406 THE SNAKES “OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
trunk, scarify the punctures freely to make as much blood as 
possible flow out, and then apply permanganate of potash. If 
a friend be at hand, get him to suck the wound if no permanganate 
be available. Before sucking, the punctures should be scarified 
to facilitate the withdrawal of the venom. 
Bear in mind, especially, that there is grave danger of- 
mortification of the limb setting in, if a ligature is left on too 
long. After half an hour, or as soon as you have applied potash 
and bled the limb, slacken the ligature very slightly for just 
one instant, and tighten up again. Repeat this operation every 
five minutes or so for half an hour to an hour. The object of 
this is to allow only a small quantity of the poisoned blood at 
a time into the body and thus give Nature’s resistant forces a 
chance to cope with, overcome, and expel the poison before a 
fresh supply enters. Should there be a good deal of venom in 
the blood of the ligatured limb, it is obvious that if allowed all 
at once to rush into the body, it would be likely to overcome 
Nature’s resistance and cause death. 
About a yard of strong rubber of about the calibre of a 
lead pencil makes a splendid ligature, as, then a stick can be 
dispensed with. The rubber grips the flesh uniformly all round 
the limb, and if twisted round a couple or more times as tightly 
as possible, its constricting power would be very great. 
MorE REMARKS ON LIGATURING. 
In Figs. 147 and 148 it will be observed only one ligature 
is applied. This, as a general rule, is sufficient, but if enough 
material is at hand to convert into several ligatures, it is desir- 
able to be more thorough, and apply ligatures as shown in the 
accompanying illustrations. When a snake bites, it injects 
venom into the muscular tisue. In the case of the Puff Adder 
the fangs may penetrate about half an inch. In these cases it 
will be necessary to scarify the punctures to that depth. Asa 
general rule, it is advisable to make the cuts about a quarter of 
an inch deep. The venom often spreads out in the tissues, hence 
the necessity of freely cutting the site of the bite so that the 
permanganate of potash, when rubbed in, may reach all the 
venom, or most of it. Now, when snake venom is injected into 
the tissues it is rapidly sucked up by millions of tiny blood-vessels 
