132 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



[June 1, 1865. 



The substance is soft and yeUow, with a spongy ap- 

 pearance. The dud or canal through which the 

 poison is conveyed to the fang is a narrow cylindri- 

 cal tube swelling in the centre of its course into a 

 kind of reservoir, and terminating in the base of the 

 fang ih). This latter is a tooth in the form of a tube, 

 much longer than the other teeth, and curved {cT). 

 It is placed in the upper jaw, one on each side of the 

 mouth. On the outer surface of tlie fang, near the 

 apex, is an elongated opening or slit {e), from which 

 a canal passes through the hollow in the interior of 

 the tooth, and is united to the duct which communi- 

 cates with the poison-gland. These fangs fall back- 

 wards, and lie concealed in a groove in the gum when 

 not in use. 



The following elaborate description of the mode 

 by which the viper wounds and envenoms its prey 

 scarcely leaves anything to be desired : — " When a 

 viper is struck, it first coils itself up, leaving its 

 head in the centre, or at the summit of the coil, and 

 drawn a little back, as if for the purpose of recon- 

 uoitering. Speedily the animal uncoils itself like a 

 spring. Its body is then launched out with such 

 rapidity, that for a moment the eye cannot follow 

 it. In this movement the viper clears a space 

 nearly equal to its own length ; but it never leaves 

 the ground, where it remains supported on its 

 tail pr_ posterior portion of the body, ready to 

 coil itself up again and aim afresh a second blow, 

 if the first should fail. To do this the viper distends 

 its mouth, draws back its fangs, arranges them in 

 the right direction, and then plunges them into its 

 enemy by a blow of the head or upper jaw: this 

 done, the fangs are withdrawn. The lower jaw, 

 which is closed at the same moment, serves as a 

 point of resistance, and favours the entrance of the 

 poison-fangs ; but this assistance is very slight, and 

 the reptile acts by striking rather than biting. 

 There are times, however, when the viper bites 

 without coiling itself up and then darting forth. This 

 occurs, for instance, when it meets with some small 

 animal, which it destroys at leisure and without 

 anger, or when it is seized by the tail or middle of 

 the body, in which case it turns round and plunges 

 in its fangs. As the teeth are buried in the tissues 

 of the body struck, the poison is driven down the 

 canals, which pass through them by the action of 

 the muscles which close the mouth, and the injec- 

 tion takes place with a force proportionate to the 

 vigour and rage of the reptile, and the supply of 

 poison with which it is furnished." * In the bite 

 there are two punctures corresponding to the 

 poison-fangs. 



It has been taken for granted that the bite of the 

 viper proves fatal in this country, without, perhaps, 

 a knowledge of any instance in which it so termi- 



* M. Moquin-Tandon's "Zoolugic M6tlicale. 



nated. Professor Bell declares that he had never 

 seen a case which terminated in death, nor had he 

 been able to trace to an authentic source any of the 

 numerous reports of such a termination, which 

 have at various times been confidently promulgated.* 

 Nevertheless, in Prance and other continental coun- 

 tries many instances are recorded. Bedard, in his 

 lectures, relates a case of a young man in the neigh- 

 bourhood 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 records an 

 instance in which a countryman falling down in a 

 meadow happened to divide one of these reptiles in 

 the middle ; he seized the portion of the trunk to 

 which the head was attached, in an awkward man- 

 ner, 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 Prance 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. 



Repkoductioit op Ivolpods. — The Prench Aca- 

 demy has awarded a prize to M. Gerbe for his dis- 

 covery of the reproduction of kolpods. In his re- 

 searches on the embryology of marine Crustacea, he 

 observed that kolpods, after the manner of the con- 

 jugated confervse, connected themselves by pairs. 

 Pollowing this conjunction, unique in the animal 

 kingdom, as far as is known at present, he has shown 

 that in the common gangiie, or matrix, formed by the 

 fusion of the two individuals of each couple, the 

 reproductive organ of each is divided into two, and 

 four reproductive ovules are thus formed in the 

 matrix, which then dies. These oviform germs are 

 soon disengaged, showing hving and moving kolpods 

 in precisely the same manner as does the newly-born 

 conferva. It will be seen that M. Gerbe's observa- 

 tions supply us with an analogy between the genera- 

 tion of animals and that of plants. — The Reader. 



Petrified Human Eemains.— In a volume re- 

 cently published, which, although a descriptive 

 poem, contains many allusions to natural phenomena 

 ("Beauties of Tropical Scenery, &c." London: 

 Hardwieke), the petrified human skeletons found in 

 the island of Guadaloupe are mentioned at page 47. 

 Are these fossil remains of man to be considered of 

 great antiquity, or of comparatively recent forma- 

 tion ? One of these petrified skeletons is preserved 

 in the British Museum.' — Inquirer. 



* Bell's " British lleiitiles," p. 59. 



