4i6 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



bite on the leg of a full-grown Chacma baboon or a large dog, 

 and if 25 c.c. of anti-venene was immediately afterwards injected 

 under the skin, the animals recovered, although a certain degree 

 of haemorrhage and swelling occurred. The animals were some- 

 times in a state of nerve depression for a couple or three days. 

 If five drops of Puff Adder venom were injected with a syringe 

 under the skin, and a dose of 25 c.c. of anti-venene was 

 injected in a similar manner before poisonous symptoms had set 

 in, the animals recovered in all instances, although in some cases 

 they showed symptoms of poisoning such as haemorrhage, 

 swelling, and nerve depression. The hair in some instances came 

 off for several inches around the site of the injection of the venom, 

 and the skin was shed, along with dried blood and dead tissue. 



When 20 c.c. of anti-venene were injected direct into 

 a vein immediately after the injection of the venom into the 

 tissues, the only parts affected were the vicinity of the punctures. 

 One of the animals was killed after it had apparently made a 

 complete recovery, and it was found that there was rather 

 extensive haemorrhage about the site of the entry of the venom 

 and along the leg for a short distance. By the appearance of the 

 tissues, it was evident the dead blood was being absorbed, and 

 the injured tissues were beginning to assume their normal 

 appearance. 



When 25 c.c. of serum (nearly one oz.) were injected direct into 

 a vein after symptoms of poisoning had set in, the animals in all 

 instances recovered, although they seemed to have rather a bad 

 time. But after pronounced signs of poisoning appeared, I 

 found that, although the injection of 25 c.c. in several places 

 under the skin delayed deatli, it did not in every instance 

 avert a fatal issue. 



From these experiments, therefore, I was convinced that 

 unless two doses, each of 20 or 25 c.c, were injected sub- 

 cutaneously death would sometimes occur in the human subject 

 if very serious symptoms of poisoning had already set in. 



The small animals usually died if a Puff Adder delivered a 

 full bite, or if six or eight drops of the venom were injected into 

 the muscles with a syringe followed by an injection of 10 c.c. 

 of anti-venene under the skin. In these cases, 10 c.c. of the 

 anti-venene was evidently not sufficient to overtake and neutralize 

 enough of the venom in time to save the lives of the creatures. 



