The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1914-10-30
STUDY OF REPTILES
Method of Serpent Farming in
Brazil and India.
South American Institution Where
1900 of the Creatures Are Under
Observation-Habit of Fer.de.
Lance, Most Dreaded Snake.

I
as history, and so long as there have
been snakes, so long has man suffered
| from their bites and hunted for that
which would cure. But it has re-
manned for modern science to build
institutions to cope with this matter
intelligently and Systematically and
for governments to spend thousands
OF dollars annually that the work of
these laboratories may be carried on
and men be able to give their whole
lives to the study of this branch of
medicine.
Naturally these institutions exist
where snakes are most abundant The
serpent is a reptile which loves the
sun. They are about equally distrib-
uted throughout the tropical sections
of the world, and as Brazil and India
are the two largest nations situated
in the torrid zone it is there that are
found the only two government snake
farms in the world; one at Calcutta
| and the other in the outskirts of Sac
Paulo.
guidebooks at Sac Paulo. Everything
is Portuguese; but if you have a
knowledge of French, Spanish or Ger
man you can find somebody, perhaps
hotel waiter, who will tell you what
train to take for Butantan, as the
snake farm is called, says writer in
the New York Sun. The regular re-
ception day of the men in charge Of
the Institute de Butantan is the first
Thursday of the month; but the
snakes may be seen any time, as they
glide, undulate, climb, creep, wriggle,
push their way about in city Of
small beehive-looking houses sur
rounded by moat and fence which
occupies the front yard of the new in
stitute building.
The irsitution is fourteen years old,
but it has Cniy occupied its present
fine home about year. Not ell of the
snakes are kept in this one corral
There is another in which there are a
few trees around at the side. In all
there are about 1900 live snakes in
captivity on the farm which are used
for meteorological and biological re-
search work. There is a large barn in
the rear where they raise pigeons and
guinea pigs for experimental purposes.
Inside the building one may see the
wonderful collection of snakes owned
by the authorities. They have over
800 species, the largest snake collec-
ton in the world, it is said, outside
of the British museum in London.
The average visitor who cares to
spend an hour or two there studying
the reptiles can come away with a
much increased knowledge of the
beauty, structure and habits of these
animals, for they are splendidly pre-
served and classified, the only draw
back being that none of the labelling
is in English.
The purpose of this farm, which
costs the Brazilian government about
$4,000 a year, is not only to extract
the venom and make serum crystals
but to send out literature and lectur-
ers to teach the people of Brazil that
all snakes are not poisonous and that
they must learn which are not so as
to protect them, for the harmless
snakes are helpers in the effort to ex-
terminate those that are dangerous 1t
vas very interesting to watch great
| black mussurama devour a venomous
yellow jalaTaca, an exhibition which
the students arranged for us during
our visit.
The number of deaths in Brazil an
| nually from snake bites is given as
4,SO0, while the number of accidents is
! reckOned at 1920.
Brazil is the home of the most dread
ed of snakes, the noted fer-de-lance.
This snake, SO often spoken of in con-
nection with the islands Of Martinique
and ST. Lucia, is a native of Brazil,
very common in some parts of the
country. 1t has an especial liking for
sugar cane fields, and one is seldom
cut without many of these venomous
reptiles being discovered. 1t was one
Of these snakes that bit the empress
Josephine when she was child and
her life was saved because a nurse
sucked the poison out
Most poisonous snakes avoid men,
but not so this one 1t takes the in
itiative, leaps from it's hiding place
and bites the passer-by, who usually
dies within a few hours. Even if the
victim RECEIVERS his system is gener-
ally affected seriously and he may suf-
fer for years from boils and ulcers
The poison of this snake attacks the
nervous system, producing giddiness
and paralysis.
It is hard to avoid in its native
haunts, where it lies curled up under
heavy leaves, or coiled up in some
birds nest, where it has devoured the
eggs or the young. 1t gives no warn
ing by hiss or rattle of it's presence,
but watches it's chance and then
strikes with blow as direct as that
of fencer.
All animals seem to dread this
snake horse will NOT on with; n