THEIR NATURE AND EFFECTS. 137 



of the poison in one place. In the case of the cobra, if 

 the bite has been inflicted on a fairly plane surface, as 

 the ball of the thumb, or the dorsum of the foot, the 

 distance between the punctures will be, as a rule, 

 seventeen millimetres, rarely exceeding twenty, or going 

 below fifteen millimetres ; or, roughly, about seven- 

 tenths of an inch, and varying from three-fifths to 

 four-fifths of an inch. As the skin is movable, and 

 penetration by both fangs may not occur simultaneously, 

 there may 'be a difierence in the distance between the 

 two punctures, due to this cause. The punctures may 

 or may not be visible to the naked eye. Sometimes 

 their site is marked by a few drops of blood or serum 

 exuding; or there may be a scratch, if the victim has 

 withdrawn the part rapidly. Should the snake not have 

 been interrupted, on examining the part with a lens the 

 punctures will be seen. They may be either short, 

 straight cuts, gaping slightly at the centre, or triangular 

 punctures, the area of the triangle being the pit into 

 which the fang has been forced. The diflference seems 

 to depend on whether the snake has made a hasty dart 

 and rapid withdrawal, or whether it was a deliberate and 

 prolonged bite. 



The poison is deposited at a depth belowthe punctures 

 of about three or four millimetres ; it may be more if 

 the fang is able to depress the skin at the spot. The 

 poison, also, is not deposited in the skin itself, but in 

 the areolar tissue beneath ; and this is a point of 



