The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-07-23

From the New York Times.
An interesting series of experiments IN
regard to the effect of poisonous snake bites
on the human system and the proper anti
dotes therefor, is being conducted by DIR.
Charles Slower Allen, of East Twenty
eighth street. The doctor has large and
valuable collection of the heads of snakes,
their fangs and poisions, the latter being
crystallized and preserved in various other
ways. He has several hundred fangs OF
poisonous snakes, and in the summer keeps
about forty live snakes in Central Park to
experiment upon. The largest skin in his
collection of diamond backed rattlesnakes
is that of snake s feet inches long and
Is inches in circumference. No correct
measurement of snake can be taken from
the skin. 1t should be taken from the
snake itself, as the length of the skin can
be increased 25 per cent. by stretching.
DIR. Allen makes many trips to Florida,
and during his visits he has become ac-
quainted with the kinds of snake bites
there that are attended with fatal results.
This has led him to institute his present
investigation, in which he has already
obtained very valuable scientific results.
Rattlesnakes are not so common In Flor
ida as is generally supposed. The moe
casin is believed to abound in large num-
bers, but probably not one in fifty of the
the water snakes is moccasin. The prin-
cipal poisonous snakes in Florida are, in
the first place, the diamond-back rattle
snake, which is usually four feet in length,
although some are found nearly nine feet
in length. The largest authenticated re-
cord for a rattler is feet inches, measur-
ing from the dead snake and not from the
skin.
Then there is the moccasin, and as most
water snakes are locally called moccasins,
the distinction is made of calling the pois-
onous moccasin the cotton-mouthed mecca
sin Very few Of the moccasins seen, how
ever, are poisonous. These snakes are
from to a! feet long, the longest the
doctor ever saw being feet inches long.
In some parts of Florida the small
ground rattler, which is rarely over two
feet long and is insignificant looking, is
dreaded more than the large, diamond
back rattler. A very beautiful snake is
the bead snake. Its colors are black, yel-
low and red, its extreme length 4 feet, and
it looks like a string of beads. The coral
snake lives underground to a great extent,
and is not often seen on the surface.
CAPTURING THE REPTILES.
The snakes down South are captured
alive by the negroes and few professional
snake hunters. The diamond-back rattler
is different from the Northern rattler in
that it is much larger, twice the length,
and infinitely more poisonous, more pug
uacious and less timid The diamond-back
will seldom seek flight IF a bag contain
ing other kinds of snakes were opened the
snakes would try to escape, but if bagful
of rattlers were liberated none of them
would be lost, as each would coil up and
show fight instead of attempting to gel
away.
The capture of the snakes is effected by
putting forked stick over the neck oil
pressing the head down with stick.
Then man can grasp them by the neck
and throw them into a bag. Snake tong:
are also used to grasp them by the neck
and then catch them by putting noOs'
around the neck with a wire, or rope
moose on the end of pole. 1t seems t.
be safe in every way to carry them in {
potato bag. as they are not given to biting
blindly at the bag. Persons who carry th'
snakes will not hesitate to throw bagfu
of them over their shoulder.
Snakes are shipped by putting two oil
three of them together in bag, which il
placed in box and nailed up tightly. Ii
unpackiDg them DIR. Aliens method is tt
dump one bagful at time in sugar bar
rel, from which they can be taken when re
quired by snake stick. A safer method
of keeping them is TO partition off portions
of the laboratory with wire netting five fee
high, and then they can be watched anC
captured with the snake stick with create
safety.
The methods employed to obtain th'
poison of the snake for experiment are yer.
interesting One way has been, after Sc
curing the snake by the neck, to let it bit
into sponge or ball Of absorbent cotton
A better method, employed by DIR. Wei
Mitchell, is to let the snake bite on tn
edge of saucer or cup, in which the poi
son can be evaporated into crystals. Dr
Aliens method is to cover an ordinar,
druggists graduate of from four to sil
ounces with kid tightly stretched over il
and let the snake drive its fangs throngl
the kid and inject its poison in the gradu
ate. This is more certain and effective, a
the snake soon refuses TO bite against an