No. VIII. 
Experiments made on the Poison of the Rattlesnake ; in which 
the Powers of the Hieraceum Venosum, as a Specific, 
were tested; together with some Anatomical Observations 
on this Animal. By Richard Harlan fm.D.—Read March 
1th, 1828. 
TN offering the following observations, it is not my inten- 
tion, or desire, to add another specific to the numerous an- 
tidotes to the poison of the Rattlesnake, already before the 
public. Most of these remedies have proved, on trial, to he 
either destitute of active properties, or altogether unworthy 
of serious consideration. I shall therefore briefly notice a few 
of the most celebrated. 
The most ancient, at least, if not the most renowned, is 
the volatile alkali, a remedy prescribed by European practi- 
tioners more than a century ago, not only as an antidote 
for the poison of the viper, hut against the effects of the bite 
of venomous animals in general*. The Abbe Fontana, 
about the middle of last century, published a work on the 
poison of the viper, to which we may refer for many cu- 
rious experiments on the nature of this poisonf. 
* Vid. Diet, des Sciences Medicales, vol. xxxiv. p. 309; article Morsure. 
t The following among other conclusions are offered by Fontana ; the viper 
alluded to is the “Coluber berus” of Linn. u 1. The bite of the viper is notpois- ON THE POISON OF THE RATTLESNAKE. 
301 
There are few authorities of the present day inclined to 
place much faith in the volatile alkali as an antidote for the 
specific effects of the bite of the viper*; but as the constitu- 
tional symptoms, produced by the bite of venomous reptiles, 
are generally adynamic in their nature, this remedy, together 
with other diffusible stimulants, is calculated to counteract 
this state of the system, and may prove very serviceable in 
supporting the vital powers, and thus suspend the fatal opera- 
tion of the poison. To this conclusion I have been led by 
experiment. 
The next remedy for accidents of this nature worthy of 
notice, is the uPrenanthis serpent aria” of Pursh. This plant 
is held in high esteem by the inhabitants of Virginia, as a 
remedy for the bite of the Rattlesnake, and is known to 
them by the familiar name of 66 Lionsfoot.” Pursh states 
that he had an opportunity of being a witness to the efficacy 
of this plant. A man living in Cove mountains, near the 
Sweet-springs, was bit in the foot by a Mockeson, [Cenchris 
Mockeson ? Dandin,] a species of snake considered the most 
dangerous. An inflammation and swelling of the whole leg 
took place immediately; hut by taking the milky juice of 
this plant, boiled in milk, inwardly, and applying to the wound 
the steeped leaves, which were frequently changed, he was 
cured in a few days. The plant is frequently confounded 
with another species of the same genus, from which it is im- 
portant to distinguish it; this last the inhabitants name “false 
Lionsfoot.” Gronovius, in his Flora, page 113, mentions 
Dr Witt’s snake-root under P. autumnalis, or Willdenow’s 
” rubieunda ” as a remedy for the bite of the Rattlesnake, which 
shews that he had information of the use made of this plant, 
though he did not know the genuine species.—Vid. Pursh’s 
“ Flora Americae Septentrionalis,” p. 499. 
onous to its own body, or to that of its own species. 2. The venom is not equally 
destructive to all animals. 3. The poison is neither acid, alkaline, nor saltish. 
4. It has no positive taste, and taken into the mouth does not cause the tongue 
to swell. 5. It is not inflammable. 6. Mixed with water it sinks to the bottom ; 
when shaken it renders the water turbid and whitish.”—Vide Fontana—“ Ricerche 
fisiche sopra il veleno della vipera.” 
yol. hi.—4 g EXPERIMENTS MADE ON THE 
The remedy which next claims our attention, has been 
considered as of sufficient importance to demand legislative 
enactment. It appears that some years ago, the State As- 
sembly of South Carolina purchased from a Negro, for an an- 
nuity of one hundred pounds for life and his freedom, the 
secret of his cure for the bite of the Rattlesnake. This 
proved to be the “Jllisma plantago,” or water-plantain. 
Many of the members are said to have witnessed the effi- 
cacy of the remedy in the person of the Negro, who stripped 
himself naked and jumped into a tub, containing many of these 
venomous snakes, and received numerous wounds. He cured 
himself by swallowing one tablespoonful of the expressed 
juice of the Alisma plantago, and repeated the dose at inter- 
vals, until the effects of the poison were counteracted. An 
essay was published on this subject in the sixth volume of 
the Technical Repository of 1824, by C. Whitlaw,Esq.*, who 
states that the common plantain has been used by mistake, 
to which error he attributes all the reputed failures. 
