SERPENTS. S89 



the -western hemisphere in general form, habits, and in the effect of poison, they, as 

 a rule, are different in not possessing a deep pit on the side of the head, between the 

 eye and nostril, very characteristic of the American forms, or Bothi-ophera, and are 

 hence distinguished as Abothrophera. 



The fangs are the only teeth of the maxiUaries of the Solenoglypha, which bones 

 are so attached to the lachrymal and frontals as to allow considerable motion, that the 

 fangs, except when about to be used, may lie against the jaw, where they are covered 

 by two folds of tough membrane. Immediately behind the slender fangs, which are 

 not only often broken off, but are regularly shed, are several incipient teeth, which, 

 though only attached to the gum, are regularly pushed forward, and take their posi- 

 tion as new fangs when the old ones are lost, becoming firmly attached to the maxillary 

 bone. These fangs are perforated by a canal, which is quite evidently, on viewing the 

 teeth in cross section, a mere fold of the anterior part, the lateral ridges being united 

 together from near the base of the fang, where opens the venom duct, to a point 

 a little above and in front of the apex, where it opens by a small slit. The venom 

 gland, which is a modified salivary gland, varies greatly in size ; in all cases, however, 

 it contains a cavity where the poison is resei-ved until it is ready for use. Below and 

 around this gland are a series of muscles, which, by voluntary contraction, can project 

 the venom through the duct, down the canal of the tooth, and can throw it further, as 

 a small jet, for some little distance. It has been often stated that the venom must, of 

 necessity, be ejected by the pressure of the muscles, as the reptile strikes. This is not 

 the case, however, as the serpent can, at will, control the flow of venom, and may 

 even strike without j)oisoning the object of its anger; moreover, a thoroughly exas- 

 perated snake, when held by the neck, has been known to forcibly eject the venom, 

 though no opportunity was given for striking. When, however, the animal is sur- 

 jDrised in its native haunts, if no retreat is offered, it collects itself, so that the anterior 

 part of the body can be straightened, and, on being further irritated, may strike with 

 the mouth open and the fangs depressed, or it may erect the fangs and wound, or it may 

 strike with the mouth closed, the fangs projecting as tusks on each side of the lower 

 jaw. On the fangs entering the flesh, the snake, by throwing its head forward, makes 

 a small cavity in front of tlie venom orifice, which receives the poison when the teeth 

 are withdrawn. When small animals, intended for food, are thus wounded, they 

 appear paralyzed, the snake watching them most intently, an action which has, to 

 some people, substantialized the foolish notion of charming. As the venom is an 

 active decomposing agent, it undoubtedly assists in digestion. It is an interesting fact 

 that the members of Solenoglypha are viviparous. 



The symptoms exhibited by persons who have been bitten by our more poisonous 

 snakes seem to vary considerably ; but it is probable that the poison, entering the 

 blood, paralyzes the nerve centres, seriously affecting the function of respiration, and 

 enfeebling the action of the heart. The venom, when taken into the alimentary tract, 

 is harmless, as it is incapable of passing through the thick mucous walls, and its nature 

 is more or less changed by the action of the digestive fluids. But through other 

 tissues of the body, as the serous or muscular, it rapidly spreads ; the blood thus 

 affected being materially changed, and after death losing its natural coagulability. 



The first thing to be 'done, on receiving a wound from a poisonous serpent, is to 

 tightly tie a broad ligature between the part wounded and the heart, that the venom 

 may be, only little by little, admitted into general circulation. The next thing is to 

 enlarge the wound and suck from it the blood and poison. Spirits should be freely 



