 173, 174, 175.
,, vaccination against cobra-venom, 242.
H.EMOLYSiNS of venom, resistance to heat, 202.
Haemolysis, failure of, under exposure of red ^corpuscles to large doses of venom, 199, 200,
201.
,, in venoms, comparative study of, 196.
,, power of, possessed by various venoms, 199.
Haemorrhages produced by albuminoid of snake-venom, 162.
,, visceral, complicating recovery from bites of Viperidcs-, 177, 178.
Hsemorrhagin in venoms, 187.
,, local effects of, not prevented by antineurotoxic serum, 251.
,, predominance in venom of Viperidce, 249.
384 VENOMS
Hsemorrhagin, present in some species of Viperidce, 249.
,, sensitive to heat, 249.
Hamadryas elaps, 37. See also Naja hungarus.
Harlequin or coral snake, 106. See also Elaps fulvius.
Heart, action of venom on, 184.
Heat, comparative effect on venoms of Colubridce, Hydrophiidce and Viperidce, 161.
,, hsemorrhagin sensitive to, 249.
,, resistance of hasmolysins of venoms to, 202.
,, sole agent in attenuating venom submitted to alternating high frequency currents,
165.
Heating destroys toxicity of blood of reptiles, 218.
Hedgehog, immunity of, to venom of Vipera hems, 226.
,, ,, ,, ,, proved experimentally, 226.
,, blood of, toxic before heating, antitoxic afterwards, 226.
Heloderma horridum, 321.
,, ,, saliva sometimes toxic, sometimes harmless, 823.
venom of, 321, 322.
Heniibungarus, 39.
,, calligaster, 40.
,, collaris, 40.
,, japonicus, 40.
,, nigrescens, 40.
Henri, V., poison from pedicellarise prepared by, 273.
Herons of Colombia hunt young snakes for food, 227.
J, ,, probable immunity to snake-venom, 226, 227.
Hetero-albumoses, active principle of snake-venom, 164.
,, separation from snake- venom, 162, 163.
Heterometrus inaurus, venom of, 279.
,, ,, ,, effect upon sparrovys, 279.
High frequency currents, alternating, attenuate venom only by thermic action, 165.
Hill, Patrick, on duck-billed platypus, 324.
Hindus, worship bestowed on Naja by, 38.
Holbrook on Crotalus confliientus, 125.
Holocanthus, 305.
,, imperator, 305.
HomalopsincB, sub-family of Opisthoglypha, 3.
„ geographical distribution, 4.
,, aquatic, 4.
Eomorelaps, 57.
Hoplocephabis, 93.
,, hitorguatus, 94.
,, hungaroides (syn. H. variegatus, broad-headed snake), 94.
,, curtus (Notcchis scutatus, tiger-snake), 95.
,, ,, ,, ,, ,, bite dangerous, 100.
secretion of, 149.
,, stepliensii, 94.
Horned rattle-snake, 129. See also Crotalus cerastes.
Horse, bleeding, aseptically, after vaccination to obtain antivenomous serum, 245, 246.
,, immunisation to venom, difficulties attending, 244, 245.
INDEX 385
Horse, minimal dose of venom lethal for, 176.
,, polyvalent serum prepared from, 251.
,, red corpuscles of, reasons for choice of, for exposure to action of venom, 196, 197.
,, vaccination of, against cobra-venom, 244, 245.
Horse-serum must be added to venom to dissolve washed red corpuscles, 197.
Hottentots, venom of Bids arietans employed for poisoning arrows by, 72.
Hijdre^aps, 134.
Hijdrojthiidce (sea-snakes), 100.
,,, bite from, cure, 3-38.
, ., rapidly produces general intoxication, 168.
, venoms of, resistant to heat, 161.
Hrjdro hiince (sea-snakes), 4, 131.
, ,, habitat and geographical distribution, 4, 5.
habits of, 131.
Hydro >his (sea-snakes), 134.
,, ,, venom from, 360.
,, ca-rtdescens. 135.
,, cantoris, 135.
,, elegans, 135.
,, fascial us, 136.
,, gracilis, 185.
,, leptodira, 136.
,, nigrocinctus, 135.