My friend Major N. A. Ware informs me that in Florida 
and Alabama, a species of Pedicularia, or “ Louse-plant” is of 
considerable repute as an antidote to poisons of this nature. 
Sweet oil has also been famous as a specific in similar cases. 
A number of experiments were performed by a viper catcher 
before the Royal Society of London, in order to prove its 
efficacy, some account of which was published in the early 
numbers of the New York Medical Repository. 
But passing over this remedy and many others of a similar 
nature, we come to the consideration of the plant which was 
* The following extract from Mr Whitlaw’s Essay is probably sufficient to de- 
stroy his authority altogether among medical men,—though the above statement 
concerning the experiments I believe to be historical fact. 
“ The specific action of the poison appears to be chiefly confined to the muscles: 
after the infliction of the bite, powerful muscular contractions take place over the 
whole body, the muscles are highly inflamed, a coldness and corrugation of the 
skin surround the part which was bitten, and violent spasms resembling teta- 
nus supervene followed by mortification. A friend of mine at Savannah died in 
consequence of being bitten by a snake in the hand; when they took hold of his 
arm to place him in the coffin, the arm came off at the shoulder joint—Vid 
Technical Repos, vol. iv. p. 258. POISON OF THE RATTLESNAKE. 
303 
the immediate object of my own experiments. It must be 
here repeated that the Hieraceum venosum is not offered as 
a specific cure for the bite of the Rattlesnake: much further 
observation is requisite to establish its claims to such high 
virtues. It is proposed to continue the experiments on the 
commencement of the approaching season, but in the mean 
while it was thought advisable to publish the present account 
as the first of a series, in as much as several facts have been 
elicited, which are considered very important by those who 
witnessed the experiments. 
November 2d, 1827. In company with a number of pro- 
fessional gentlemen, I visited the collection of living Rattle- 
snakes* exhibiting by Messrs Elnsworth and Murray. The 
reptiles, to the number of 150, were all taken by the pro- 
prietors in their native county of Susquehanna, Pennsylva- 
nia, during the current months of August and September. 
The proprietors profess to be in possession of an infallible re- 
medy for the cure of the symptoms resulting from the bite 
of the Rattlesnake; they display the utmost confidence, and 
are on terms of intimate familiarity with every individual of 
the collection; they take them in their hands and fold them 
around their necks,—open the mouth of the snake, and expose 
his fangs to the view of the visitors, &c. In order to satisfy 
ourselves that there existed no trick or deception in the case, 
and to prove that the bite ©f these animals, in their present 
state of subjection, is really mortal, two living animals were 
exposed to be bitten, both of whom died within the space of 
eight minutes. The first received a severe wound on the 
breast, the snake fastening his fangs in the flesh; immediately 
the eyes of the animal (a young cat) were observed to 
change their expression, lacking lustre, and appearing like 
the eyes of an intoxicated person. In three minutes after the 
infliction of the wound, involuntary discharges per anum oc- 
curred ; in six minutes urine was also discharged. The pu- 
* Crotalus durissus, Linn. 304 
EXPERIMENTS MADE ON THE 
pils of the eyes were dilated, and in eight minutes convulsions 
and death supervened. 
A narcotic or sedative effect of the poison was an early 
symptom, and this soon degenerated into insensibility. 
In the second experiment, the kitten was introduced into 
the box among the snakes, and received wounds from several; 
one of the proprietors, Mr Elnsworth, having introduced his 
hand into the box among the reptiles with a view of irritating 
them, received two distinct wounds on the hack of the hand, 
and which were observed to he inflicted by different indivi- 
dual snakes; the wounds bled slightly. Mr E. displayed no 
uneasiness, but loitered about the room and continued the ex- 
hibition for some time, and then took an opportunity to re- 
tire for a few minutes, and returned entirely out of danger; 
two small punctured wounds alone remained visible; the 
bleeding had ceased, and the slight tumefaction which had 
commenced around the wound had entirely disappeared. 
No marks of suction were discovered, nor were any precau- 
tions taken, in presence of the visitors, after the infliction of 
the wound, with the exception of the application of a ligature 
around the wrist. 
