DENTITION, 351 



the peculiar curve of the mouth, with its very wide gape 

 downwards, and then up again, are unmistakeably treacherous, 

 venomous, vicious. 



Like all other animal secretions, the poison is produced, 

 expended, and renewed, but not always with equal rapidity ; 

 climate, season, and temperature, as well as the vigour of 

 the reptile, influencing this secretion. The hotter the 

 weather, the more active the serpent and all its functions. 

 When the poison gland is full and the snake angry, you may 

 see the venom exuding from the point of the fang, and by a 

 forcible expiration the reptile can eject it. I have seen 

 this in the little Echis carinata and its congener the Cerastes. 

 I am not certain whether the Cerastes hisses or not, but under 

 terror or excitement it moves itself about in ' mystic coils ' 

 as Echis does, producing a similar rustling noise with its 

 scales ; but both of them, if angry, will strike at you with a 

 sound which may be compared with a sneeze or a spit, at 

 the same time gnashing their mobile fangs and letting you 

 see that they have plenty of venom at your service. They 

 may almost be said to ' spit ' at you, though literally it is the 

 mouth 'watering with poison,' combined with the natural 

 impulse to strike, which produces this effect. We can, 

 however, by this judge of the force with which the venom is 

 expelled, which in a large viper must be considerable. 



Travellers have told us that a serpent * spouts poison into 

 your eye.* If an angry one strike, but miss its aim, the 

 poison is then seen to fly from its mouth, sometimes to a 

 distance of several feet. Whether a snake is so good a 

 marksman as to take certain aim with this terrible projectile, 

 or whether he possess sufficient intelligence to attempt it, we 



