Hy courtesy New York Zoological Society 

 John Toomey, of the New \ ork Zoological I'urk. who, owing to the use of antivenomous serum. 



M 



has recently recovered from the bite of a rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox. 

 reptile house at the park 



Mr. Toomey has charge of a section of the 



Hospital, and Dr. Gustav Langman, an 

 authority on snake poison, besides Mr. Dit- 

 mars and Dr. William T. Hornaday, Director 

 of the New York Zoological Park, to witness 

 the dressing of the wound by the attending 

 physician and also to pass on the measures 

 to follow. After thoroughl}' examining the 

 bitten limb Dr. Brazil concluded that Mr. 

 Toomey was on the road to speedy recovery 

 and that an injection of another tube of 

 serum was unnecessary. Speaking of the 

 case later, Mr. Ditmars said, "I attribute 

 the marvelous recovery to this truly specific 

 serum which marks the crowning point of 

 years of imtiring research on the part of Dr. 

 Brazil." It was noted at the time how re- 

 markable it was that from the bite of so 

 large a snake as this Texas rattlesnake, no 

 neurotoxic effects whatever were in evidence. 

 This ab.sence was the direct result of the 

 early administration of Dr. Calmctte's serum 

 which is more valuable in combating the bites 

 of elapine snakes, who.se virus attacks the 

 nervous sy.stem, than it is for counteracting 

 the effects of rattlesnake poison. 



Two weeks after the accident Mr. Toomey 

 left the hospital. It is expected that he will 

 be wholly recovered in a short time and 

 that he will suffer no recurrence of symp- 

 toms in the future. 



In the United States, where records of 

 snake bite are of rare occurrence, one hears 

 very little of the results achieved by use of 

 the various reliable antivenomous serums. In 

 countries infested with deadly snakes, how- 

 ever, and where the natives are superstitious 

 and reverence the serpent, and also walk 

 about barelegged, thus exposing themselves 

 to the lurking danger, deaths resulting from 

 snake bite are a matter of daily occurrence. 

 In India alone, over twenty thousand deaths 

 a year are attributed to the various poisonous 

 snakes, especially the cobras, which are 

 diabolical in their temper, bold and aggres- 

 sive, and at times actually inhabit the native 

 dwelling places. It is from these countries 

 that we hear of the remarkable efficacy of 

 tlie.se antitoxins, which will, no doubt, go 

 down in history as one of the great medical 

 gifts to maiikiiid. 



