Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-10-07
GETTING EVEN WITH sERPENTs.
Searching for Antidote for Venomous
Snake Bite.

The method pursued by medical science
In its treatment Of the more fatal diseases
ia to set back-fires; that Is, use the cause
of the malady to effect It's cure. This Is
particularly true Of those that develop
active and virulent poisons. or more par
ticularly the germ diseases. This has now
been brought forward to hopeful expert
mentation with the poison of venomous
snakes. That is a danger that perhaps does
not possess much personal interest 1or
dwellers in cities, but il genuine antidoee
for the bites Of all kinds Of serpents. from
the cobra to the copperhead. could De ois-
covered. thousands of painful deaths in the
old world and the new could be annually
prevented. Even the United States pos
sesses its share OF poisonous reptiles In Its
mountain regions and Its semi-tropical belt.
and a great many thousand people would
feel more comfortable did they know that
an adequate antidate to their venomous at
tacks existed.
In the Bangal province Of India the sta
tistics show that over thousand deaths
occur from snake bites every year. and in
the other districts the fatalities from the
same cause are proportionally more numer-
GUS The cobra Is the principal offender.
and as its bite. unlike that Of the rattle
snake and most other venomous serpents.
causes a comparatively painless death. 1t
may be preferable to undergoing experiences
with famine or bubonic plague. Still. there
are many other sections of the world where
life is still regarded as worth living and
where the bites of poisonous serpents are
very much dreaded.
1t is stated that DIR. Marshall of the pa
biological department of the University OF
Pennsylvania has allied himself with scien-
lists of Europe In the effort to discover an
efficient antidote. 1t is proper that this
terprtse should be International, because II
results Of value are obtained the whole hab-
table globe will become their beneficiary.
and perhaps spots on it not now considered
habitable will then become so. DIR. Mar
shall is now in Europe making his expert
ments. but he has enthusiastic co-laborers
working for him at the university and at
the storehouse Of the Philadelphia Zoo. To
this latter post twice a month representa-
tives of the university repair to "milk'
the rattlesnakes and other venomous speci-
mems. The snake is throttled so 1t is i'm
possible for him to use his fangs and the
poison SacS are then pressed. yielding per-
haps teaspoonful Of yellowish venom
When the entire stock has been MIXED the
snakes are returned to the storehouse to
secfete a new supply.
The product is taken to the laboratory
filtered and mixed with salt solutions until
1t crystallizes. and is then consigned to Dr.
Marshall In Europe. who experiments upon
guinea pigs, rabbits and dogs to test its
Pathological effects. Enough progress has
been made to learn that snake venom is not
simple poison but is composed of several
constituents of proteid nature, each of
which acts on one tissue class of cells The
only human subject upon which the anti
toxin has been tested was the cOlored tani-
tor Of the Zoo, who was bitten by an
escaped rattlesnake. and recovered by the
agreeable associates, but their neighbor-
hood will be robbed of most of its terrors
should this scientific quest attain COM
pletely successful Issue.