THE SERPENT'S POISON -TEETH. 



277 



grown is more than a match for any of its enemies, is prevented 

 by the wise ordinance of Providence from becoming as formidable 

 on land as in the water ; for when on shore the difficulty it has 

 in turning, or of advancing otherwise than directly forward, 

 enables men and animals readily to escape from it. 



The colossal pythons and boas require no other means 

 for overpowering the assaults of their enemies or the resistance 

 of their prey than their prodigious muscular strength, for 

 even the tiger and the jaguar are unable to resist their murde- 

 rous embrace. They climb trees with great facility, the scuta of 

 various segments through their enormous length laying hold 

 of the bark, and aided by the great flexibility of their vertebral 

 column, they are enabled to ascend in opposition to the force 

 of gravity. 



They select trees in the vicinity of streams and rivers, and 

 suspending themselves from the branches in an inverted posi- 

 tion by means of their prehensile tail, seize and crush quadru- 

 peds even of great size as they approach to drink. 



The active colubridse, all of which are perfectly innoxious, 

 dart suddenly upon the insects, lizards, or mice, for whom they 

 lie in wait among the 

 bushes or in heaps of rub- 

 bish, or escape from their 

 enemies with wonderful 

 velocity; while the venom- 

 ous snakes, which are gene- 

 rally slow and indolent in 

 their motions, and would 

 thus become an easy prey 

 to their enemies, have 

 been endowed, as a com- 

 pensation for their slug- 

 gishness, with so formidable a weapon as to make even the 

 boldest opponent quail at their sight for the slightest scratch 

 of one of their fangs is certain death. A small canal runs 

 through the centre of a great part of these" needle-like teeth, 

 and opening in a groove near the apex, terminates on the 

 anterior surface in an elongated fissure. Towards the basis 

 of the tooth a similar slight groove or longitudinal indenta- 

 tion communicates with the duct of the poison-gland. This is 



Structure of the Poison-teeth 



of the Serpent. 



a longitudinal section of poison-fang, I shows a 

 hair inserted into the poison-canal, c transverse 

 section of fang, x pulp -cavity, y poison-canal. 



