SNAKE- VENOMS. 475 



stream of water from a wash bottle, the snake man, steady- 

 ing the tail under his toes, compresses the poison glands 

 gently and gradually with the thumb and forefinger of his 

 right hand. The poison is forced along the ducts, and 

 issues from the mouth in drops ; these are received into a 

 clean watch glass held underneath. 



Cobra venom comes out much more slowly than that of 

 the viper, the poison of the latter being of a more watery 

 consistence. A rather different method is adopted in 

 taking that of the viper, the fangs being so long and the 

 sheaths large, much of the poison would be lost. In the 

 viper, then, a fine piece of string is passed round the fangs ; 

 they are drawn forwards, and made to rest inside a watch 

 glass, which has been put into the mouth. The glands 

 are then compressed in the usual way. 



Regarding the quantity of poison obtained, a fresh, full- 

 grown cobra will give from 10 to 20 drops of poison. A 

 large specimen will give 25 to 28 drops, the quantity being 

 greatest in wet weather ; in captivity, however, the amount 

 gradually diminishes, and is reduced to 5 to 10 drops. A 

 viper will give about 8 to 10 drops of venom when freshly 

 caught. After the poison has been obtained the snake is 

 fed. This is done by means of a small glass funnel passed 

 into the mouth. The snakes were fed each on one egg 

 beaten up in a little water. Snakes kept in captivity in 

 Bombay — and there were about 40 of them at the Grovern- 

 ment Research Laboratory — invariably refused to bite any 

 small animal introduced into their cages. They have 

 been given small rats and toads, and although these, their 

 natural food, have run and dashed about over their bodies, 

 they have done nothing' more than, at times, to hiss 

 loudly. 



Vipers and cobras in the Museum in Bombay always 

 killed rats and toads. The only explanation is that we 



