THE ADDER. 133 



a matter of fact, however, I believe that this is tlie 

 fourtli wliich may be regarded as vouclied for by 

 competent authority in Great Britain. Death from a 

 snake - bite is more commonly heard of on the 

 Continent, but is there invariably due to another 

 species of viper, though one which is closely allied to 

 our own. Nevertheless, many bitten persons who 

 have recovered from all primary symptoms produced 

 by the poison eventually succumb to its influence in 

 remote indirect effects at a later period. 



"Drs Jennings and Eraser state that the fangs' 

 wounds were one-tenth of an inch apart. If this be 

 so, it should stamp the aggressor as a very small 

 specimen ; two-fifths, or even half an inch, would more 

 nearly represent the interval betw^een the punctures 

 inflicted by a full-grown viper. In the bites of these 

 serpents which possess erectile fangs, the breadth of 

 surface included is often a little greater than the space 

 which separates the teeth, as they lie quiescent in the 

 mouth, a fact which I have repeatedly verified where 

 tropical Viperid?e and Crotalidas were concerned. But 

 it very frequently happens that one fang misses alto- 

 gether where the linger is struck. One mark only 

 would then, of course, be visible, but it would not 

 follow that the symptoms must necessarily be less 

 severe. That no pain should be felt for three-quarters 

 of an hour is certainly unusual ; the rest of the 

 phenomena described are characteristic enough ; tliere 

 is often little or no mental disturbance. 