In fine, that the proprietors are actually convinced that 
they possess some means to render the poison of the Rattle- 
snake innocuous, would seem to be proved by the experi- 
ments above stated, as well as by the perfect composure and 
unlimited confidence of the man, when fairly wounded by 
the poisonous animals, which at the same time were inflict- 
ing mortal wounds on the subjects of the experiments. 
They stated to the company that the specific was of Indian 
renown, that a decoction of the plant was administered inter- 
nally, and that, for a moderate compensation, the secret would 
be disclosed. 
Accordingly, on the 15th of December, 1827, a number 
of gentlemen*, including several eminent individuals of the 
* The following is a list of the names of those gentlemen who liberally contrib- 
uted towards paying the amount demanded by the proprietors for the disclosure of POISON OF THE RATTLESNAKE. 
305 
medical profession, convened at my office for the purpose of 
witnessing experiments made with the poison of the Rattle- 
snake, (Crotalus durissus, Linn.) Some days previous, a num- 
ber of the most lively and vicious among them were separa- 
ted, and permitted to drink; abstinence both from food and 
water having been strictly enjoined previously, during the 
period of their confinement, from an idea of the proprietors, 
that abstinence, particularly as respects water, is calcuated to 
render the poison less destructive. 
Experiment 1. 
It was decided that Mr Elnsworth, who had offered him- 
self as the subject of the experiment, should he first bitten, 
and afterwards that the same snake should be made to de- 
monstrate its poisonous powers upon a puppy. 
A large active female snake was taken from the box and 
placed upon a table in a warm room. At 11 h. 20 m. A. M. 
the man received a bite from the irritated snake on the in- 
dex finger of the left hand, about half an inch from the me- 
tacarpal bone; the wound resembled a minute incision, or 
briar scratch about one fifth of an inch in length; one fang 
only appears to have been projected, the animal striking with 
one or both fangs at pleasure; a little blood exuded. Pulse, 
just before the bite was received, 104 per minute; but it was 
observed to vary during the experiments to such a degree as 
to prevent any correct inference to he expected from that 
source. 
11 h. 40 m. He says the wound smarts a little, but no signs 
of a poisonous wound are as yet exhibited. 
their “ Secret,” most of whom, with several othei’s, were present at the experi- 
ments :— 
Drs Chapman, Harris, Meigs, Emerson, Mitchell, Wetherill, J. R. Barton, Pen- 
nock, Captain Bazil Hall, R. N., Messrs S. Wetherill, J. P. Wetherill, and W. Hem- 
bel. Notes were taken by several of the gentlemen, and the present statements 
result from a comparison of them all. 
YOL. III. 4 H 306 
EXPERIMENTS MADE ON THE 
After the lapse of nearly an hour from the commencement 
of the experiment, no symptom denoting the action of the 
poison occurring, Elnsworth exposed the same hand to a 
large active male snake. As in the first instance, considera- 
ble irritation of the animal was requisite to force him to 
strike, and at 
12 h. 15 m. He received a second wound from a single 
fang on the hack of his hand, directly over a prominent ve- 
nous branch. A large drop of transparent, yellowish, and glairy 
fluid was spread over and around the wound, which was 
doubtless ejected from the poison sack. A little very dark 
blood slowly exuded from the wound. 
12 h. 31 m. Slight swelling is observable immediately 
around the second bite. 
12 h. 48 m. Elnsworth again exposed his hand to the female 
snake, and received two additional punctures simultaneously, 
one from each fang, on the lower extremity of the metacar- 
pal hone of the ring-finger. As in the first instance, nei- 
ther of these wounds displayed symptoms of the specific ef- 
fects of the poison; the second bite therefore, or that received 
from the male snake, will alone be the subject of further ob- 
servations in this experiment. 
1 o’clock, P. M. The swelling around the second bite 
has increased considerably, the tumefaction extending up and 
down along the course of the vein, about an inch and a half 
in length, and half that size in breadth, the greatest length of 
the tumefaction being below the wound. The man now 
complained of pain and numbness along the course of the 
lymphatic vessels on the inner part of the fore-arm. 
1 h. 25 m. Pulse natural, symptoms last described some- 
what increased; swelling unattended with symptoms of in- 
flammation. 
1 h. 30 m. Although the man is perfectly willing to per- 
mit the symptoms to proceed further, several of the witnesses 
expressed their unwillingness to hear the responsibility of 
the consequences; he was therefore permitted to have recourse 
to his remedy, and he immediately swallowed a few ounces POISON OF THE RATTLESNAKE. 