,, obscurus (syn. H. stricticoUis), 136.
,, spiralis, 135.
Hydrhs, 132.
Hymeuoptera, 281.
, poison-glands of, 281, 282.
Hypochloride of calcium solution modifies or destroys venoms, 164.
Hypochlorite of lime, antidote to venom before absorption, 261, 263.
,. ,, remedy, for wasp- or bee-sting, 286.
Hypochlorites, alkaline, antidotes to venom before absorption, 261.
Hypoleucocytosis, accompanying snake-bite, in lethal cases, 211, 212.
,, following fatal dose of venom, 216.
Immunity to venom, active, incontestably possible, 240.
,, ,, doubtful, by Vatuas' method, 239.
,, ,, hereditary, pretended, 238.
,, ,, „ in India and Egypt, 240.
natural, 222.
,, ,, partial, enjoyed by snakes due to diastasic substances in blood,
218, 219.
,, ,, in lethal doses not conferred by ingestion of venom, 215.
India, French Settlements in, collection of venom and treatment of bites from poisonous
snakes in, 359.
,, legend relating to Naja in, 37.
,, mortality from snake-bite in, 2, .38, 363.
,, ,, ,, ,, excessive, due to snake-worship, 2.
,, ,, ., Naja bites, 38.
25
386 VENOMS
India, poisonous snakes inhabiting, 30-57.
,, snake-charmers in, 229-234.
,, ,, ,, remedies for bites, 237.
Teuthis found in, 301.
Indian Ocean, CMlomycterus orhicnlaris and C. tigrinus, 307.
,, ,, Naseiis found in, 301.
,, ,, Plotosus found in, 808.
,, ,, Pterois found in, 296.
,, ,, Scorpccna diabolus found in, 293.
,, ,, Tetrodon stcllatus iowndiiu, 'dQQ>.
Inoculation, experimental, bj' Fraser, of Edinburgh, 235.
,, extraction of venom from alcatifa for, 239.
,, graduated, by French viper-catchers, 284.
,, immunity incontestable from, 240.
,, subcutaneous, productive of immunity, 234.
Insects, venomous species of, 281.
Invertebrata easily killed by venom inoculation, 178.
Jacolot, on Mexicans' method of immunisation, 255-257
Japan, Cryptobranclms japoniciis found in, 315.
,, Prionurus found in, 301.
,, Tetrodon rubripes found on shores of, 306.
,, ,, ,, Sec also China and Japan.
Jararacussu (LacJiesis lanceolatus), 112, 113, 114.
Jean, bite from Trigooioceyhalus, 352.
Jugglers called in to expel cfas (ediis carinatus) from Egyptian houses,
Jtclus, 280.
Kanthack, a. a., on chemical constituents of venom, 160.
Kasauli, laboratory for production of antivenomous serum at, 248, 252.
Katipo (Latrodectiis scclio), 275.
Kayalof, Mile., poison from pedicellaria? prepared by, 273.
Kidney, action of venom on, 183.
Kinase in snake- venoms, 204.
Kinasic properties of venom, how produced, 213.
,, ,, ,, See aZso Diastasic actions.
King cobra. See Naja biingarris.
Kipling, Rudyard, account of battle between mongoose and cobra, 223.
Kobert, poison from Latrodectus and Epeira prepared by, 276.
Krait, 80. See also Bungariis.
Kreilt, Gerard, on snakes of Australia, 81, 82.
Kyes, lecithide from scorpion-venom, 278.
on relation of toxins to antitoxins, 254, 255, 257.
,, the production of lecithides, 197, 199.
Labaria (Lachesis atrox)^ 114.
Labial glands, upper, venomous secretions, 147.
Laboratories for preparation of antivenomous serum, 248, 252.
de Lacerda, on diastatic actions of venoms, 212.
Elaps, 108.
,, harmless ingestion of venom exceeding lethal dose, 214.
INDEX 387
Laccrtida, 321.
Lachesis, 51, 109, 111.
,, bite of, clinical symptoms, 169.
.. M ,, primarily local, violent, 169.
,, classification of species, 52.
venom of, absorption by digestive system, cause of acute inflammation of gastric
mucous membrane, 180.
