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CHAPTER XV. 



TEE ATM EN T OF POISONOUS SNAKE-BITES IN MAN 



AND ANIMALS. 



OBJECTS OF THE TREATMENT : TECHNIQUE OF 



ANTIVENOMOUS SEBUM-THEBAPY. 



In all countries the remedies recommended for the bites of 

 poisonous snakes are innumerable, and native pharmacopoeias 

 abound in so-called infallible recipes. 



Pliny himself wrote on this subject as follows : — 

 " For poisonous bites, it is customary to employ a liniment made 

 of fresh sheep-droppings, cooked in wine. Eats cut in two are 

 also applied ; these animals possess important properties, especially 

 at the epoch of the ascension of the stars, seeing that the number 

 of a rat's fibres wax and wane with the moon, 



" Of all birds, those that afford most assistance against snakes 

 are vultures. The black ones are the weaker. The odour of their 

 feathers when burnt puts snakes to flight. Provided with a 

 vulture's heart one need not fear encounters with snakes, and can 

 also defy the wrath of wild beasts, robbers, and princes. 



" Cock's flesh, applied while still warm, neutralises the venom 

 of snakes. The brains of the bird, swallowed in wine, produce the 

 same effect. The Parthians, for this purpose, make use of chicken's 

 brains. The fresh flesh of the pigeon and the swallow, and owls' 

 feet burned, are good against snake-bites. 



" If one has been bitten by a snake or by any venomous animal, 

 another method of cure is to take salt fish and wine from time 

 to time, so as to vomit in the evening. This remedy is chiefly 



