Biological Papers. 221 



sometimes fails to find its way into a wound. The saliva of the 

 upper jaw is perfectly harmless, as is also the same saliva in the 

 lower jaw; but it must not be forgotten that there is also a deadly 

 venom in the lower jaw, which gets mixed with the saliva. 



"As a rule, the Gila monster is lazy and sluggish, and one might 

 play with him for hours and keep him as a pet for years and never 

 see any sign of anger ; but let him be angered and then he is dan- 

 gerous, and the real danger comes when, as he bites, he turns over. 

 With a vicious lunge he seizes the object and at the same moment 

 turns over with lightning-like rapidity. He can hold on with the 

 tenacity of a bulldog, or he can bite so quickly that he snips a 

 piece of flesh out easier than one would pinch off a piece of a cracker. 

 I have seen this action a hundred times, and this is what one must 

 beware of. When the reptile thus bites, holds on, and turns over, 

 the danger of the case is as great as the most dangerons bite of a 

 rattlesnake, for, in this position, if the poison-glands are active, 

 the saliva and poison commingle and flow freely into the teeth, and 

 thus into the wound." 



