THE VIPER, OR ADDER. 83 



limpid fluid fell through the tubular tooth on the sugar, 

 which I instantly deposited in a pDrcelain mortar, moistening 

 it with a few drops of spirit, and commenced trituration ; I 

 then put the powder into a small phial containing one drachm 

 of proof spirit, shaking them together — when it was fit for 

 use. I kept it in a box, secluded from light, and before 

 administering it, shook it well up ; one drop constituted a 

 dose.* 



In concluding our account of this reptile, it may 

 not be out of place to indicate the chief features 

 by which the Viper may be distinguished from the 

 Snake. 



It is the Snake that is harmless, and the Viper 

 that is venomous ; the latter being probably less 

 so in winter, and most dangerous in the hottest 

 weather, because then the secretion is more 

 rapid, induced by the greater activity of the 

 reptile. The Snake is commonly the larger of 

 the two, and is found in the dampest situations, 

 generally in near proximity to water, in which it 

 delights to bask. The Snake has large plates 

 or scales, upon its head, few in number; in the 

 Viper they are numerous and small. The Snake 

 has no continuous line of a darker colour running 

 along its body, but is spotted all over ; the Viper 

 has a continuous line, zigzag and blotched, running 

 down its entire length. The head in the Snake 



*Dr. Honinberger's ''Thirty-five years in the East," vol. ii., 



p. 230. 



Q 2 



