A SPECIFIC FOR SNAKE BITES.
QUITE a number of years ago a soldier in India claimed to have a secret remedy for the poison of the cobra, the most venomous of serpents. It is generally believed that his specific was all that he alleged, but the authorities were slow in buying his recipe, and he died before it was made known. Very few of the persons bitten now recover, and the alleged cures for the bites of other snakes are far from certain in their operation. Greater hope is to be placed in speedy treatment, and in the exceptionally vigorous constitution of the patient, than in any remedy. It is now announced that injections of a one per cent. solution of the permanganate of potash is a sure cure for snake bites. M. Lacerda has experimented on a number of dogs, with the happiest effect in nearly every case. The animals recovered, at furthest, after twenty-five minutes' suffering. Other dogs inoculated with the same venom, to whom the antidote was not given, uniformly died. The discovery, if confirmed, is of great importance. Many thousands of persons are killed annually in India by cobras and other snakes, while the vipers of some of the West Indian Islands are hardly less destructive. We are not told what venom M. Lacerda selected. The poison of some snakes disorganizes the blood, separating the watery from the solid constituents. That of others turns the blood into jelly. Whether the potash will prove equally efficacious in regard to both classes remains to be proved. Enough, however, has been established to awaken strong expectations of the discovery of a much needed relief.