70 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Mr. R. A. Sterndale exhibited two splendid Heads of the Ovis Polii which had been 

 sent to him for sale at Rs. 200 each. Mr. Sterndale dwelt upon the rarity of this 

 giant sheep, which inhabits the loftly snow-clad mountains north of Kashgar and 

 Yarkand. No English sportsman had, he said, ever succeeded in shooting one of 

 these animals, and it was consequently of the greatest importance that the Society 

 should, if possible, secure one of these heads for its collection, as such an opportunity 

 might not occur again. 



A feeling of regret was generally felt that the funds at the disposal of the Com- 

 mittee were not sufficient to enable them to purchase either of the heads. 



Dr. D. Macdonald then read the following paper on 



Coeiia Bites. 



Members of the Society may have noticed more than two months ago in the daily 

 newspapers the announcement that the stuffer at the V. and A. Museum had been 

 bitten by a tame cobra, and that he died in consequence of the bite. As there are 

 some points of scientific as well as public interest, I have thought it advisable to 

 bring the case before the Society. 



The snake was purchased for the Museum six weeks before the unfortunate acci- 

 dent took place. As usual the fangs were extracted, and in order to make the snake 

 if possible more completely harmless, part of the poison duct was cut out as well. 

 There are three principal parts in the poison apparatus of a cobra — (1) the gland 

 which secretes the poison ; (2) the perforated fang, which pierces the body of the 

 bitten animal, and at the same time permits the poison to pass along its canal, into 

 the wound made by the fang ; and (3) the duct along which the poison passes from 

 the gland to the hollow tooth. 



As may be seen in the illustrations here there are several reserve fangs, very 

 small, varying in size, lying loose in the surrounding flesh, and in a loose capsule. 

 Each of these, one after the other, moves forward to take the place of the perfect 

 fang, when that becomes broken or injured, and becomes firmly united to the maxil- 

 lary bone. Some months are required for the full development of these extra- 

 ordinary or supplementary teeth, but whenever one of these moves forward to 

 take the place of an injured or extracted tooth, it is capable, as soon as it can 

 penetrate the skin of any animal, of inflicting a wound as poisonous as that inflicted 

 by the full grown fang ; for, the gland which secretes the poison is first as active 

 as ever. In the special case referred to, the stuffer took the cobra from the hands 

 of the skinner, who had fed the snake with milk ; but, against all rule, incautiously 

 seized the animal with the hand unguarded. It must have been held loosely, for the 

 snake managed to wriggle round a little, and got one of the new fangs, which was 

 still very minute, into a fold of the skin of the forefinger. The stuffer called out 

 for pincers, and some delay took place. At last the assistant took a quill and simply 

 pushed the small tooth out, and the cobra was then restored to its cage. The stuffer 

 at first made light of the bite, but some carbolic acid was put on the puncture, and 

 he was at once sent to the J. J. Hospital. The well-known symptoms of snake- 

 poisoning were already showing themselves, and active measures were at once taken 

 to counteract the effect of the poison. Too high praise cannot be given to the 

 house-surgeon who continued during the whole of the night to keep up artificial 

 respiration ; and next morning there was marked improvement, which went on until 

 all signs of snake poison completely disappeared. In speaking of the first night's 

 experience the stuffer afterwards related how he was able to see, hear, and feel 

 perfectly; although quite incapable of speech or movement. Every one began to 



