The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-12-07

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 and apparatus for poisoning its vic timss interesting as given by pr Brown. The inferior maxillary bone is movable, and by it's movement causes
 the erection or reclination of the fangs These fangs when reclined are covered by sheath of mucuous membrane, in 1 which lie several reserve fangs in | different stages of growth which are | designed to replace the working fang | if it should be shed or lost through accl- dent, The teeth are folded upon them | selves so as to form either an open
 proove or a more or less complete tube. Secreted by a gland which opens into
 the sac at the base of the fang, the
 venom flows through the canal in the
 teeth to the point of the fang, whence
 1t enters the wound made by the fang.
 The poisonous qualities of the vari-
 ous snakes vary according to the eli
 mate, whether the snake is in Vlgor-
 ous or weak condition, the season of the year and the temperature. The poison
 acts rapidly on warm blooded animals,
 is deadly to cold-blooded as well and
 to the lowest forms of life. A snake cannot poison itself or any of it's spec
 ies and only slightly another genus of i poisonous snakes. Innocent snakes are
 poisoned quickly in some cases death
 being almost instantaneous.
 Symptoms of snake bites are local and
 general. First is rapidly appearing
 swelling of the affected spot followed
 by an appearance of spots of blood be-
 meath the skin, and this in turn by
 gangrene, with or without pain. The
 general symptoms are extreme prostra- | tion, general paralysis, especially of respiration, a tendency to hemorrhage, violent diarrhoea and vomiting Even in those patients that recover local par alysis in different parts of the body and
 pain may persist for long time. Death is usually caused by paralysis of respiration.
 The poison itself is slightly turbid yelowish fluid, odorless, and whether liquid or dry it is soluble in water The dried substance resembles dried white of egg. All the venoms, with one ex- ception. and their solutions may be sub jected to the temperature of boiling water without locing their poisonous properties.
 Of the treatment of snake bites Dr. Brown says:
 Before the growth of our views re- garding serum therapy and it's appiica- tion to an ever-increasing list of dis eases and conditions, the best treat ment for one who had been bitten by poisonous snake was ligatation around the limb, if the bite was so situated. and it is so in 94 per cent of the eases. Then followed incision, scarification or
 ,fn,r; fnpo nf lao of a1 op a y1I hypodermic injections of drugs which tend to oxidize the venom. After the wound had been thoroughly sucked or cupped it was kept covered with com presses of the same substance. Alco- hol, strychnine and ammonia, the most powerful stimulants, were given by the mouth to counteract the constitutional effects. By means of these modes of treatment undoubtedly quite number of cases on the border line, as we'll as cases treated within few minutes after the bite, have been cured. But if the poison is in large amount, or if the time is great before help is given, all of these treatments have been utterly unavailing.
 Tt is only within the past few years that an approach to real cure has been reached. With the development of the subject of serum therapy and encouraged by the successful results ob tained in many cases, notably diptheria and tetanus, in counteracting by sera the poisons formed by bacterial growth, investigators in France and Great Brit ain have turned their attention to the study of the poisons formed by different varieties of snakes and their naturalization. All recent observers are agreed that an animal or person can be vaccinated against what would otherwise prove a fatal dose of snake poison by the subcutaneous introduce tion of small non- toxic doses of poison. Both snake blood and snake bile are very important remedies used by native Hindoo snake-charmers and doctors, and too many wellauthenticated stor- ies exist showing immunity and cure to make it at all doubtful that these per- sons have methods which are of value.
 "Colneth, an investigator at the Pas teur Institute in Paris, reports experi- ments which go to prove the immuniz- ing effect of the antidote for snake poi son as well as it's curative effect. Thus rabbits were inoculated with the anti toxin, and later given a fatal dose of snake poison without effect, while others died in sixteen and seventeen minutes from the effects of the poison alone Other experiments were made by first giving the poisonous dose and following it with the anti-toXin, which it's effects. Colneth con cluded that animals may be immunized against the venom or serpents either by means of repeated injections of doses at first feeble and progressively stronger, or by means of successive injections of venom mixed with certain chemical sub | stances. The serum of animals thus treated is at the same time preventive,' anti-toxic and therapeutic, exactly as is that of animals immunized against | dipthera and tetanus.
 The Pasteur Institute at Lille has | been sending out serum to various parts of the world for the past two years. ! and thus far reports have been received . showing favorable results in cases that ! have been bitten by six varieties of . snakes. A boy working in the at Lille opened a box which a newly arrived box of snakes
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