120 
ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 
A MODERN SNAKE BUNGALOW 
A close-up view of a snake shelter at Sao Paulo. 
and their characteristic lurking places are 
clearly established. While there are fifteen 
species of rattlesnakes in this country, each is 
equipped with a rattle, and it is simpler to 
consider them as a type, so we may clarify 
the matter by considering four “kinds” of 
dangerous serpents in this country—the rattler, 
copperhead, moccasin and coral snake. 
The greater number in the ranks of the 
camping, hiking and touring enthusiasts have 
little or no knowledge about avoiding trouble, 
whether from poisonous serpents or such a 
formidable enemy as the malaria mosquito, that 
attacks. Occasionally camps are unwisely es¬ 
tablished on mountain sides infested with rat¬ 
tlers, and others are located near tidal marshes. 
There is a growing request for information 
helpful in the avoidance of reptiles, as well as 
in the treatment of bites, and the Society is 
now preparing the same for general distribu¬ 
tion. There also is an urgent need for anti- 
venomous serums for use in case of accident. 
We have taken up this matter with the 
larger laboratories, and conferences have led 
to the following conclusions: A serum for 
snake bite cannot be produced in this country 
on a commercial basis; that is to say, with 
any profit for the producer. The cost of pro¬ 
duction would overbalance the demand. Con¬ 
ferring along other lines, that of largely phil¬ 
anthropic production, and sale of the tubes 
at the standard prices of other antitoxic serums 
and thus partially defray the costs of prepar¬ 
ation, another objection was encountered: This 
was to the effect that mortality figures from 
snake-bite in the United States are so low that 
it would not be worth while to engage a staff 
of serum specialists in the production of an 
antidote, when such workers could be more 
practicably engaged in experimentation cal¬ 
culated to produce more efficacious treatment 
of diseases resulting in high mortality. 
We contend that the training of a small staff 
to produce specific anti-venomous serums for 
the treatment of bites of the four distinct types 
of North American poisonous snakes would 
not wholly deprive the laboratories of special¬ 
ists already at work. Although mortality 
figures now are low, nevertheless they are in¬ 
creasing, and there is considerable danger and 
much fear of poisonous reptiles. To meet the 
emergency of bites of poisonous reptiles, we 
are altogether dependent upon the courtesy 
of the Brazilian Government for the proper 
serums. 
As the situation now stands, the New York 
Zoological Society is annually made the reposi¬ 
tory of about fifty tubes of serum specifically 
produced for the bites of the dangerous reptiles 
of this country. This is the sole supply for 
the entire United States, and we could mail 
it all in answer to anxious inquirers in a 
week’s time. As it is, we despatch the tubes 
only to points of great hazard, being particular 
to verify the status of these, or we rush tubes 
to points of reported accidents. We have 
despatched tubes in charge of the conductors 
on fast trains to various points in the east, 
and we have delivered tubes locally by auto¬ 
mobile. All of this has been done in a purely 
philanthropic way. 
A SPECIMEN UNDER DURESS 
Extracting venom at Sao Faulo. 
