206 MARVELS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD 



snake and yet live to describe his sensations con- 

 cerning the same, it may be as well to explain that 

 the fluid is inoperative unless it enters the blood of 

 a victim, and, therefore, provided a person is per- 

 fectly healthy, he can take a few drops diluted with 

 water without fear of any bad effects. Should there 

 be any abrasion of the digestive organs, however, the 

 venom is then absorbed into the system at the seat 

 of the weakness and proves just as dangerous as 

 if it had entered the blood by means of a direct 

 bite. Snake poison is extremely powerful in its 

 action, and retains its deadly properties for a great 

 length of time, even in a dried state ; some thus 

 preserved for twenty years having been proved to 

 have lost none of its potency. 



The only venomous snake found in the British 

 Isles is the viper or adder. It rarely exceeds twenty- 

 five inches in length, although on the Continent 

 larger specimens are occasionally to be met with. 

 It is characterised by having a dark-coloured zig- 

 zag design upon the upper surface of its body which 

 usually ends in a V-shaped mark on the top of its 

 head, but, unfortunately, the markings are very 

 indistinct in some individuals, although, on the 

 other hand, the writer has seen a specimen in which 

 the pattern was almost jet-black, and the body- 

 colour nearly white. In spite of the poisonous nature 

 of the viper's bite, it rarely causes death in man, for 

 unless a victim is in poor health at the time of inocu- 

 lation, there is usually every hope of his recovering 

 from the effects of the venom. An interesting 

 account of the symptoms attending a bite from 



