THE VIPER, OR ADDER. 73 



stances are recorded. Bedard, in his lectures, 

 relates a case of a young man in the neighbour- 

 hood of Angers, who, falling down in a meadow, 

 was bitten by a viper in several places, and died 

 in consequence in a few hours. Matthiole re- 

 cords an instance in which a countryman falling 

 down in a meadow happened to divide one of 

 these reptiles in the middle ; he seized the por- 

 tion of the trunk to which the head was attached, 

 in an awkward manner, and was in consequence 

 bitten in the finger, and died from the effects 

 of the wound. It should be remembered in 

 connection with these instances, that the reptile 

 which is regarded as the common viper in France 

 is the Asp, and not the same species as that 

 which occurs in Britain, whilst our Viper, not 

 uncommon also, is called the Little Viper. The 

 former of these is doubtless more venomous 

 than the latter. 



It may be of interest to record here the expe- 

 riences of a sufferer from the bite of a viper, 

 and the mode of treatment resorted to : 



The viper was very sluggish ; but on touching it, and en- 

 deavouring to take it by the neck, as I had done before, it 

 struck at me, and bit my left forefinger. I immediately 

 threw it down and stamped upon it, and sucked the place, 

 cutting it with a knife, and putting ammonia to it. Mean- 

 while, my brother went for the doctor, and before he came 

 I began x to feel very faint, and inclined to vomit. When he 

 came, he cut two incisions in the finger, and tied it up at 



