8 CROTALOIDEA. 



4. The gland that secretes tlie poison is situated near the eye, under the temporal 



muscle, so as to be compressed by its contraction. The poison varies in 

 intensity perhaps in the diflbrcnt genera, but more so according to the state 

 of the animal. It is most active in the healthy snake — in the summer season 

 — when it has been long retained — when the animal is greatly irritated, &c. 

 &;c. To be deadly, however, it must be introduced into the circulation, for 

 it can be taken into the stomach with impunity. 



5. These serpents are all viviparous; or, the egg is retained in the female until it 



is hatched, and the young annual is then expelled alive. 



■w 



