NATURAL HISTORY. 



When a bird or a wild animal is killed, that is the end of it. If photographed, it may still live and 

 its educational and scientific value is multiplied indefinitely. 



CURES FOR SNAKE BITES. 



I have been a reader of Recreation some 

 years, and am much interested in the arti- 

 cles on snake bite and its treatment, espe- 

 cially as I hunt each year in the North- 

 west and Southwest. 



While different writers » have advocated 

 the use of permanganate of potassium for 

 the cure of rattlesnake bite, and others the 

 use of ammonia, I have as yet noticed no 

 reference to Dr. Calmette's Antivenine, 

 which has been used successfully in India 

 to counteract the effects of the cobra ca- 

 pella bite, and in this country for the cure 

 of rattlesnake bite. This Antivenine is put 

 up in vials containing 10 cubic centimeters 

 of serum, and can be bought from the Pas- 

 teur Institute, No. 313 West 23d Street, 

 New York, for $2 a bottle. I have been 

 informed that the officers of the New York 

 Zoological Gardens consider Dr. Calmette's 

 Antivenine the best remedy for snake bite 

 that has yet been discovered, and that it is 

 kept constantly on hand for the treatment 

 of snake bite. 



I enclose a leaflet describing the serum, 

 and giving instruction as to its use and the 

 treatment of the bite, and trust you may 

 reprint this in your valuable magazine, as 

 it may be of benefit to sportsmen who are 

 exposed to rattlesnake bites. 



F. O. Graham, Pittsburgh, Pa. 



The enclosure referred to is as fol- 

 fows : 



Antivenomous serum is taken from 

 horses immunized against the venom of 

 snakes. It will retain its properties if 

 kept in a cool place, away from daylight 

 and in its box. At or above the temper- 

 ature of 50 deg. Cent, or 122 deg. Fahr., 

 the serum becomes inactive. 



If injected in sufficient quantity into per- 

 sons bitten by snakes, the antivenomous 

 serum will prevent the effects of the ven- 

 om, providing symptoms of poisoning are 

 not too far advanced. It must be injected 

 as soon as possible after the bite. Its in- 

 tervention is still efficacious an hour and 

 a half after the bite, with adults, who rare- 

 ly die within 3 hours after the bite of the 

 most dangerous species of snakes. 



The serum is active against the venom 

 of all species of snakes existing in the an- 

 cient and new world. It has been tested 

 with the venoms of the cobra capella and 

 trimeresurus of Asia, the naja haje and 

 cerastes of Africa, the cro talus of Amer- 

 ica, the bothrops of the West Indies, the 

 varieties of pseudechis and hoplocephalus 

 of Australia, and the vipers of Europe. 



The dose to employ varies according to 

 the species of the snake, the age of the per- 

 son bitten and the time of the employment 

 of the remedy. 



Generally 10 cubic centimeters are suffi- 

 cient for children under 10 years and 20 

 centimeters for adults. However, when the 

 bite comes from an extremely dangerous 

 snecies such as the cobra capella, the naja 

 haje, the crotalus, the bothrops of the West 

 Indies, it will be prudent to make 3 or 4 

 injections of 10 cubic centimeters each. 



The first precaution to take is to sur- 

 round tightly the bitten limb as near as 

 possible to the bite and between the latter 

 and the trunk, with a strip of cloth or a 

 handkerchief. The wound should be washed 

 with a solution of chloride of lime in the 

 proportion of 1 gramme to 60 of water pre- 

 viously boiled, which corresponds to o. lit. 

 800 to o lit. 900 of chlorine per 1000 cubic 

 centimeters. The serum must be injected 

 in the sub-cutaneous cellular tissue in the 

 right or left side of the abdomen, and with 

 the usual antiseptic precautions. Then, with 

 the same syringe, inject 8 or 10 cubic centi- 

 meters of the solution 1-60 of chloride of 

 lime into the different parts surrounding 

 the bite or into the position of the bite it- 

 self. These injections are intended to de- 

 stroy locally the venom which has not yet 

 been absorbed. After the injection, the 

 strip can be taken away from the limb. 

 The patient must be rubbed and coffee or 

 tea be administered, and he should be cov- 

 ered warmly so as to provoke an abundant 

 perspiration. The administration of am- 

 monia or alcohol must be avoided, as it 

 would only be injurious. 



It is also unnecessary to cauterize the 

 bitten limb either by a hot iron or by chem- 

 ical substances. 



G. E. Rohrig, M.D., refers in Recreation 

 to permanganate of potassium for snake 

 bite and seems to doubt its value. If he 

 will take up that volume of African Ex- 

 ploration by Paul B. Du Chaillu, entitled 

 "Stories of the Gorilla Country," he will 

 find convincing argument as to the use of 

 permanganate of potassium in cases of 

 snake bite, and if there are any snakes 

 more poisonous than the African varieties 

 they have not yet been exploited. 



Poisonous snakes are still numerous and 

 the wonder is that positive proof is not 

 readily accessible in favor of some remedy. 

 The immoderate use of whiskey is not any 

 more certain than are its effects on various 

 individuals when used as a beverage. The 

 chances in favor of recovery from snake 



392 



