Rhea 's 
1872] 
“Reptiles of British India.”—in fact, the classification and 
descriptions are mostly copied literally therefrom. It is 
quite true that Dr. Giinther’s name is frequently intro- 
duced, and that frequent passages borrowed from his 
work are quoted in inverted commas; but, even under 
these circumstances, we fail to see that Dr. Fayrer is quite 
justified in appropriating so largely the results of another 
author’s labours to his own use. It would have been easy 
to state at once that so far as arrangement and classifi- 
cation went, he simply intended to follow those given in 
“The Reptiles of British India,” and to refer his readers 
to that work for information on these subjects. 
In the second section of his work, Dr. Fayrer gives de- 
tails as tothe actual numberof deaths caused bysnake-bites 
in India. These statistics were principally obtained from 
replies to letters on the subject addressed by him to the 
secretaries and political agents of the several governments. 
The result arrived at is that the total number of deaths 
recorded in 1869 in Bengal, the North West Provinces, 
Oude, and certain, other parts of India, embracing alto- 
gether a population of about 120,000,000, was 11,416. 
This total, however, large as it is, Dr. Fayrer fears cannot 
be regarded as the real mortality in these provinces, the 
information upon which it is based having been partial 
and imperfect. Were accurate statistics obtainable from 
the whole of Hindostan, Dr. Fayrer believes that it would 
be found that more than 20,000 people die annually in 
that country from the bites of poisonous snakes. Such 
being the case, there can be no question as to the import- 
ance of the subject discussed in the work before us. 
In his third section Dr. Fayrer speaks of the treatment 
of snake-bite, concerning which, after a certain amount of 
discussion, he does not appear to have arrived at any very 
novel results, Ligatures, scarifications, liquor ammoniz, 
and hot spirits and water, are the remedies in vogue on 
such occasions, and to these Dr. Fayrer gives in his adhe- 
sion. “ The antidotes in addition,” he remarks, “may be 
used by those who have faith in them; but I fear that 
there is reason to believe that they are of no use.” These 
antidotes, we should have explained, comprehend snake- 
stones, arsenic, bromine, ipecacuanha, senega, and, 
“indeed nearly every drug in or out of the pharma- 
copeeia.” 
Numerous reports of cases of snake-bite by medical 
officers of the Indian/Service constitute the fourth section 
of Dr. Fayrer’s work. These have been selected in order 
to give a fair idea of the symptoms and of the duration of 
life after the reception of the bite, and of the pathological 
appearances after the death of the sufferer. 
In the concluding portion of the volume, Dr. Fayrer 
gives an account of numerous experiments undertaken 
with a viewto ascertain the influence of snake-poison on the 
lower animals, and the value of certain modes of treatment. 
These experiments were commenced in October 1867, and 
continued during a period of three years, the object having 
been to determine the effect of the bite. of venomous 
serpents by actual observation, and to test the value of 
supposed remedies both internal and external. The 
snakes with which the experiments were performed were 
the Cobra, the Ofhiophagus or Hamadryad, and the two 
Indian species of the genus Bungarlus, belonging to the 
Elapidz, some of the sea-snakes of family Hydrophiide, 
the Daboia russellit, and the Echis carinata, belonging to 
my <4 
26, 
NATURE 
14! 
the Viperidae, and one species of Trimeresurus, belong- 
ing to the Crotalide, or Pit vipers. Of these Dr. Fayrer 
concludes that as regards deadliness the Cobra, Ofhio- 
phagus, and Daboia are very nearly on a par. “They 
are quite capable of destroying a full-grown dog in half 
an hour, sometimes in much less time ; and frequently,” 
Dr, Fayrer believes, “man has succumbed within an 
equally short period, though generally the time is much 
longer.” The Bungarlus caruleus is believed to be just 
as deadly as the above-named, but not to kill quite so 
quickly. The Bungarlus fasciatus is less fatal. The 
Echis is also very deadly, but from its small size less 
likely to be fatal to man. Of the sea-snakes much less 
is known, but it appears that human life would be in 
great danger from their bite. The Elapine snakes of the 
genus Ca//ophis and the Pit-vipers of Hindostan, although 
capable of giving a painful and even a dangerous bite, 
are not nearly so deadly. 
The symptoms produced by the bite of these different 
serpents vary slightly, but not so as to present any great 
physiological or pathological divergences. All alike point 
to “exhaustion and paralysis of the nerve-centres,” every 
function falling rapidly, and life becoming quickly extinct, 
“The post-mortem appearances frequently reveal nothing 
except the marks of the fangs, or, if the creature has 
survived some hours, infiltration and perhaps incipient 
decomposition of the intestines.” Warm-blooded animals 
are acted upon much more vigorously by snake-poison 
than cold-blooded animals. As regards the latter, poi- 
sonous snakes are not, according to Dr. Fayrer’s expe- 
rience, affected by their own poisons, or by that of one of 
their own species, although the less-poisonous seem to be 
subject to the venom of their more poisonous relatives, 
Lastly, although the blood of an animal killed by snake- 
poisoning destroys life if injected into another animal, 
there can be no doubt that the body of such an animal may 
be eaten with impunity. The fowls and pigeons killed in 
Dr. Fayrer’s experiments were always eaten by the natives 
without any evil consequences following. 
Such are some of the results arrived at from Dr. 
Fayrer’s long and laborious series of experiments. We 
cannot say that there is any great novelty amongst them. 
As regards the treatment of snake-bite, indeed, it seems 
quite conclusively proved that the antidotes, commonly 
so called, are useless, and that it is hardly probable that 
any direct specific will ever be discovered. Cure failing, 
the large mortality now due to snake-bite can, therefore, 
only be materially diminished by prevention ; and the 
simplest mode of prevention —slow as it may be—is, we 
think, that recommended by Dr. Fayrer in his circular of 
January 1870%, zc. to offer small rewards for the destruc- 
tion of the{serpents. The sum expended in this way 
would, as Dr. Fayrer observes, no doubt be large, but the 
saving of human life thereby effected would be great. 
OUR BOOK SHELF 
Forstzoologie. Von Dr. Bernard Altum. I. Saiigethiere. 
(Berlin: Springer, 1872. London: Williams and 
Norgate.) 
Dr. BERNARD ALTUM, Professor of Zoology in the Royal 
Academy of Forestry at Neustadt-Eberswald, gives us, in 
* See page 31 of Dr, Fayrer’s work. 
