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animal is dead; it is then taken out of the jar and its mouth 
is swabbed out; next, the fangs having been raised by means of 
a probe, a saucer is placed between the jaws, and, by pressure 
exerted upon the poison-glands laterally and from behind forwards, 
the venom is made to spurt out. The fresh product obtained 
in this way is of avery pale yellow colour, and viscid. It is pro- 
tected from the air and light until completely desiccated; then, 
when it is in sufficient quantity and distributed in flakes round 
the sides of the saucer, like the colours on a palette, it is cautiously 
detached with a spatula, taking care to protect the eyes against 
risk from flying particles of venom. After being placed in well- 
corked bottles, the product is despatched to France. 
In spite of the precautions observed in the course of these 
proceedings, and although the venom has not been extracted until 
after the death of the animal, some regrettable accidents have taken 
place, as we shall show further on. 
Cases of bites from poisonous snakes appear but seldom in the 
statistics of our settlements in India, and, contrary to what is the 
case in the neighbouring English possessions, hardly any deaths 
are officially recognised in the annual returns as being due to 
this cause. It is true that the death statistics are very badly 
authenticated, and that the natives frequently conceal the real 
cause of death. 
We have been informed by Dr. Cordier, Surgeon-Major of the 
Sepoy Corps, that, during a previous tour of duty in Bengal, he 
had successfully treated two cases of cobra-bite with Calmette’s 
serum. 
At the end of 1901 the following note was forwarded to 
us by Dr. Paramananda Mariadassou, Physician to the Karikal 
Hospital : — 
‘ Case I.—In the month of November, 1901, a woman of robust 
habit was brought about midnight to the Karikal Hospital, in a 
semi-comatose condition. Her husband stated that an hour before, 
while lying on a mat stretched on the ground, she felt herself bitten 
