POISONS AND THEIR PREVENTION 181 



them into Martinique, where they are not found in 

 the wild state, as in the island of Guadeloupe. 



Six specimens of the mongoose were forwarded 

 to Calmette from Martinique, and these particular 

 animals, it was stated, had never been set at liberty 

 since they were imported, so that they had had 

 no previous experience of snakes or venom. On 

 arriving at the laboratory, one of these little 

 creatures was placed in a glass cage along with a 

 large cobra. The cobra, at once rising up and 

 dilating its neck, darted with fury upon the mon- 

 goose ; but the latter, thanks to its extraordinary 

 agility, escaped being caught, and took refuge, 

 stupefied and terrified for the moment, in a corner 

 of the cage. This stunned condition, however, 

 did not last long, for just as the incensed cobra 

 was preparing to make a fresh attack upon its 

 insignificant little victim, the latter, with wide-open 

 mouth, rushed and jumped upon the head of its 

 enemy, viciously bit through its upper jaw, and 

 broke its skull in a few seconds. Thus, although 

 in size but a little larger than a squirrel, this tiny 

 creature was more than a match for a cobra two 

 yards long. 



Artificial inoculations of cobra venom into the 

 mongoose fully substantiated all the observed facts 

 as to its remarkable immunity from this poison. 

 A dose sufficient to kill a large rabbit in three 



