118 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 



of a cobra bite, the local symptoms will be little marked, but some 

 signs of intoxication of the bulb will rapidly appear. On the 

 contrary, in the case of a bite from a Russell's viper, the local 

 symptoms, extremely intense, will predominate at first. 



Having had the unfortunate exiDerience of being bitten twice by 

 snakes — in 1904 by a cobra (Colubridse) , in 1910 by a Cerastus 

 viper a (Viperidae) — it may be of interest if I give an account of my 

 personal observations. 



(1) Bite of Cobra. — On June 10, 1904, at 1 p.m., I was bitten on 

 the right thumb by a cobra, 1"20 metre in length, which I was 

 preparing to dissect in the belief that the animal was dead. Nine 

 days before I had emptied its poison glands, and since that time 

 it had completely fasted. At first the pain was very slight. At 1 • 15 

 there was a sensation of numbness in the whole right arm, in spite 

 of the ligatures made immediately after the bite at the base of the 

 thumb and in the middle of the forearm. At 1" 35 I attempted to 

 make an injection of 20 cc. Calmette's serum into my side, but a 

 slight fainting fit in the middle of the operation stopped me. Upon 

 reviving, I finished th^e injection, and, in spite of my extreme 

 weariness, I prepared a second sjnringe of 10 cc. of Calmette's serum. 

 At 2 . 30 by struggling against an insurmountable sleepiness , I made 

 the second injection. It was more difficult to perform than the 

 first, because of the numbness of my right arm. A second fainting 

 fit followed the injection. At 5 p.m., feeling increased weariness 

 and experiencing some nausea, I again injected 20 cc. of serum. 

 The operation was long and laborious and provoked another fainting 

 fit, this time of much longer duration. But soon after I felt much 

 better ; the sensation of violent thirst had diminished and the 

 sleepiness was not so overpowering ; I could stand up and walk 

 about without tottering. During the night I was not much troubled, 

 except by a peculiar and distinct sensation of torpor which remained 

 during my sleep. On awakening there was a slight dizziness, but 

 not bad enough to prevent my walking about. On the following 

 day my condition gradually assumed normality ; there were no 

 secondary effects produced locally by the venomous fangs. How- 

 ever, the albuminuria (1 -20 gramme the first day) observed from 

 the date of the bite gradually decreased during the following forty 

 days. I impute the rapidity of the phenomenon of intoxication 

 to a direct penetration of the venom into a small vein. 



(2) Bite of Cerastus vi'pera. — On October 6, 1910, at 3 p.m., a 

 viper 30 cm. in length, escaped from my hands just as I had collected 

 its venom. In trying to secure the animal on the table, I pressed 

 it against my side, and I was bitten on the front part of the left 

 thigh, a hand's breadth above the knee. I experienced an immediate 

 sensation of lancinating pain along the lower limb. I quickly made 

 a tight ligature at the top of the thigh, and squeezing the wound as 

 hard as possible, I applied a l/60th solution of hypochlorite of lime. 



