Paper, 'Properties de la vipere' [properties of the viper] by Dr Theodore de Mayerne De Mayerne describes how the testes of the viper, when desiccated in the oven and ground into a powder, can be used to treat the bites of vipers, rabid dogs, and poisonous animals and can be mixed with powdered black hellebor (Helleborus niger) as a treatment for plague and wounds. Subject: Toxicology / Herpetology Read to the Royal Society on 2 May 1694 May 1694