40 GLEANINGS FEOM NATURE. 



II. THE SNAKES OF INDIANA IN PARTICULAR. 



About sixty species of snakes inhabit that portion 

 of the United States east of the Mississippi liivci. 

 Of these the bite of but six is poisonous. Twenty- 

 nine species and ten varieties are known to occur 

 within the State of Indiana. Of these, four are 

 poisonous, all the rest being perfectly harmless as far 

 as the bite is concerned. 



POISONOUS SNAKES. 



With one exception the poisonous snakes of the 

 State may be known from the harmless ones by the 

 following characters. The head is broader than the 

 body, flat and triangular, and has a deep pit on each 

 side between the eye and the nostril, whence the name 

 "Pit Vipers" which is sometimes given to the group. 

 There are no solid teeth in the upper jaw, but on each 

 side in front is a hollow poison fang "which can be 

 depressed against the roof of the mouth or erected at 

 will. The canal in this fang connects with a duct or 

 tube which leads to a poison gland on the upper side 

 of the head. The poisonous liquid is separated from 

 the blood by this gland and, when the serpent strikes, 

 from four to six drops of it are injected through the 

 duct and fang into the wound. 



The liquid itself is tasteless, green to orange in color, 

 and about ten times as heavy as water. Freezing, 

 boiling, drying or treatment with alcohol does not 

 affect its virulence. In man, as in most other animals, 

 the poison causes great nervous prostration, lessens 

 the number of heart beats per minute, and produces 



