CROTALUS DURISSUS. Gl 



the mouth is parched, and an inextinguishable thirst takes place ; 

 the edges of the wound become gangrened, and at the end of five 

 or six minutes the victim dies in frightful agony. The poison is 

 secreted by a gland of considerable size, situated beneath the eye, 

 the excretory duct of which terminates on each side at the base of 

 the long tubular fang in the upper jaw, which is concealed when 

 the animal is at rest in a fold of the gum, but is capable of being 

 raised instantaneously when the animal is irritated, and about to 

 inflict the fatal wound. 



Opportunities of tracing the symptoms produced by the bite of 

 poisonous snakes, and ascertaining their local effects upon the 

 human body when the bite proves fatal, in this country, are ex- 

 tremely rare. In the Philosophical Transactions for 1810, Sir 

 Evcrard Home has given an interesting case of a man who was 

 bitten by a Rattle-snake, of which the following is an abstract. 

 Thomas Sopcr, a spare man, about twenty-six years of age, whilst 

 teazing a Rattle-snake with a foot rule, dropped it into the cage, 

 and incautiously opening the door to remove it, the snake imme- 

 diately darted at the hand, and bit him once on the thumb and 

 a second time on the fore-finger. This happened about half-past 

 two o'clock, October 17, 1809. He went immediately to a che- 

 mist in the neighbourhood, who, imagining him to be intoxicated, 

 from his language and behaviour, gave him a dose of jalap, and 

 made some trifling application to the bites, but the hand at this 

 time had not swelled. In about half an hour the swelling had 

 extended half way up the fore-arm, and he was admitted into St. 

 George's Hospital. The skin on the back of the hand was very 

 tense, and the part very painful. At four o'clock the swelling had 

 extended to the elbow ; and at half-past four it had reached half 

 way up the arm, and the pain had extended to the axilla ; the 

 skin was cold, pulse quick, conversation incoherent, and he com- 

 plained of sickness. Forty drops of ammonia and thirty drops of 

 ether were given in an ounce of camphor mixture, but did not 

 remain on his stomach ; the wounds were bathed with aqua 

 ammonias purse, and the extremity had compresses wetted with 

 camphorated spirits applied to them; in two hours after, the 

 ammonia and ether were repeated and retained, and the same 



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