307 
of the decoction of the root, and appeared indifferent about 
the external application of the same to the wound. He stated 
that the original stock of the vegetable being exhausted, and 
the season too far advanced to enable him to obtain more at 
present, he would be under the necessity of applying portions 
of the flesh of one of the reptiles (just decapitated for the 
purpose of another experiment) to the wound. 
2 h. 30 m. He has held the bloody portion of the snake to 
his wound incessantly, from which all the swelling has sub- 
sided, together with all uneasy sensations, from his hand and 
arm. 
4 o’clock, P. M. The man Elnsworth has remained con- 
stantly in the room under my inspection. His dinner was 
offered to him, but he had little disposition for food; says his 
stomach is a little sick, probably the effects of the medicine. 
No tumefaction or other symptoms remain ; the wounds re- 
semble slight scratches without any appearance of inflamma- 
tion. The vein in which the bite took effect presents a pe- 
culiar appearance, being for the distance of an inch between 
the valves above and below the wound quite empty. Directly 
above the valve the vein is unusually prominent, and the pres- 
sure, from the application of the flesh, has been removed 
for more than an hour. It is scarcely necessary to remark 
that the application of portions of the snake to the wound, 
which the man appeared to think very important, could exert 
no other influence than might have been obtained from the 
application of the recent flesh of any other animal. 
The root and leaf of the “ specific” were produced and ex- 
posed to the inspection of an able botanist, Dr Charles Pick- 
ering, who identified it with the Hieraceum venosum, or 
Hawk-weed, Adder’s-tongue, Poor Robin’s plantain, Rattle- 
snake weed, &c.-—a common weed in the dry open wood- 
lands*. The same plant is noticed by Schoepf as a remedy 
for the bite of the Rattlesnake. 
* Vid. Florula Cestrica, by W. Darlington. M.D. , p. 84. 308 
EXPERIMENTS MADE ON THE 
Experiment 2. 
11 h. 31 m. A pup about three or four weeks old was bit- 
ten by the same female snake which had previously bitten 
Elnsworth in the first experiment: both fangs took effect, and 
the two wounds were about one inch and a quarter apart. 
11 h. 34 m. Pup urinates. 
11 h. 36 m. Cries and staggers. 
11 h. 37 m. Belly tense in the vicinity of the wound, and 
apparently painful; the wound presents an ecchymosis, being 
tumid and of a dark colour. 
11 h. 39 m. Pup lies on its side, and continues its plaintive 
cries, also emits some froth from the mouth. The ecchymo- 
sis increases rapidly, and a pale bloody humour exudes from 
the wounds. 
11 h. 51 m. The animal is quiet and fanting. 
12 o’clock, merid. Appears vertiginous, turning round 
and resting on its extended fore feet; staggering and resting 
on its side, and turning upon its back. These symptoms 
continued with little alteration until 
4 o’clock, When the animal died, having previously exhi- 
bited some stertorous breathing, but without the occurrence 
of convulsions. 
Dissection. 
I examined the body fifteen minutes after death in pre- 
sence of Drs Morton, Meigs, Emerson, &c. On raising the 
skin of the abdomen we observed an extensive extravasation 
of blood, not coagulated, in the cellular tissue over the whole 
front of the belly. The colour of the parts exposed to the 
specific action of the poison was a dark red, and the whole 
appearance in the vicinity of the wound might be aptly com- 
pared to that occasioned by an extensive and violent con- 
tusion. 
The abdomen, being laid open, displayed the abdominal FOISON OF THE RATTLESNAKE. 
309 
reflections of the peritoneum nearly in the same condition, 
being very red, and appearing as if soaked in blood. A simi- 
lar appearance, to a considerable extent, prevailed in the peri- 
toneal coat of the stomach and intestines, the veins of which 
were congested. The internal coats of the stomach and intes- 
tines were natural in appearance. Urinary bladder was 
empty. No coagulated blood was observed in any of the ves- 
sels throughout the system. Thorax presented no remarka- 
ble deviation from a natural state. 
Cranium.—On raising the skull and dura mater, an exten- 
sive dark patch, formed apparently by extravasation or con- 
gestion, was observed under the arachnoid membrane lying over 
the cerebral lobes, and extending down in a slight degree 
between the convolutions. The substance of the brain and 
spinal marrow appeared natural. The muscular system was 
rather pale. 
It will probably he remarked, that the specific action of 
the poison appears to have expended its deleterious influence 
on the cellular tissue in this animal: the usual phenomena 
which characterize death from poisons, such as non-coagula- 
tion of the blood, extravasations, &c. were remarkably well 
developed. 
