476 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
Snakes kept a few months in captivity yield less than one half the venom 
that they are capable of in the wild condition. 
Cobras and Mambas are far more to be dreaded than Adders, because 
their venom acts so rapidly. 
Adder venom being much slower, there are better opportunities of 
applying remedial measures with success. 
Solutions of venom in pure glycerine will keep indefinitely. 
In a liquid condition it will keep good a couple of months in a corked 
bottle. It then decays and loses its poisonous properties. 
Cobra venom specially paralyzes the nerve centres of respiration in 
the top of the spinal cord, known as the Medulla Oblongata. 
Most snake venoms act upon the nerve cells of the central nervous 
system. : 
One drop of the venom of a Cape Cobra injected into the hind leg of a 
dog killed it in one hour five minutes. 
Boomslang venom, bulk for bulk, is as powerful as Cobra venom. One 
drop will kill a large dog or a monkey. 
Curare, a South American poison of vegetable origin, like snake venom, 
has no bad effect if swallowed, but if injected under the skin acts like 
snake venom. 
There are people in South Africa who actually believe that if a man be 
innoculated with snake venom, no poisonous serpent will ever attempt 
to bite him. They say the snake knows by instinct he is proof, so they 
refuse to waste their venom. Snake “instruction” is evidently badly needed. 
Snake venom dissolves readily in water. It is usually injected in 
solution with water when experimenting. 
Snake venom may be dried between slips of glass and stored away 
inadry place. It will keep fresh for a lifetime. 
One of the methods of treating snake bite in India is to sit round the 
bitten person and chant charms. 
For technical details of the anatomy of Snakes, see “‘ Encyclopedia 
Britannica,” 11th edition, I9It. 
Snakes are not as a rule proof against their own venom, but it usually 
takes a big dose to kill an adult snake. 
Some snakes die when bitten by other snakes, or if venom is injected. 
Others are not affected. 
The poison of one snake is not an antidote to the venom of another. 
If rubbed into the wound it considerably increases the chances of death. 
The head of a venomous snake is often dried and pulverized. It is 
popularly supposed to be a cure for snake bite. It is the very reverse. 
Quinine is of no antidotal value as a remedy for snake bite, either 
injected or applied to the wound, 
If a large Cobra bites a dog or other animal, and if the bite be full and 
complete, enough venom gets into the circulation within two seconds to 
cause death. Permanganate of potash and ligaturing fail to avert a 
fatal issue. 
An excessively minute quantity of Cobra venom is sufficient to kill 
a fowl or rabbit. 