,, ,, rich in kinase, 204.
,, alternatus, 115.
,, ammodytoides, 117.
,, anamallensis, 56.
atrox (grage), immunity from bite of, 238.
,, ,, (labaria), 114.
,, (uirifer, 119.
,. bicolor, 119.
,, bilineatus, 118.
,, bomeensis, 57.
,, bracliy stoma, 118.
,, cantoris, 53.
,, castelnaiidi, 117.
,, ferox (grage), bites from, cure, 851.
,, flavomaculatus, 55.
,, flavoviridis, 53.
,, godmani, 118.
,. graviineus, 55.
,, ,, venom of, dose lethal for rabbit, 175.
,, jerdonii, 54.
,, lanceolatus (fer-de-lance, or jararacussu), 112.
,, ,, description and habits, 113, 114.
,, ,, mortality from bite of, 113.
,, ,, secretion of, 150.
,, ,, venom of, 325.
„ y, ,, coagulant action on blood, 191.
)j M )) ,, ,, diminishes when heated, 191.
,, lansbergil, 118.
,, lateralis, 119.
,, luieiis, 54.
,, macrolepis, 56.
,, microphthahmts, 114.
,, monticola, 52.
,, mucrosquaviatus, 54.
,, vintus (bushmaster or surucucu), 112.
„ iieuwiedii (urutu), 115.
,, nigroviridis, 119.
,, nummifer, 117.
,, okinavensis, 52.
,, pictus, 115.
,, piilcher, 114.
,, puniceus, 56.
388 VENOMS
Lachesis purpureomaculatus, 54.
,, schlegelii, 119.
,, strigatus, 53.
,, sumatranus, 56.
,, trigonocephahis, 56.
,, undiilatus, 118.
,, 2uagleri, 57.
,, xanthogranimus, 117.
Lamb, G. , on action of venom on brain, 185.
,, on coagulant action of venom of T'yJcra russellii, 191.
Landouzy, Prof., on serum therapeutics, 240.
Lannoy, on diastasic actions of venoms, 212, 21.3.
,, proteolytic action of venoms, 204.
,, researches of, on glands of snakes, 147.
Lapeyre, on bites from European vipers, 346.
Latrodectus, 276.
,, erebus, 276.
,, mactans, 275.
,, mahnigiiattus, 275.
Lavigne, bite from Trigonoce2)halus, 354.
de Lavison, R., on Lachesis lanceolatus, 113.
Lecithides, production of, 191, 197, 198, 199, 254, 258.
,, ,, from bee-venom, 285.
,, ,, ,, scorpion-venom, 278.
Lecithin, added to venom to dissolve washed red corpuscles, 197.
,, cholesterin antidote to, 198.
,, combination with snake-venom, 254.
Leipothymia following inoculation of venom of Synanceia bracMo, 292.
Le Naour, on the spitting snake, 63.
Leucocytes, protective role against snake-poisoning, 216.
Leucolysin, mode of producing, 203.
Lewin, experiments on immunity of hedgehog to venom, 226.
Leydig, researches of, 147.
Lhomme, bite from Lachesis ferox, 351.
,, collection of venom, 156.
Light, destructive effect of, on venom in solution, 165,
Liver, action of venom on, 182.
Livingstone, mention of Naja hajc by, 60.
Lizards, 321-323.
,, only one species venomous, 322.
,, succumb rapidly to snake-poisoning, 172.
Lophius, 804.
,, piscatori'us, 301.
,, setigerus, 303-304.
Lucan, passage from, quoted, on immunity of Psylli, 240.
Lumiere, A., and Nicolas, J., on effect of intense cold on venom, 106.
Lungs, action of venom on, 184.
Lycodon aulicus, resemblance of Bungarus candidus to, 33.
]\Iaclaud, bite from J, ), ,, ,, bite dangerous, 100.
,, ,, ,, ,, secretion of, 149.
,, scutellatas, 88.
Pseudelaps, 84.
,, diadema, 85.
,, harrietta, 85.
,, krefftii, 85.
,, muelleri, 84.
,, squaimilostis, 84.
,, Slither landi, 86.
,, warro, 86.
