334 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
was injected under the skin of the victim. This also was without 
curative effect. 
Vinegar is another popular remedy which has failed when 
scientifically tested. 
In Australia the natives have great faith in the water cure 
for snake bite. They, or a great many of them, believe that if 
the bitten part is immersed in cold water, or better still, if the 
whole of the body be submerged for an hour or more, the venom 
will be drawn out through the skin. This water cure is believed 
in by numbers of Australian colonists. Cold water has no effect 
in drawing any substance from the blood through the skin. The 
application of hot water, on the contrary, would open the pores 
and cause perspiration to issue forth. In this way it is possible 
some of the venom might be drained out. 
Momentary cold plunges, or dashing cold water over the 
skin would have the effect of stimulating the nerves and in- 
creasing the activity of the brain and other organs, but beyond 
this, cold water can have no actual curative influence in cases 
of snake bite. 
DRIED SNAKE VENOM CURE. 
A medical friend from Bechuanaland writes me as follows: 
“Dried snake poison is used by Bushmen as an antidote for 
snake bite, as they have implicit faith in its efficacy. I never 
saw a case of its being used, but reliable European Kalahari 
Desert hunters assured me that with a supply of this they feared 
no snake bite; that they had repeatedly used it with the most 
satisfactory results. It is rubbed into a scarified surface over 
the site of the punctures inflicted by the snake.” 
I have heard of this “‘ cure”? in many parts of South Africa. 
A sample was sent me. It consisted of the pulverized poison 
glands of a Puff Adder. When mixed with water a little was 
injected into several animals. They all showed symptoms of 
snake venom poisoning, although they eventually recovered, 
owing to the small quantity of venom in the solution. 
The venoms of all species of snakes, when dry, have exactly 
the same poisonous properties as when fresh. In scores of my 
experiments I have used the dried venom. Its effects are as 
powerful as the venom just extracted from the snake. Even 
