SNAKES 95 



an animal shows that the red blood corpuscles have 

 been broken up, and the clotting of the blood when 

 drawn off into a vessel is much retarded. In the case 

 of man, death from a Cobra bite ensues in three to six 

 hours, but it is even more rapid in the case of small 

 mammals such as rabbits. The symptoms of Viper- 

 poisoning are very different ; in cases where a very 

 venomous species, such as the Daboia Viper of India, 

 has injected a lethal dose, the power of equilibrium 

 of the stricken animal is upset, but there is no paralysis ; 

 violent convulsions ensue and terminate in death in 

 ten to fifteen minutes ; examination of the blood shows 

 that extensive clotting has taken place in the veins 

 and arteries, causing suspension of the heart's action. 

 Less powerful doses of the poison bring about fainting 

 fits, and the animal may live for many hours, or even 

 recover ; in these cases there is no intravascular 

 clotting, but the blood corpuscles are broken up, and 

 the walls of the small blood-vessels and capillaries 

 are injured, so that there is much extravasation of 

 blood from the various organs of the body. When 

 Dr. Calmette discovered an antidote for Cobra poison, 

 " anti-venin " as it is termed, it was hoped that this 

 would be efficacious in all cases of snake-bite, but 

 now that we know how different is the action of Viper 

 poison and Colubrine poison, it is not very surprising 

 to learn that it is of no avail in cases of Viper-bites. 

 It is, however, certainly surprising that the anti-venin 

 of Cobra is inefficacious in cases of poisoning from 

 Kraits, which in their symptoms are very like Cobra- 

 poisoning ; yet such is indeed the case, and it is now 

 certain that these anti-venins, many of which have 

 been prepared, are specific in their action, so that 