Pseudocerastes persicus, 47.
Psylli, Egyptian charmers and healers, 228-229.
,, Roman charmers and healers, 228.
,, ,, ,, ,, ,, Lucan on, 240.
Pterois, 293, 295-296.
Fan adder, 69. See also Bitis arietans.
Putrefaction, rapid, following death from snake-bite, 211, 212.
Pyramids, viper of {Echis carinatus), 76.
INDEX 395
Queensland, mortality from snake-bite slight in, lUU.
Rabbit, experiments on, demonstrating neutralisation of venom by antitoxin, 255.
,, minimal doses of various venoms lethal for, 173, 174, 175.
,, vaccination against cobra-venom, 243.
Rascasse, 296.
Rat, P., on common vipers bite, 358.
,, ingestion of venom of Pscudechis harmless to, 181.
,, minimal doses of various venoms lethal for, 174.
Rat-serum, bacteriolytic action of venom not comparable to, 208.
Rattle-snaJje, common, 125. See also Crotalus durissus.
,, dog-faced, 124. See also Crotalus terrificus.
,, ground, 120. See also Sistrurus miliarius.
,, horned, 129. See also Crotalus cerastes.
„ Pacific, or mottled, 124. See also Crotalus confluentus.
,, prairie, 120. See also Sistrurus catenatus.
,, Texas, 124. See also Crotalus scutulatus.
,, venom, vaccination of pigeons against, 241.
Red Sea, Naseus found in, 301.
Reichert on chemical constituents of venom, 160.
Renaux, P., on bites from Crotalus horridus, 355.
Rennie, Major S. J., case of bite of Bungarus cccruleus, 337.
Reptiles, toxicity of blood in, 217.
Respiratory centres, nerve-cell of, attacked by albumose of snake-venom, 162.
Rhinhoploceplialus, 95.
,, bicolor, 95.
Ehynchelaps, 97.
,, australis, 98.
,, bertholdi, 97.
,, fasciolatus, 98.
,, semifasciatus, 98.
Richards on fatal results of experimental ingestion of venoms, 180.
Richet, C, congestin from Anemone scultata prepared by, 270.
,, thalassin, from Anemone scultata prepared by, 269.
Riughals slang, 63. See also Sepedon Juvmachates.
River-jack viper, 73. See also Bitis gahonica.
Rogers, Major L. , experiments on action of venom on nervous centres, 186.
,, ,, researches of, on glands of snakes, 147.
Romans, snake-charmers' customs among, 228.
,, ,, ,, ,, Lucan on, 240.
Roudot, Natalis, ou Hindu snake-charmers, 229.
Russell, on the venom of daboia (Vipcra russellii), 46.
Sachs, on relation of toxins to antitoxins, 254.
Salamandarin, 316. See also Salamaudrine.
Salamander, Japanese, 317. See also Cryptobranchus japonicus.
,, venom of, closely analogous to that of toad, 321.
,, ,, potency exaggerated by the ancients, 312.
Salamanders and toads most dreaded by ancients, 312.
396
VENOMS
Salamandra atra (black salamander), 313.
,, viaculosa (spotted salamander), 313, 314.
Salamandridine prepared from venom of salamanders, 317.
Salamandrine, prepared from venom of salamanders, 317.
Saliva of Heloderma horridum sometimes toxic, sometimes harmless, 3'23.
,, venomous, of non-poisonous snakes, 214.
Sangis, name of snake-charmers of Bengal, 229.
Sao-Paulo (Brazil), laboratory for production of antivenomous serum at, 24H, 252.
Scales, arrangement of, on heads of poisonous snakes, 14, 15.
Scolopendra, 280.
Scolopendrid(X, bite of, 2gl.
Scai-pcBiia, 288, 289, 293.
,, poison-apparatus of, 294.
,, diabobis, 293.
,, grandicornis, 293.
,, porcus, 294.
Scorpio occitanus, 211, 278.
Scorpion, blood of, antitoxic, 279.
,, manner of stinging, 277.
,, poison, 278.
,, affinities with that of Colubridie, 278.
,, neurotoxin of, 278.
Scorpionidea (scorpions), 276.
Sea-snakes, 131. See also HydrophiincB.
