164 



Mr. Eoblin, tlie Curator of our Museum, informs me 

 that he has himself expressed a yellowish fluid from this 

 gland through the opening in the spur. Seeing that 

 this is so, and coupling with it the severity of the symptoms 

 following on a wound, one is apt to jump to the con- 

 clusion that the gland is a veritable poison bag. Judging 

 from analogy, we might say that the case is in every respect 

 similar to that of the serpent tribe, only that with Ornitho' 

 rhynchus, the mechanism for elaborating and injecting the 

 poison, is situated in the heel instead of in the head. 



Nevertheless, the opinion of those best able to form a 

 correct judgment appears to be decidedly opposed to this view 

 of the matter. 



First, both in date and value, are the observations of the 

 veteran naturalist, Dr. Bennett. (See " Gatherings of a 

 Naturalist'' p. 107, Sfc.) 



Of two German authors, whose books I have, one (Pro- 

 fessor Leunis), writes as follows: — "The male has on the 

 hind leg, not far from the foot, a slightly curved movable 

 hollow spur, which opens into a gland, and which may, 

 perhaps, serve some purpose in the animal's connection with 

 the female. 



Formerly this gland was supposed to contain poison, which 

 was injected through the spur. But later observations (espe- 

 cially those of M. Verreaux) seem to contradict this theory. 

 Certainly no one has ever seen the the animal attempt to use 

 its spur in self-defence." 



Very similar to this are the remarks made by the 

 Zoologists of the 'French Expedilion in the "Astrolabe," as 

 quoted by Owen. They have reference to the male Echidna. 



" We have never heard of any accident occasioned by the 

 spur. We ourselves touched and irritated the animal without 

 its once attempting to defend itself by this instrument. No, 

 not even when we made use of considerable pressure." 

 Brehm, the other German author alluded to, contents him- 

 self with quoting Bennett. Owen and Waterhouse follow 

 the same leader. 



In fact, the question is surrounded with difficulties, and 

 cannot be determined in our present state of knowledge. 



If we admit the possibility of the venom theory, then we 

 have in Ornithorhynclms a perfectly unique example, that of a 

 mammal, or warm-blooded animal being endowed with poison- 

 ous properties. It is true, that in its " sternal" apparatus, 

 this animal comes very near to the Lizard ; and knowing, as 

 we do, how closely allied are Saurians and Ophidians, we may, 

 perhaps, see no difficulty in looking upon the Platypus as a 

 distant relation of the latter, and therefore, as having a sort 