Experiment 3. 
A full grown cock, having the feathers removed from over 
the pectoral muscles, was exposed to be bitten by a Rattle- 
snake, and at 
12 o’clock, merid. Received two slight wounds from both 
fangs at the same time; each wound was covered with drops 
of a transparent fluid ejected from the poison hag. 
12 h. 3 m. The bitten part assumed the appearance of a 
dark-purple ecchymosis, and the skin in the immediate vici- 
nity of the punctures was puckered or corrugated. 
12 h. 45 m. The parts over the wounds are slightly tu- 
mid, and present a black or gangrenous appearance, and are 
VOL. III. 4 I 310 
EXPERIMENTS MADE ON THE 
moistened by a yellowish ichor which exudes from the 
wounds. 
The animal finally recovered without having experienced 
any constitutional affection. It should be here remarked, 
however, that the punctures did not appear to have pene- 
trated the skin thoroughly. 
Experiment 4. 
A black puppy, a few weeks old, received three bites be- 
tween 12 h. 18 m. and 12 h. 23 m. The last and most se- 
vere bite was over the left eye. 
12 h. 27 m. Apparently drowsy. 
12 h. 40 m. Symptoms progressing slowly. And at 
4 o’clock, P. M. the swelling over the eye, vertigo, and 
general uneasiness, appear to have attained their height. On 
the day following the animal had recovered without the in- 
terference of art. 
Experiment 5. 
4 o’clock, P. M. A stout pup was inoculated with the 
poison, expressed from the poison bag of a living snake, on the 
left side of the abdomen. 
4 h. 15 m. Local symptoms are evident, and constitu- 
tional effects are beginning to he manifested. 
5 o’clock, P. M. Symptoms much increased: the animal 
cries with pain and uneasiness; changes its posture frequently; 
moves with a tottering and irregular gait, sometimes lying on 
its breast with the fore-feet extended: these symptoms were 
occasionally interrupted with drowsiness, and finally the ani- 
mal went into a deep sleep. 
9 o’clock, P. M. The pup commenced licking his wound, 
the swelling of which, from the ecchymosis, had so increased 
as to hang down like a large hernia. POISON OF THE RATTLESNAKE. 
311 
The succeeding day this animal also recovered, no symp- 
tom remaining except a slight tenderness in the part where 
the inoculation had been performed. Had the “specific been 
administered in this case, the cure wTould doubtless have been 
attributed to its operation. 
Experiment 6. 
Poison was squeezed out of the sack of a living snake, and 
being placed on a piece of meat, was given to a pup to eat: 
it produced no effect, local or constitutional, upon the animal. 
Anatomical Observations, fyc. 
In all venomous snakes there is an opening of considerable 
size situate between the eye and nostril, which penetrates 
in the direction of the poison apparatus, at the base of the 
fang; the use of this opening, in the economy of the animal, 
as far as I can learn, has never been discovered; it has no 
direct communication with the cavity containing the poison, 
but is connected with the lachrymal passages, so successfully 
investigated by Jules Cloquet*. On a careful examination 
of this portion of the anatomy of the Crotalus, I have invari- 
ably found at the bottom of this cavity an exceedingly deli- 
cate transparent membrane, extending over the osseous cavity 
in the bone at the base of the fang. This membrane, whilst 
it intercepts any direct communication between the sack and 
external canal, might at the same time permit the action of 
the atmosphere on the fluid contained in the sack, to take 
place through it, and thus to change its chemical properties. 
This sack communicates with the oculo-palpebral cavity, 
formed between the eyelid and conjunctiva. The poison of 
* Yid. Memoire sur l’Existence et la Disposition des Voies Lachrymales dans 
les Serpens. 312 
EXPERIMENTS MADE ON THE 
the living Crotalus, tested in numerous instances with litmus 
paper, &c. invariably displayed acid properties*. 
General Remarks. 
In conclusion it appears, that of the number of reptiles ex- 
hibited, some possessed the venomous faculty to a considerable 
degree, in others the poison was less active, and in some it 
had entirely disappeared, and in the latter the poison sack 
was found, on dissection, entirely empty. 