„ (Hydrophis), venom from, 360.
Sepedon hccmachates (spitting snake or ringhals slang), 63.
,, ,, bite of, cure, 337.
,, ,, venom of, purulent ophthalmia discharged by spitting, 63, 64.
,, ,, ,, ,, „ caused bj' projection of, 62. 180.
Serous membranes, local effects on, of cobra-venom, slight, 179.
,, ,, ,, ,, venoms of ViperidcB, severe, 179.
Serph, collection of venom. 156.
Serranus, 304.
,, ouatabili, 304.
Serum, antivenomous, antineurotoxic, 250, 251.
,, potency against cobra-venom, 250, 251. 252.
in treatment of bites of poisonous snakes, 326.
,, yellow fever, 184.
method for measuring power of, 256, 257.
,, ,, ,, in vitro, 202.
neutralisation of snake-venom by, 253-258.
,, ,, ,, experiments showing necessary pro-
portions to effect, 254, 255.
polyvalent, 251.
,, prepared from horse, 251.
preparation of, 246.
,, test-solutions, 247.
„ at Pasteur Institute, Lille, 245-248.
,, special laboratories, 248, 252.
INDEX
897
Serum, antivenomous, prevoutive power tested by intravenous injection, 246.
,, ,, rules respecting proportions of quantity to be administered, 266,
267, 268.
,, ,, specificity of, 248.
,, Calmette's, in treatment of cobra-bites, 363, 364, 365.
,, therapeutics, antivenomous, 241-252.
technique of, 262-265.
,, See also Snake serum.
Serums, specific against coagulant venoms, 192.
Sewall on vaccination of pigeons against rattle-snake venom, 241.
Silurida, 307, 308.
Silurus glanis, 308.
Sistruriis, 110, 120.
,, catenatus (prairie rattle-snake, or massasauga), 120.
,, miliarius (ground rattle-snake), 120.
., ravus, 120.
Skin, marks produced on, by bites of different species of snakes (venomous and non-
venomous), 10.
Smell, loss of, following bite of viper, 178.
Smith, MacGarvie, researches of, 149.
,, ,, on chemical constituents of venom, 160.
, , , , and jMartin , C . J. , on local and general effects of albumoses derived from
snake-venoms, 103.
Snake-bite, death from, rapid putrefaction following, 211, 212.
,, hypo-leucocytosis accompanying, in lethal cases, 211, 212.
„ mortahty from, 2, 3, 38, 57, 100, 261, 363.
„ non-lethal, suppuration following, 212.
,, poisonous, treatment in domestic animals, 265.
,, ,, ,, men and animals, 259.
,, ,, „ See also Serum therapeutics, antivenomous.
Snake-charmers, 228.
deaths from bites, 234.
Egyptian, 228-229.
,, employment of Naja liaje for performances, 61.
Indian, 229-234.
Libyan, 228.
Roman, 228.
safety in skill, 234.
Snake-serum combined with snake-venom does not destroy red corpuscles, 220.
,, dissolution of red corpuscles by, 219.
Snake-venom, action on heart, 184.
,, kidney, 183.
liver, 182.
,, lungs, 184.
,, nervous centres, 185,
,, spleen, 183.
,, striated muscles, 184.
activity greatest after prolonged fasting and after moult, 170.
aids digestion of prey, 213, 214.
398
VENOMS
Snake-venom, antagonism between coagulant and anticoagulant kinds, 194.
antidotes to, before absorption, 260, 261.
artificial introduction into egg of fowl, effect on embryo, 214.
bacteriolytic action, 206.
,, substance in, peculiarities of, 207, 208.
chemical study of, 159.
collection of, 147, 152-158.
,, iu French Settlements in India, 359.
combination with lecithin, 254.
combined with snake-serum does not dissolve red corpuscles, 220.
complex effects on tissues, 215.
complexity of means of defence against, 215.
cytolytic action, 206.
diastasic action of, 212.
dried, 149.
effects of, in non-lethal doses, 177.
extraction of, by Hindus, 233.
,, from Alcatifa, for inoculation, 239.
freshly collected, 149.
hypoleucocytosis following fatal dose, 216.
immunity to, 2-A2.
