L62 



KNOWLEDGE 



[July 2, 1894. 



principle from the venom which he called riperin or 

 echidnin. He also found a yellow colouring matter, a 

 substance soluble in alcohol, albumen, fatty matter, 

 chlorides, and phosphates. This riperin was a glittering, 

 transparent mass, containing nitrogen, which detached 

 itself in scales from the glass on drying, and which on 

 injection produced all the symptoms of viper poisoning. 



Later research has shown that, as in the case of cobra 

 and rattlesnake poison, the venom of the viper contains 

 more than one albuminoid substance — a pcptcme soluble and 

 incoagulable in water, and a iildhulin coagulable and 

 insoluble.'" Dr. Winter Blyth and Dr. Guiseppe Badaloui 

 have independently expressed their opinion that the active 

 principle in the poisons of the rattlesnake and the viper 

 tribe is identical. Though this has not been thoroughly 

 settled, the similarity of the symptoms produced by the 

 poisons makes a close resemblance highly probable. 



Five years ago Dr. Weir Mitchell published an account 

 of his later work on crotalus venom, from which it appears 

 that he has been able to separate four albuminoid bodies 

 — three globulins, all with difl'erent chemical reactions, and 

 one peptone. In the case of the cobra he was only able to 

 separate one ylobulin and one peptone. The amount of the 

 venom of the Indian viper [Daboia) at his disposal was too 

 small for him to prove whether it contained more than 

 one globulin. In the venom of the moccasin (Ancistrodon 

 piscivoriw), however, he found three. Whether the venom 

 of our own viper also contains three, as is very probable, 

 has yet to be determined. 



The quantity of the globulins present is believed to be 

 of importance, as throwing some light on the different 

 physiological effects of the venoms of different serpents. 

 The crotalus poison was found to contain 2I-6 per cent., 

 while in cobra venom only 1-7.5 per cent, was present. 

 Comparative study of the physiological effects showed that 

 the globulins tended to prevent the blood coagulating, 

 while the peptones had little power to prevent this, and 

 were the active agents in breaking down the tissues. The 

 peptone of the cobra venom also seems to have a more 

 decided power of producing convulsions than the rattle- 

 snake peptone. 



These observations received corroboration from the 

 experiments of Brunton and Fayrer, who showed that in 

 the case of bites from colubrine or viperine serpents the 

 blood remained fluid — 



1. When a large quantity of cobra poison was injected ; 



2. In the case of ^'iper bites {e.g., the Daboia Fiussellii) ; 



3. Nearly always in the case of man bitten by either ; 

 and that the blood coagulated — 



1. When only a small quantity of the cobra venom was 

 injected ; 



2. In the case of small animals bitten by the cobra. 



It thus appears that whereas in the case of viperine 

 venom the blood invariably remains fluid, cobra poison 

 often only partially prevents coagulation, and in some cases 

 not at all. Another important difference is that after the 

 bite of a viper subsequent blood poisoning often follows, 

 while, should there be recovery from the first results of the 

 cobra venom, no such after effect is likely. 



If the venoms oif the rattlesnake and the common viper 

 be of similar composition, the difference in the virulence 

 of the symptoms produced by them may be accounted for 

 (1) by the difference of climate, and (2) by the much 

 larger quantity of venom which the rattlesnake can inject. 

 Fontana noticed the effect of climate and atmospheric 

 temperature on the power of the viper, pigeons recovering 

 readily on certain occasions. These observations were 



See Knowledge, June, 1894. 



confirmed by Badaloni in 1883. On December 13th a 

 mouse bitten by a viper died in three-quarters of an hour. 

 On the 17tli, when the temperature had fallen to zero, 

 a mouse was placed m a cage with four vipers, which at 

 once attacked it, and in all it received eight bites. It 

 seemed prostrated for some time, but in half an hour was 

 as well as before. In summer a mouse bitten by a viper 

 succumbs in less than ten minutes. Dr. Mitchell has found 

 that cold weather has no effect in diminishing the power 

 of the poison, so that the reptile must lose its power of 

 secretion. The rattlesnake, too, seldom attempts to bite 

 in the spring, and when it does so its venom is milder. 

 Valentin found that confinement had a similar effect. A 

 large viper, after being kept for four months, could not by 

 any means be persuaded to bite. After its death some of 

 the fluid squeezed from the poison duct was found to be 

 almost without effect on frogs. The same happened in the 

 case of other vijjers. 



There can be no doubt that the quantity of poison injected, 

 and the comparative size and strength of the animal bitten, 

 have much to do with the severity of the symptoms. Fontana 

 found that one four-thousandth of a grain was sufficient 

 to kill a sparrow, while six times as much was required to 

 kill a pigeon. Moreover, animals bitten several times by a 

 viper, or by more than one viper, succumbed much more 

 rapidly than those receiving only one bite. Small dogs 

 were easily killed by a single bite, while larger ones offered 

 much more resistance to the poison, and in many cases 

 recovered. Five bites from three vipers were not enough 

 to kill a dog weighing sixty pounds. From these results 

 he calculated the amount that would be necessary to kill 

 a man. Assuming that the average viper secreted about 

 two grains of the venom, he computed that it would require 

 the entire venom of six vipers to kill an ox and of two to 

 kill a man. 



It has been stated that viper venom destroys the life of 

 plants, but the experiments of Oilman are too inconclusive 

 to establish his assertion ; and on the other hand. Dr. 

 Mitchell states that there is no reason for such a belief, as 

 does also the French surgeon Viaud-Grand-Marais. It is 

 interesting to notice in this connection that Darwin found 

 that the cobra venom acted as a powerful stimulant to the 

 protoplasm of the cells of the J>rosera. 



All warm-blooded animals are susceptible to the poison, 

 though in difl'erent degrees. The cat offers a marked 

 resistance, and has been known to survive bites. Vipers 

 being made to bite each other, which they are very un- 

 willing to do, readily recover, and it has been found that 

 many invertebrate animals suffer no ill consequences. A 

 horse-leech bitten several times by a strong viper was on 

 the following day perfectly well. Snails and slugs also 

 recovered in every instance, the majority covering the 

 bitten part v.-ith their viscous secretion. 



As in cases of cobra poisoning, the reputed remedies for 

 the bite of the viper are worth very little. Alcohol does 

 not diminish the virulence of the venom, and an alcoholic 

 solution acts as powerfully as the fresh poison. In 1787 

 the Royal Academy of Sciences of Paris caused experiments 

 to be made to test the efficacy of olive oil as an antidote, 

 and came to the conclusion that it was of no use. Potas- 

 sium permanganate may be of use occasionally in destroying 

 poison not yet absorbed. In estimating the value of an 

 antidote it should be borne in mind that in the case of the 

 more common European vipers, owing to the small quan- 

 tity received from a bite, the mortality is very slight, and 

 that therefore recoveries after the use of some special 

 treatment would probably have taken place as well without 

 it. In England it is only those of weak constitution who 

 have much to fear from the bite of a %dper, even in the 



