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bir 5 in two or three days, weighs almost as much 

 more as he did before. Who can account for this ? 



It is remarkable, that the youngest vipers are 

 provided with poisonous teeth grown to perfection, 

 commensurate to their bulk, that so they may be 

 able to kill their prey, and feed themselves as sooa 

 as they are born. 



The poison of a Rattle-snake is equally fatal, and 

 more swift in its operation. For it frequently kills 

 within an hour. The snake is from ten to iifteen feet 

 long". But whenever it moves in order to bite, the 

 tail begins to rattle, and that considerably loud ; so 

 that a man, if he has presence of mind, may easily get 

 out of its way. When it bites a hare, he is observed 

 to lick her all over before he takes her into his mouth, 

 probably, that having moistened and smoothed her 

 skin, he may the more easily swallotf her. 



It is very remarkable, that he frequently stays 

 under a tree, on which a bird or squirrel is hopping 

 about, with his mouth wide open. And the event 

 constantly is, the creature in awhile drops into it. 

 Sir HansSloane thinks, he has wounded it first; and 

 that he then waits under the tree, till the poison works 

 and the animal drops down into the mouth of its exe- 

 cutioner. 



But this is not the case, as plainly appears, from 

 what many have been witnesses of. A swallow pur- 

 suing his prey in the air, if he casts his eye on a snake 

 beneath him, waiting with his mouth wide open, alters 

 his course, and flutters over him in the utmost con. 

 sternation, till sinking gradually lower and lower> he 

 at last drops into his mouth. 



To the same purpose is the famous experiment of 

 Dr. Sprenger, mentioned in the Hamburgh magazine-, 

 He let loose a mouse on the ground, at a little dis- 

 tance from a common snake. It made a few turns, 

 and sqneeked a little, and then ran directly into the 

 mouth of the snake, which all the while lay sliU, and 

 without motion. 



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