506 
H. C. YARROW. 
and nerves responded perfectly to weak induced currents, and to 
mechanical stimuli. The heart was arrested in the fullest diastole, 
and was full of firm black clots. The intestines looked congested. 
The spine was not examined.” A number of other experiments 
made by these experienced investigators left no doubt in their 
minds as to the terribly venomous character of the Heloderma 
saliva. 
Before giving notes of the experiments made at the National 
Museum, it may be well to describe the process by which Drs. 
Mitchell and Reichert obtained the saliva, and our own. The 
first consisted in “ provoking the reptile to bite on a saucer edge, 
which it was not disposed to do. When once it had seized the 
saucer it was hard to pull it away, so powerful was the grip of 
the lizard’s jaws. After a moment a thin fluid-like saliva dripped 
in small quantities from the lower jaw. It was slightly tinted 
with blood, due to the violence of the bite, and it had a faint and 
not unpleasant aromatic odor. The secretion thus collected from 
the mouth was distinctly alkaline in contrast to serpent venoms, 
which are all alike acid.” 
Our own method consisted in forcing the lizard to bite upon 
a piece of artist’s gum, which being elastic and yielding, did no 
injury to the teeth and afforded a fair hold. So soon as the saliva 
appeared to be flowing it was carefully swabbed up with pledgets 
of absorbent cotton, which were washed out with glycerine, and 
in this way we had no difficulty in securing all of the fluid needed. 
It was preserved in glycerine the same as our serpent venom. 
The first experiment, November 8, 1887, was as follows : 
Nov. 8, 1887—12:17 p.m. —Held left hindleg of rabbit to 
Heloderma , who grasped it with his teeth, and held on for three- 
fourths of a minute, biting fiercely. 
1:30 p.m. —Rabbit a little lame, but enjoyed eating as much 
as before. 
3 p.m. —No result so far. 
Nov. 9.—Rabbit appears to be perfectly well with the excep¬ 
tion of a very slight lameness of the left hind leg, due to the lac¬ 
erated wound made by the lizard’s teeth. 
12:30 p.m. —Held leg of another rabbit near the mouth of a 
