before the year closed, Sir Joseph Fayrer brought forth some evidence, 

 deduced from experiments, that went to show the poisonous nature of 

 the bite of a Heloderm. 



Early in 1883, however, the matter seemed to be definitely settled 

 for good, and all through the results obtained by the very celebrated 

 experiments of those two distinguished physicians of Philadelphia, 

 Dr. S. Weir Mitchell and Dr. Edward T. Reichert. After a most 

 carefully conducted series of experiments with the saliva taken from 

 living Heloderms, these authorities were prepared to say that it pos- 

 sessed properties of an extremely venomous nature, killing pigeons and 

 small mammals a few moments after they had received an injection of 

 it hypodermically. 



Five years now elapsed with hardly a printed word appearing any- 

 where upon the question of the poisonous or non-poisonous qualities of 

 the saliva of one of these suspected reptiles. Then there appeared an 

 account of the somewhat remarkable series of experiments made with 

 the saliva of living Heloderms by Dr. H. C. Yarrow at the United 

 States Natural Museum, Dr. Yarrow at the time being honorary curator 

 of the Department of Reptiles in that institution. This investigator's 

 methods of procedure were rather different from those adopted by Mit- 

 chell and Reichert, but apparently they were conducted with equal 

 care, and, strange to say, led to an entirely different result. Some 

 eight or nine experiments upon chickens and rabbits went to prove 

 that hypodermic injections of the saliva and bites of angry Heloderms 

 were by no means fatal to those animals, and practically they always 

 recovered from the effects of the same. After presenting the steps of 

 his final trial, this author concludes his account with the following 

 remarks : " This experiment would seem to show that a large amount 



ducing any harm, and it is still a mystery to the writer how Dr. Mit- 

 chell and Dr. Reichert obtained entirely different results. Were 

 it not for the well-known accuracy and carefulness of Dr. Mitchell, 

 it might be supposed possibly that the hypodermic syringe used 

 in his experiments contained a certain amount of Crotalus obrorca 

 venom, but under the circumstances, such a hypothesis is entirely 

 untenable." The following year Dr. Mitchell still adhered to his 

 original opinion, and undoubtedly does at the present time. 



Mr. Samuel Garman, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology °f 

 Harvard University, next made some very interesting experiments, by 

 allowing large and vigorous Heloderms to bite the shaved legs 



