THE FAMOUS ZIBIBA CURE. 315 
from the market? ‘‘ No, of course not.’ Many a valuable life 
is lost in South Africa, not to mention stock which have cost 
the owner large sums, because of his faith in the efficacy of 
these bogus cures for snake bite. 
The base of nearly all of these proprietary “‘cures”’ is 
strychnine and ammonia. Those drugs, especially the former, 
are occasionally of some service as heart and nerve stimulants, 
but unless administered very carefully they are apt to do more 
harm than good. In cases of Colubrine snake bite (Cobra family), 
strychnine in medicinal doses might be of some little service in 
rousing the nerve-centres. 
A heart stimulant is rarely, if ever, required in serious cases 
of snake bite. Cobra venom itself acts as a powerful heart 
stimulant. So strongly is the heart stimulated that, for several 
minutes after the lungs have ceased to act and somatic (physical) 
death has taken place, the heart is stili beating. Cobra venom 
tends to paralyze the nerve centres, and strychnine injected 
under the skin, or nux vomica swallowed with a little water, 
might prove somewhat beneficial. Electric shocks would pro- 
bably be more efficacious. 
Adder venom, as a rule, acts largely upon the blood, 
dissolving out the red colouring matter (hemoglobin) from the 
red corpuscles, and relaxing the walls of the blood vessels. It 
is, therefore, apparent that a heart stimulant in these cases 
would result in the blood being pumped through the vessels 
with greater force and pressure, resulting in increased hemorrhage 
into the tissues and under the skin. 
The base of one of the popular South African proprietary 
cures is extract of Male Fern Root. This is an excellent remedy 
for tape worm, but not for snake bite. 
THE FAMOUS ZIBIBA CURE—RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTATION. 
In South Africa, particularly in Rhodesia, Transvaal, Swazi- 
land, Zululand, and Natal, there is an alleged native remedy 
for snake bite known by the native name of “ Zibiba,” or 
“ Sebiba.”’ This cure is, according to the native doctors, an 
infallible remedy for snake bite. Natives have absolute faith 
in their doctors. These doctors claim their substance to be 
