174 SCRIPTURE NATURAL HISTORY. 



THE FERRET. 



DR. GEDDES understands the Hebrew name, rendered ferret in 

 Lev. xi. 30, to denote the newt, and Dr. James takes it for the/rog- ; 

 but, as its name seems to be taken from the cry it makes, the prob- 

 ability is, that the species of lizard called in Egypt, the GecJfco, is 

 the animal intended. It is thus described by Cepede : 



* Of all the oviparous quadrupeds whose history we are publish- 

 ing, this is the first that contains a deadly poison. This deadly liz- 

 ard, which deserves all our attention by his dangerous properties, 

 has some resemblance to the 'chameleon ; his head, almost trian- 

 gular, is large in comparison to his body ; the eyes are very large ; 

 the tongue flat, covered with small scales, and the end rounded ; 

 the teeth are sharp, and so strong that, according to Bontius, they 

 are able to make impressions on the hardest substances, even on 

 steel. It is almost entirely covered with little warts, more or less 

 rising; the under part of the thighs is furnished with a row of tu- 

 bercles, raised and grooved. The feet are remarkable for oval 

 scales, more or less hollowed in the middle, as large as the under 

 surface of the toes themselves, and regularly disposed one over 

 another, like the slates on a roof. The tail of the gecko, is com- 

 monly rather longer than the body, though sometimes shorter ; it 

 is round, thin, and covered with circular rings or bands, formed of 

 several rows of very small scales. Its color is a clear green, spot- 



mlf 



rotten trees, as well as humid places; it is sometimes met with in 

 houses, where it occasions great alarm, and where every exertion is 

 used to destroy it speedily. Bontius states, that its bite is so venom- 

 ous, that if the part bitten be not cut away or burned, death ensues 

 in a few hours.' 



Mr. Charles Taylor thinks there is an allusion to this reptile in 

 Deut. xxxii. 33 : 'Their wine is the poison of dragons; and the 

 cruel venom of asps.' The allusion here is to the venom (Eng. 

 transl. wine,} of the taninim ; and this venom is associated, by com- 

 parison, with the cruel venom of asps pdhenim serpents. 



The following extract is from Bontius. 



* The Javanese use to dip their arrows in the blood of this crea- 

 ture ; and those who deal in poison among them (an art much es- 

 teemed in the island of Java, by both sexes) hang it up with a 

 string tied to the tail on tho ceiling, by which means it being exas- 

 perated to the highest pitch, sends forth a yellow liquor out of its 

 mouth, which they gather in small pots underneath, and afterwards 

 coagulate into a body in the sun. This they continue several 

 months together, by giving daily food to the creature. It is unques- 

 tionably the strongest poison in the world.' 



