374 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
20° C, The calcium chloride sucks up the moisture in the air and 
makes it very dry. Just previous to transferring the dry venom 
to a bottle for storage, it would be advisable to dry (desiccate) it 
with calcium chloride. However, in South Africa I have never 
had occasion to use calcium chloride. The air dries the venom 
rapidly. Then, if the stopper of the bottle is a good one, 
the venom will keep dry indefinitely. With Puff Adders 
and most other Vipers, a wine-glass is better than a watch- 
glass, owing to the long fangs rendering it more or less difficult 
to operate with so shallow a receptacle as a watch-glass. More- 
over, it is much safer. 
Another method, which was employed in India by Dr. W. 
Hanna, M.A., M.B., is explained as follows :—Having shaken 
or pulled the snake, be it Cobra or Viper, out of the box 
to the ground, he allows it to make off, and following, he grasps 
its tail with his left hand and elevates it, so that the snake is 
unable to turn upon him—it simply hisses loudly. 
He allows it to steady its head on the ground, and while so 
doing, he gently but firmly places a strong slender stick across its 
neck, pinning its head down. He now lowers his left hand 
and places the tail under his naked left foot, and with the 
left hand grasps the neck firmly, close to the head, the stick 
keeping the head steady until he has accomplished his object. 
By taking the tail in his right hand he has now complete control 
of the snake. His first object is to take the poison from the 
snake. After washing the mouth (if mucus or dirt be present) 
with a fine stream of water from a wash bottle, the snake man, 
steadying the tail under his toes, compresses the poison glands 
gently and gradually, with the thumb and forefinger of his right 
hand. The poison is forced along the ducts, and issues from the 
mouth in drops; these are received into a clean watch-glass 
held underneath. 
If a snake is freshly killed, the glands may be dissected out 
and the duct tied. Unless this operation is carefully and gently 
performed, nearly all the venom will be squeezed out and lost. 
It is better to remove the skin from the nose, raise the poison 
ducts with the tip of a penknife, tie them with fine thread, and 
then proceed to remove the glands. If the poison ducts be tied 
in this manner, little or no venom will be lost. 
If the glands are quickly dried and stored in a well-corked 
