130 BRITISH SERPENTS. 



One of the few recorded fatal cases of adder-bite is 

 that published in the ' British Medical Journal ' of 

 July 15, 1893, by Dr P. P. Jennings and Dr R C. 

 Fraser, from Llwynpia, Glamorganshire. As this case 

 was observed in great detail by these two medical 

 men. it will be well to reproduce it here, minus the 

 technical terms used in the strictly medical report : — 



"A. B., aged 11J years, whilst playing on the side 

 of a mountain in Glamorganshire on June 3, 1893, 

 was bitten by a snake. He saw a bird resting on 

 a fern, fluttering its wings ; for the purpose of captur- 

 ing it he extended his hand, and was immediately 

 bitten by a reptile lying concealed. The bite was 

 at once sucked by some one who had witnessed the 

 incident, and the boy ran homewards. 



" He was seen professionally within three-quarters 

 of an hour following the receipt of the bite. At this 

 time he presented two distinct punctures, situated 

 about one-tenth of an inch- apart, on the middle of 

 the right forefinger. There was no swelling, no 

 tenderness on pressure, no complaint of pain in the 

 finger. The case was regarded as a bite from an 

 ordinary ' mountain snake,' and was treated accord- 

 ingly. The boy appeared to be of particularly robust 

 physique for his age. 



" At 5 p.m. — an hour and a half after beino- bitten 

 — he was decidedly drowsy, and gave evidence of 

 great pain in the affected finger on being roused ; 

 vomiting had taken place ; his temperature was 



