ii8 SNAKES. 



science ' in our own time, were not unknown two centuries 

 ago. 



Passing by a large number of writers on snakes, who, 

 being convinced that the tongue neither 'stings ' nor ' licks' 

 nor ' aids in hissing,' and who, therefore, cursorily dismiss it 

 with, ' the use of the tongue is not known,' let us thoroughly 

 examine for ourselves this mysterious organ ; and this we 

 can do with the assistance of those who have devoted care- 

 ful attention to the subject. 



Quoting first our English authorities, Dr. J. E. Gray tells 

 us : ' Tongue very long, retractile into a sheath at its base. 

 Apex forked, very long, slender, and tapering.' 



Says Dr. Giinther : ' Tongue long, vermiform, forked ; an 

 organ of touch ; frequently and rapidly exserted to examine 

 an object. The slightest provocation brings the tongue 

 into play.' 



Rymer Jones, in his Organization of the Animal Kingdom y 

 tells us that 'in snakes the bulk of the tongue is reduced to 

 the utmost extent. The whole organ seems converted into 

 a slender, bifid instrument of touch, and is covered with a 

 delicate membrane.' Again, in Todd's Cyclopedia of Anatomy^ 

 the same writer says that ' the tongue of a snake seems 

 to perform functions, the nature of which is not so obvious ' 

 (as that of some other reptiles). 



Der Hceven (Clark's translation) tells us ' the tongue of a 

 snake is an organ of feeling or tact, and much used, as the 

 antennae of insects.' 



It will be observed that while no two of the above writers 

 use precisely the same words, each helps us to picture the 

 tongue more accurately, and we glean from each some new 



