REMARKS ON SOME FLORIDA SNAKES. 



127 



should be applied above and below the wound to retard, as much as 

 possible, the poison entering the circulation. A strong solution of 

 permanganate of potash * might be injected deeply into the wounds 

 made by the fangs. If that could not be obtained, carbolic acid 

 might answer, the object being to cauterize the wound and prevent, 

 if possible, the absorption of the poison. 



A good, stiff dose of brandy or whisky should be given, with a 

 view to counteracting the ill effects on the nervous system produced 

 by fear. Strychnia might 

 then be given internally, 

 and the heart action watched 

 closely. If the patient can 

 be kept alive and conscious 

 for twenty-four hours there 

 is a good chance of recovery. 



In India the English gov- 

 ernmentnot long ago offered 

 a large sum of money as a 

 reward for the discovery of 

 an antidote for cobra poison. 

 A French physician suc- 

 ceeded in saving a certain 

 percentage of small mam- 

 mals which had been bitten by a cobra, by hypodermic injections of 

 pure chloride of lime (chloride of calcium), one part of the chloride 

 to eleven parts of water, and also made use of stimulants. How 

 this treatment would succeed in the case of a rattlesnake is ques- 

 tionable. 



Contrary to the general idea, the Indians have no antidote for 

 rattlesnake poison. I have talked with many, and they assure me 

 that if an Indian is bitten by a rattlesnake (which they rarely ever 

 are) " he no get well." 



Some very large rattlesnakes have been killed in Florida. I have 



* Hypochloride of calcium would be indicated in preference to permanganate of potash, if it could be used 

 at once. 



