724 



ErraSurij at Datura! ^t' 



in the account of his residence in various 

 parts of South America, mentioned the fact 

 of several Wasps of these countries collecting 

 honey. The occurrence of honey in the 

 combs of these Myrapetra confirms the ac- 

 curacy of Azara's observation, and is made 

 by a Vespidous insect having the first joint 

 of the abdomen elongated into a pedicel. 



VESPERTILIONID^E. The name given 

 to a family of Bats, including most of those 

 belonging to temperate climates. [See BAT.] 



VICUGNA. A Ruminant quadruped of 

 South America, belonging to the Camelidce 

 family, and bearing considerable resemblance 

 to the Alpaca. They inhabit the mountain 

 ranges, and are remarkable for the fineness 

 of their wool, which has a texture that may 

 be termed silken ; and they are accordingly 

 much in request. 



VIPERID.35. A group of venomous 

 snakes, of which there are many species 

 and varieties diffused almost everywhere 

 throughout the habitable globe, Africa and 

 America being, however, far more infested 

 by them than Europe. A description of the 

 different kinds, after what we have said of 

 these reptiles under their respective appella- 

 tions, would be neither interesting nor in- 

 structive ; we therefore pass on to the com- 

 mon Viper, occasionally met with by those 

 whose occupations take them to our heaths, 

 1 woods, and water meadows. 



j The COMMON VIPER or ADDER (FTpero 



i berns) is the only poisonous reptile indige- 



' nous to this country ; and is abundantly 



1 found in many parts of Scotland, Eng- 



I land, and Wales, particularly in chalky 



and stony districts, frequenting heaths, dry 



woods, and banks. In Ireland it certainly 



does not exist. On the continent of Europe 



it is extensively distributed, being found 



from the northern parts of Russia to the 



south of Italy and Spain, and its presence is 



everywhere dreaded on account of its venom- 



VITEB (v'IFE'iA HE.UIS.; 



ous qualities. It seldom arrives at a greater 

 length than two feet, though it is occasionally 

 met with above three. The ground colour 

 of the male is a dirty yellow ; that of the ! 

 female is deeper. The back is marked 

 throughout its whole length with a series j 



of rhomboidal black spots, touching each 

 other at the points ; the sides are marked 

 with triangular ones ; and the belly is en- 

 tirely black. It is chiefly distinguished 

 from the common black snake by the colour 

 which in the latter is more beautifully mot- 

 tled i as well as by the head, which is thicker 

 than the body ; but particularly by the tail, 

 which in the Viper, though it terminates in 

 a point, does not run tapering to so great a i 

 length as in the other : when, therefore, other | 

 distinctions fail, the difference of the tail i 

 can be discerned with ease. The venom of i 

 the Viper is less virulent than that of many | 

 of the poisonous serpents, but still suffi- ] 

 ciently severe, in the warmer climates, to ! 

 produce even the most fatal results. The 

 remedies usually employed are the external . 

 application of oil and the internal adminis- 

 tration of ammonia. 



The apparatus by which the poison woundf j 

 are inflicted, which render these and so many ; 

 other serpents so formidable, is described : 

 by Mr. Bell, in his work on ' British Rep- j 

 tiles,' as follows : On each side of the upper ; 

 jaw, instead of the outer row of teeth which 

 are found in non-venomous serpents, there 

 exist two or three, or more, long, curved, and 

 tubular teeth, the first of which is larger 

 than the others, and is attached to a small 

 movable bone, articulated to the maxillary 

 bone, and moved by a muscular apparatus, 

 by which the animal has the power of erect- 

 ing it. In a state of rest the fang reclines 

 backwards along the margin of the jaw, and 

 is covered by a fold of skin ; but when 

 about to be called into use, it is erected by 

 means of a small muscle, and brought to 

 stand perpendicular to the bone. The tooth 

 itself is it as were perforated by a tube. This 

 tube, although completely enclosed, except- 

 ing at its basal and apical orifices, must be 

 considered as formed merely by the closing 

 round of a groove in the external part of the 

 tooth itself, and hence not in any way con- 

 nected with the inner cavity of the tooth, in 

 which exists the pulp upon which the sub- 

 stance of the tooth is formed. The base of 

 the tooth, and consequently the basal orifice 

 of the tube just described, is embedded in a 

 sac, into which the poison is poured from 

 the ducts of the glandular structure by wliich 

 it is secreted, and which is believed to re- 

 present the parotid gland of the higher ver- 

 tebrata. The poisonous fluid itself is in- 

 odorous, tasteless, and of a yellow colour. 

 It is secreted in greater quantities, and its 

 qualities are more virulent in a high temper- 

 ature than in cold. . . . When the animal 

 inflicts the wound, the pressure on the tooth 

 forces a small drop of the poison through 

 the tube ; it passes through the external 

 orifice, which is situated on the concave side 

 of the curved tooth, and is in the form of a 

 slit. The manner in which the blow is in- 

 flicted is as follows. The animal generally 

 throws itself in the first place into a coiJ 

 more or less close, and the anterior part of 

 the body is raised. The neck is bent some- 

 what abruptly backwards, and the head 

 fixed almost horizontally. In an instant 

 the head is, as it were, launched by a sudden 

 effort towards the object of its anger, and 



