EFFECTS OF SNAKE VENOM. 359 
It must, however, not be inferred that the cat is as strongly 
immune to all venoms, for cats bitten by Cape Cobras died in 
fifteen to twenty minutes. 
Snakes kept in captivity, unless under strictly natural con- 
ditions out-of-doors, and in their native country, do not thrive, 
and their venom becomes less in quantity although not usually 
poorer in quality. I have noticed that snakes which have been 
subjected to different climatic conditions to those of their native 
habitat deteriorate the most. In fact, they invariably refuse all 
food and die in a short time. Some species of snakes are so 
susceptible to a sudden change of environment that they perish 
in a month or so, although the temperature of the air be main- 
tained at that of their native haunts. 
EFFECTS OF SNAKE YENOM. 
According to Fraser, about 30 mgrms. (about half a drop) of 
Indian Cobra venom is sufficient to killa man. This means that 
a full-sized Cobra would be able to eject enough venom at a 
single full and complete bite to kill about twenty men. 
Dr. Hanna and others state that the Indian Cobra yields as 
much as twenty drops of venom. Dr. Hanna mentions having 
obtained as much as twenty-eight drops. : 
In experiments with the venom of the Cape Cobra I found 
that one drop diluted in a little water and injected into the 
tissues of the leg of a large monkey killed it in half an hour’s 
time. A fraction of a drop was sufficient to kill a rat and 
a fowl within half an hour. One drop was sufficient to kill 
adult Chacma Baboons within three hours. Judging from the 
effects of Cobra venom on the higher animals such as monkeys, 
I consider that one full drop is a fatal dose for a strong 
healthy man. This fact makes the treatment of snake bite a 
most complicated one. It will clearly be seen that if a Cobra or 
Mamba should succeed in delivering a full bite, many times a 
fatal dose is likely to be injected; therefore, in spite of prompt 
applications of permanganate of potash, ligatures and _ the 
injection of serum, the victim might die. The only hope in 
these cases is the copious intravenous injection of anti-venine 
serum. 
Cobras and Mambas are far more to be dreaded than Vipers 
