POISONS AND THEIR PREVENTION 177 



many as possible of the reptiles were to be cap- 

 tured alive and forwarded to the Director of the 

 Bacteriological Institute, and a plucky Annanite 

 actually succeeded in securing ninety specimens, 

 which were forwarded in a barrel to Dr. Calmette. 



This formidable gift was received with en- 

 thusiasm by the director, who realised the im- 

 portance and scope of the inquiry, which he at 

 once set himself to systematically work out. 



Forty of these reptiles arrived alive, and several 

 were at once sacrificed to secure their venom 

 glands. Each gland, resembling both in size and 

 shape a shelled almond, contains about thirty 

 drops of venom, and in this transparent limpid 

 liquid is embodied a toxin of extraordinary 

 strength. It was, of course, necessary in the first 

 instance to ascertain, within as narrow a limit as 

 possible, the exact degree of toxic power inherent 

 in the venom, and to determine, if possible, the 

 precise lethal dose in respect of each variety of 

 animal experimented upon. 



A correct calculation of the quantity of venom 

 required in every case was, however, found to be 

 quite impossible, for so virulent is the poison that 

 a single drop of an emulsion produced by pound- 

 ing up eight glands in 300 grammes of distilled 

 water is sufficient, when introduced into the vein 

 of a rabbit's ear, to kill it in five minutes. All the 



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