The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser., 1913-03-28
MAKE USE OF SNAKES
SCIENTISTS FIND DEADLY REP
TILES AN AID IN MEDICINE.
Captured at Much Risk, Their Peeu-
MARY Value Great-Are "BaIted"
to Induce Them to Eject vaIu-
able Poison.

The majority of snakes are not, as
most people suppose, aggressive in
their habits, but, like the British
viper far more anxious to get out of
the way of the human intruder than
into 1t. But there are few famous
or Infamous, exceptions, and the nam.
ba-one Of the largest Of the cobras,
and native Of Africa-is said to be
the most dangerous reptile in the
world. It will fly at anything and
anybody; goes out Of it's way to pick
a quarrel with every passer-by, and
has even been known to come down
from tree where it was resting, ap-
parently fast asleep, to try conclu-
sions with a man armed with a gun.
The only snake that at all approaches
the mamba in ferocity is the great
which is larger than the mamba and
generally quite as ready to interfere
with any living creature that comes
within its ken. 1t has been known
to chase man on horseback. and so
fast can 1t travel that 1t is said none
but a swift-footed animal has any
chance OF escape. The poison of both
these snakes Is 80 powerful that, as
some one once stated in an examina-
tion paper on reptiles, "even a scient-
ist when bitten by either of these
ferocious creatures, ceases to be inter
ested in the matter after the space of
a few minutes" Among the Austria
liam cobras, the pitvipers of America,
and the great West African vipers,
there are certain species that prefer
the offensive to the defensive method,
and In most cases 1t is the aggressive
varieties that carry the most poison
GUS fangs.
Snake-baiting is an amusement that
few persons would care to indulge in,
but 1t appears that this hazardous
occupation is an actual business in
certain parts of Australia The poison
Is said to be invaluable in the prepara-
tion of particular medicines, and Is
also much sought after by scientists
and experimenters. Its value is such,
indeed, that the snake poison col
lected by the natives of New South
Wales has been sold for as much
as a sovereign to twenty-five shillings
a grain, which works out at the amaz-
ing figure of $4,000 per pound troy
The business Of snake-catching IL
naturally exceedingly dangerous, but
some of the Australian snake hunters
are SO expert that they can take their
quarry with no other weapon but their
hands. While one attracts the rep.
tiles attention another creeps up be-
hind and grasps the snake by the
neck, and 80 holds it until it can be
transferred to a cage or bag. The
reptiles are then taken to their perma-
nent cages, where they are at inter.
walls "baited" with specially pre-
pared instrument, upon whose end
is rubber band encircling a small
sheet of glass. The snake bites
through the rubber and deposits its
venom on the glass, which is then
scraped into phial and the contents
sealed down. The snake, once cap
tured without injury, Is constant
source Of revenue, as the poison is
quickly secreted afresh, ready for the
next batting" Thus, at last, the
snake, whose reputation has hitherto
been mainly earned in its capacity for
destroying life, may now be said to be
an important agent in its preserva-
ton.