These circumstances are readily explained when we are 
aware that the reptiles have remained in captivity without 
food for more than three months, during a cold season of the 
year, and, until within a few days of the experiments, de- 
prived of water. It is more than probable that very little 
poison would be secreted during a state of perfect abstinence, 
and that of less activity than when produced under ordinary 
circumstances. Hence the same reptiles whose bite occasion- 
ed the death of an animal in eight minutes, when the experi- 
ments were performed in September, required five hours in 
order to produce fatal results at the present period. The 
operation of the poison on the animal system also varied. In 
September, when the animals died early after the infliction 
of the wound, death was preceded by convulsions, which was 
not the case in the present instance; but the animal appear- 
ed to suffer more pain, and finally fell into a state of stupi- 
dity, which continued for several hours, when death was 
produced by the slow operation of the poison on the system. 
On dissection the usual appearances produced by such poisons 
* Similar observations relative to the acidity of this poison were long ago made 
by Dr Brickell of Savannah, who, speaking of the external application of the so- 
lution of caustic ley to the bite of the Rattlesnake, states “ I was led to this by a 
chemical examination of the poison of the Crotalus horridus, which shewed an 
acid to be one of its constituents/’—Vid. New York Medical Repository, vol. viii. 
p. 441. POISON OF TIIE RATTLESNAKE. 
oil the organic structure, were manifest; congestions, exuda- 
tion of blood throughout the system, together with the non- 
coagulation of this fluid, were among the more obvious results. 
The cavities of the heart were empty, and fluid blood was 
observed in the large veins. 
Two of the Rattlesnakes were decapitated, and the heads 
being placed with the jaws expanded against the abdomen of 
a living rabbit, they were observed to bite repeatedly with 
the desperation of expiring nature, forcing their fangs into 
the flesh their whole length; but in these the poison bag ap- 
peared to have been emptied previously, by repeated efforts 
of the animal to bite, and on dissection were found nearly 
void. After decapitation it was curious to observe the mo- 
tions of the body, which were continued from association; 
the cut extremity of the trunk, when an injury was inflicted 
near the tail, was thrown towards the offending body, as if with 
the intention of inflicting a wound; this experiment was re- 
peated frequently. The heart torn from the body continued 
its contractions for ten or twelve hours. 
Of all the animals bitten in these experiments, one only 
died, though all were more or less affected by the poison. 
Although the wound which was inflicted on Mr Elnsworth 
was attended with the usual local effects, there is no proof 
that the poison would have proved mortal without the use of 
the remedy, in as much as obvious local effects were observed 
in some of the animals that finally recovered without the in- 
terference of art. Though at the same time it will be re- 
membered that the first animal experimented on died from 
the poison of the same snake which had previously inflicted 
a wound on the man. 
As regards any moral influence being exerted over these 
animals by the proprietors, which enables them to handle the 
snakes without the fear of being wounded,—one of the pro- 
prietors, Mr Murray, subsequently confessed that no such 
influence existed; but that their knowledge of the habits of 
the Rattlesnake enabled them to handle them with impunity. 
Thus they are aware that the snake can strike only after 
VOL. lit.— 4 K 314 
ON THE POISON OF TIIE RATTLESNAKE. 
certain preparation of the body; they assume an offensive 
attitude previously to striking a blow, and they seldom or ne- 
ver make an effort to strike when once secured by the hand. 
The Abbe Fontana has remarked that the poison of the 
viper is not fatal to its own body, or to that of its own spe- 
cies when bitten ; the contrary of this position is stated on 
respectable authority to be the case as regards the Crotalus— 
a result that might have been anticipated from the well known 
fact that Rattlesnakes, congregated together in any number, 
never inflict a wound on each other. 
Among the most remarkable peculiarities observed in the 
economy of this animal is its power of abstinence. An indi- 
vidual lived more than two years in the Philadelphia Mu- 
seum, totally deprived of food. Others in the same institu- 
tion have been observed united for a considerable time in the 
act of coition, and subsequently to bring forth young in a 
living state. In one instance I have witnessed a female with*, 
fourteen young at one birth, which is far from being to the 
same degree prolific as some of the oviparous Colubers. 
In the present stage of the investigation, had I occasion to 
treat a wound inflicted by a poisonous reptile, my faith in the 
Hieraccum venosum, as a cure, is not such as to induce me to 
resort to its employment, to the exclusion of the less equivocal 
means of suction, pressure, or ligature. Some very interest- 
ing experiments, which establish the superiority of the last 
mentioned methods, have recently been made by C. W. Pen- 
nock, M.D., and will he published in the American Journal 
of the Medical Sciences for May 1828.