126 



CHAPTER X. 



THE ABBEU— Continued. 



THE EFFECT OF ADDER VENOM. 



EFFECT ON ANIMALS — ON HUMAN BEIN(4S — TREATMENT OF 

 ADDER-BITE — CASES RECORDED — POPULAR CURES. 



Effect on animals. — The adder uses its poison 

 apparatus for one of two purposes: either to secure 

 its food or in self-defence. In the case of food the 

 prey is by no means always killed in this way ; 

 more often indeed it is swallowed alive, and the 

 poison-fangs only used in the case of large or very 

 refractory articles of diet. 



Many animals perish every year even in this 

 country from adder -bite, and probably many that 

 are found dead on hills and commons are really the 

 victims of our venomous reptile. Those most fre- 

 quently bitten are dogs, sheep, and cattle. Mr C. 

 IST. Eogers informs me that in Cornwall dogs are 

 often killed from adder-bite, and that this is more 



