114 POISON-FANGS OF THE VIPER. 



undistinguishable until lifted with a needle. They are singularly fine and delicate, hardly 

 larger than a lady's needle, and are covered almost to their tips with a muscular envelope 

 through which the points just peer. The poison-secreting glands and the reservoir' in which 

 the venom is stored are found at the back and sides of the head, and give to the venomous 

 Serpents that peculiar width of head which is so unfailing a characteristic. The color of the 

 poison is a very pale yellow, and its consistence is very like that of salad oil, which, indeed, it 

 much resembles both in look and taste. There is but little in each individual ; and it is pos- 

 sible that the superior power of the larger venomous Snakes of other lands, especially those 

 under the tropics, may be due as much to its quantity as its absolute intensity. In a full- 

 grown rattlesnake, for example, there are six or eight drops of this poison, whereas the Viper 

 has hardly a twentieth part of that amount. 



On examining carefully the poison-fangs of a Viper, the structure by which the venom is 

 injected into the wound will be easily understood. On removing the lower jaw, the two fangs 

 are seen in the upper jaw, folded down in a kind of groove between the teeth of the palate and 

 the skin of the head, so as to allow any food to slide over them without being pierced by their 

 points. The ends of the teeth reach about half-way from the nose to the angle of the jaw, just 

 behind the corner of the eye. 



Only the tips of the fangs are seen, and they glisten bright, smooth and translucent, as if 

 they were carved needles made from isinglass, and almost as tine as a bee's sting. On raising 

 them with a needle or the point of the forceps, a large mass of muscular tissue comes into 

 view, enveloping the tooth for the greater part of its length, and being, in fact, the means by 

 which the fang is elevated or depressed. "When the creature draws back its head and opens 

 its mouth to strike, the depressing muscles are relaxed, the opposite series are contracted, and 

 the two deadly fangs spring up with their points ready for action. It is needful, while dis- 

 secting the head, to be exceedingly careful, as the fangs are so sharp that they penetrate the 

 skin with a very slight touch, and their poisonous distilment does not lose its potency, even 

 after the lapse of time. 



The next process is to remove one of the teeth, place it under a tolerably good magnifier 

 and examine its structure, when it will be seen to be hollow, and, as it were, perforated by a 

 channel. This channel is, however, seen, on closer examination, to be formed by a groove 

 along the tooth, which is closed, except at the one end whence the poison exudes and the 

 other at which it enters the tooth. If the tooth be carefully removed, and the fleshy sub- 

 stance pushed away from its root, the entrance can lie seen quite plainly by the aid of a pocket 

 lens. The external aperture is in the form of a very narrow slit upon the concave side of the 

 fang, so very narrow, indeed, that it seems too small for the passage of any liquid. 



There are generally several of the fangs in each jaw, lying one below the other in regular 

 succession. From the specimen which has just been described I removed four teeth on each 

 side, varying in length from half to one-eighth the dimensions of the poison-fangs. 



The Viper seems to be well aware of the power of its fangs, and to discriminate between 

 animate and inanimate antagonists. I have tried in vain to make a Viper bite a stick with 

 which I was irritating it ; but no sooner did a kitten approach, than the reptile drew back its 

 head and made its lightning-like dart at the little creature with such rapidity, that it would 

 have gained its point, had not its back been so much injured as to deprive it of its natural 

 powers. 



The ordinary food of the Viper is much the same as that of the common Snake, and con- 

 sists of mice, birds, frogs, and similar creatures. It is, however, less partial to frogs than the 

 common Snake, and seems to prefer the smaller mammalia to any other prey. The young of 

 the Viper enter the world in a living state, having been hatched just before they are born. 

 The fat of the Viper was once in high estimation as a drug, and the older apothecaries were 

 accustomed to purchase these re] .tiles in considerable numbers. Even now this substance is 

 in some repute in many agricultural districts, being employed as a remedy for cuts, sprains, 

 or bruises, and especially as a means of alleviating the painful symptoms of a Viper's bite. 



Tlie color of the Viper is rather variable ; but the series of very dark marks down the 

 back is an unfailing sign of the species, and is permanent in all the varieties. Generally, the 



