VEGETABLE POISONS. 175 



be considered something less than an inch. They 

 possess two poisonous fangs on each side in the 

 upper jaw, and an apparatus for preparing the 

 poison exactly similar to that of the rattle snake 

 and cobra de capello already described ; and 

 like them, they are viviparous, that is, they pro- 

 duce their young alive contrary to the common 

 innocuous serpents, which are oviparous ; the 

 latter depositing their eggs in warm sheltered 

 situations to be afterwards hatched by the sun, 

 and this forms a leading discrimination be- 

 tween the two descriptions of serpents. The 

 other distinguishing marks, are the form of the 

 head, of the jaw bone, and of the teeth, the shape 

 of the body and tail, and colour of the skin. The 

 head of the viper is large in proportion to the 

 body, and of rather a triangular form, the apex 

 or snout being more flattened than the common 

 snake. The jaw bone is also different : in the 

 upper jaw of the viper, there are only two rows 

 of common teeth, but from these, two poisonous 

 fangs hang out, which are their principal instru- 

 ments of attack and defence ; while the innocu- 

 ous serpent has no fangs, their place being sup- 

 plied by three rows of teeth in the upper jaw, of 

 which they make the same use as other animals ; 

 -by merely biting their prey without poisoning 

 it. In the viper, the body is shorter in proportion, 

 and it does not taper off towards the tail in that 

 fine point which is a leading feature in the com- 