,, from inoculation, 234-235.
,, of herons to, probable, 22G, 227.
ingestion of, fails to secure immunity to lethal dose, 214, 215.
,, harmless, 214.
lethal to snakes of other species, 219.
neutralisation by antitoxin, 253-258.
,, injection of antitoxic serum, second step in treatment
after bite, 262.
no strict ratio between dose inoculated and time elapsing till death, 177.
parallelism between neurotoxic and hemolytic action, 255.
prevention of absorption first step iu treatment after bite, '262.
produces acute inflammation of mucous membrane, ISO.
protective role of leucocytes against, 216.
proteolytic action, 204.
re-constitution, metliod of, 257, 258.
secretion of, 147-152.
temperature lowered after fatal dose, 216.
toxic conditions of, 151.
Snakes
vaccination against.
241.
variations in local effects of, 176.
coloration of, 15, 16.
,, subject to biological laws of mimicry, 15, 16.
cranial skeleton of, 6.
dentition of, 6.
moulting of skin, 16, 20.
non-poisonous, arrangement of scales on head of, 14.
,, poison-glands in, 217.
,, venomous saliva of, 214.
INDEX 899
Snakes, non- poisonous, withstand large doses of venom, 172.
,, poisonous, all species carnivorous, 17.
,, ,, arrangement of scales on head of, 15.
,, ,, artificial feeding of, 17, 18.
., ., bito of, danger diminished by clothing or other means of protection, 170.
,, ,, blood of, toxicity, 217.
,, ,, characterised by special arrangement of facial bones, 6.
M ,, deaths from, in Queensland, 100.
,, ,, devoured by herons, 227.
,, ,, different species should not be placed in same cage, 219.
„ ,, difficult to distinguish from non-venomous, 2.
,) ,, digestion aided by venom, 213, 214.
>> ,, dread of destruction of, cause of excessive mortality from snake-bite in
India, 2.
I) ,, geographical distribution of, 2, 3.
,, ,, habits of, 17.
,, ,, health authorities' notices respecting, in Australia, 100.
kept in captivity, 61, 72, 125, 15G, 223.
,, ,, method of capture, 20, 21.
,, „ ,, striking and seizing prey, 17.
,, ,, muscular apparatus of head of, 11, 12, 13.
,, ,, of Africa, 57-81.
,, ,, Asia, Dutch Indies and Philippine Islands, .30-57.
,, ,, Australia, 81-100.
,, ,, Europe, 22-29.
,, ,, Malaysia, 81.
,, New Guinea, 81-100.
South Sea Islands, 81-100.
,, ,, Sunda Islands, 81.
,, ,, poison-apparatus of, 8.
,, ,, poison-fangs of, 8.
„ ,, poison glands of, 10, 11, 12, 13.
,, ,, succumb to venom of other species, 173.
,, ,, teeth of, difference in arrangement and dimensions of various species, 9.
,, ,, treatment of bites from, in French Settlements in India, 359.
,, ,, unaffected by enormous doses of their own venom, 172.
,, ,, unknown in New Caledonia, 100.
,, ,, ,, New Zealand, 100.
,, ,, victory of mongooses over, in combat, due mainly to natural agility, 225.
,, worship of, 2.
,, ,, extant in India, 2.
Solenoglypha, 109.
,, bite produces important local disorders, 1G8.
,, marks produced on skin by bite of one of, 10.
Sonoran coral-snake, 102. See also Elaps euryxanthtis.
South Sea Islands, poisonous snakes of, 81-100.
Sparrows, effect of venom of Heterometrus inaurus on, 279.
Sphcerechinus granularis, poison from pedicellarias, 273.
Spinal cord, comparative actions of venoms of ColuhrklcB and Viperidcs on, 185, 186.
400 VENOMS
Spiders. See Araneida.
Spitting snake, 63. See also Sepedon hccmachates .
Spleen, action of venom on, 183.
Sponge-divers, malady of, 272.
Squamijyinnes, 304.
Stings (wasp- or bee-), treatment for, 286.
Stomach, acute inflammation of gastric mucous membrane produced by ingestion of
venoms of Viperid