SNAKE-POISON LITERATURE. 61 



these pellucid spiculoe, or darts, that they re- 

 mained unaltered upon my glass for several 

 months." What Mead really saw was nothing 

 more nor less than the drying of the poison.. 



One would have imagined that the source from go^j^^ f^^^ 

 which the position was derived could not have IsderfvedT 

 been very difficult to decide. It appears, how- 

 ever, to have been otherwise, for Mead tells us 

 that he performed an experiment "with a view 

 to the controversy between Redi in Italy and 

 Oharas in France." The former affirmed that 

 "the venom of the viper lay in the yellow liquor 

 of the gums." The latter, in opposition to this 

 theory, espoused a notion, advanced first by Von 

 Helmont, and "placed it altogether in the 

 enraged spirits of the creature, calling this yellow 

 liquor a pure innocent saliva," and citing experi- 

 ments in proof of his theory. But, as Mead very 

 rightly observes, " there is a great deal of differ- 

 ence m the success of the same experiments 

 when faithfully and judiciouly made, and when 

 they are cautiously and timorously managed, 

 lest they should overthrow a darling hjrpothesis." 

 Redi's conclusions were confirmed by Monsieur 

 du Verney and Drs. Areskine and Mead. 



