Fauna Italica. 91 



punto intermedio fra gli occhi hanno proporzioni alquanto maggiori 

 delle altre, ma fur sono imbricate e non rassembrano scudetti." 



The author remarks, that, in the vipers and all other serpents, the 

 male has the tail longer than the female, a want of attention to which 

 character has given rise to the creation of new species ; and added to 

 the confusion already existing in the arrangement of these animals. 

 The first viper described is the V. ammodytes, the peculiar dis- 

 tinction of which is in the muzzle being turned up somewhat in the 

 manner of the horn of the rhinoceros. It is extremely venomous, 

 being reputed to be more so than the common species, and in spring 

 it is said to be dangerous to pass near it. It inhabits the Morea, 

 Dalmatia, Hungary, and has been met with near Ferrara. 



The Vipera aspis of Merrem and of our author, the Coluber aspis 

 of Linnaeus, is the common viper of Italy, and of the south and centre 

 of France. The colour varies extremely, and of four plates in which 

 eight individuals are admirably delineated, no two are alike. This 

 is one and a natural cause of the confusion which exists even amongst 

 the best writers in the accounts of these reptiles, and one of the many 

 good points in this work is the number of synonyms and authorities 

 which are given. 



On the poison of this species the celebrated experiments of Fon- 

 tana and others were made. We believe, after all, that the best and 

 easiest cure is by immediate suction ; care of course being taken that 

 there are no open wounds or ulcers abouth the mouth. In all cases, 

 the widest difference is produced by the age of the animal, the sea- 

 son of the year, or probably the animus with which its wound is in- 

 flicted ; and still more important is the habit of body of the reci- 

 pient, and the part where the poison has been injected. We know 

 the serious and sometimes fatal effects that have resulted in this 

 country from the sting of a single wasp or bee. 



These reptiles are some years so numerous in the flat and marshy 

 country below Massa di Carrara, that the entering the woods is at- 

 tended with danger to the peasantry. In these cases we have been 

 informed the mode resorted to is that of turning in herds of swine^ 

 which pursue them with such avidity, that in a very short time the 

 nuisance is entirely abated. 



The genus Pelias differs from Vipera in the head being depressed 

 and extended backwards ; it is covered with convex scales, and the 

 snout is a little turned up. In Pelias the head is oval shaped, less de- 

 pressed, and less sensibly separated from the body. It is covered with 

 scales, which are flat or very slightly convex. The snout is flat and 

 not relieved or turned up from the muzzle. In the words of the au- 



