414 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



Somerset East, who is an enthusiastic advocate of scientific 

 methods for the treatment of snake bite, determined personally to 

 test the anti-venene serum which is now specially prepared for 

 the treatment of snake bite. 



Procuring a kid (goat) five months old, he allowed a large 

 Puff Adder, which had been freshly caught, to bite it upon the 

 thigh. The snake gripped hard and hung on, worrying the flesh 

 for one minute. It was then removed, and a bottle of anti- 

 venene containing 25 c.c, which is almost an ounce in bulk, was 

 injected under the skin of the bitten animal. It died in an hour. 

 In this case the snake bit fully, and was permitted to retain its 

 hold for the space of a minute. Being a fresh snake, something 

 like ten or fifteen drops of venom must have been injected. Three 

 drops of the venom were sufficient to kill the kid within a few 

 hours. One dose of anti-venene serum was not sufficient to 

 neutralize enough of the venom in this instance to avert a fatal 

 issue. 



I explained this to Mr. Norsworthy, and he decided to try a 

 more satisfactory test. 



Taking a tough old goat, an adult male Puff Adder which had 

 been in captivity a few weeks, was induced to bite it. It struck 

 the goat on the hind leg just above the hoof and instantly with- 

 drew. It struck again near the same spot. Both bites were 

 of the nature of pecks. The snake did not grip or retain its hold 

 for more than an instant. 



About an hour later the limb began to swell from the site 

 of the punctures. The swelling gradually extended upwards and 

 along the abdomen. The leg swelled to three times its normal size. 



The goat was bitten at 11 a.m. and was kept in a warm shed. 

 At 7.30 p.m. haemorrhage began near the site of the bites and 

 up the limb. At 7 a.m. the following morning, the swelling 

 had extended all along the abdomen and between the forelegs, 

 and the haemorrhage had spread nearly all over the body, the 

 swollen skin being now purplish-black owing to the extensive 

 haemorrhage through the walls of the capillary blood-vessels. 

 The goat remained in this condition until it died twenty-six 

 hours twenty-five minutes after being bitten. It fell down 

 on the ground one and a half hours before death and did not 

 rise again. Yet it ate food at intervals until shortly before 

 it died. 



