Chap. 65.] THE TONGUE. Gl 



teeth there is a certain venom ; for if they are placed uncovered 

 before a mirror, the)' will tarnish its brightness, and they will 

 kill young pigeons while yet unfledged. The other parti- 

 culars relative to the teeth have been already 47 mentioned 

 under the head of the generation of man. When teething 

 first commences, the bodies of infants are subject to certain 

 maladies. Those animals which have serrated teeth inflict the 

 most dangerous bites. 48 



CHAP. 65. THE TONGUE ; ANIMALS WHICH HAVE NO 



TONGUE. THE NOISE MADE BY FHOGS. THE PALATE. 



The tongue is not similarly formed in all animals. Ser- 

 pents have a very thin tongue, and three-forked, 49 which they 

 vibrate to and fro : it is of a black colour, and when drawn 

 from out of the mouth, of extraordinary length. The tongue 

 of the lizard is two-forked, and covered with hair. 50 That of 

 the sea-calf also is twofold, 51 but with the serpents it is of the 

 thinness of a hair ; the other animals employ it to lick the 

 parts around the mouth. Fishes have nearly the whole of the 

 tongue adhering to the palate, while in the crocodile the whole 

 of it does adhere thereto : but in the aquatic animals the palate, 

 which is fleshy, performs the duty of the tongue as the organ 

 of taste. In lions, pards, and all the animals of that class, 

 and in cats as well, the tongue is covered with asperities, 52 

 which overlap each other, and bear a strong resemblance to a 

 rasp. Such being its formation, if the animal licks a man's skin, 

 it will wear it away by making it thinner and thinner ; for 

 which reason it is that the saliva of even a perfectly tame 

 animal, being thus introduced to the close vicinity of the blood, 

 is apt to bring on madness. Of the tongue of the purple we 

 have made mention 53 already. With the frog the end of the 

 tongue adheres to the mouth, while the inner part is disjoined 

 from the sides of the gullet ; and it is by this means that the 

 males give utterance to their croaking, at the season at which 



47 B. viii. c. 15. 



48 " Stevissima dentibus," seems to he a preferable reading to " ssevissime 

 dentiunt.'' 49 Only two-forked in reality. 



50 It is not covered with hair. 



51 It is not bifurcate. 



52 These are horny, conical papilla?, the summits of which point back- 

 wards. 53 See B. ix. c. 60. 



