EEIIEDIES FOE VIPEE WOUNDS. 95 



portion as the fangs penetrate the bodj' of the animal the poison 

 flows into the canal, which again conducts it to the fangs under 

 the influence of the contracting muscles, by which they are 

 raised and made to press upon the gland ; but this movement 

 causes the Adder to close its mouth, and the venom is injected 

 into the wound. 



Adders bite in much the same manner when seized by the tail 

 or middle of the body ; but when they think themselves attacked 

 and become irritated, they strike rather than bite. At first thej^ 

 coil themselves up into several superposed circles, then thej^ 

 will uncoil themselves to their whole length with excessive 

 quickness, extending their bodies like a spring, drawing it out 

 with the rapidity of lightning, and gliding over a space ec[ual 

 to their own length ; for they never leave the ground. They 

 will now open their jaws wide, erect their fangs, and strike, 

 first throwing back their heads, by which means thej^ contrive to 

 strike as with a hammer. 



Dr. Bell expresses doubts, in his " History of British Reptiles," 

 of the existence of any well-authenticated case in this country of 

 an Adder bite terminating fatally.* At the same time he cau- 

 tions all persons against exposure to them in the heat of summer 

 and autumn, when the poison is most virulent. The remed}' 

 applied to such a bite is to rub the part with olive oil, over a 

 chafing dish of coals, and to take a strong dose of ammonia (spirit 

 of hartshorn) internally. 



Open copses, dry heaths, new woodland clearings, and sandy 

 wastes are the usual haunts of the Adder ; and in such places 

 its hibernaculum is usually found in winter, where several of 

 the same species lie intertwined in a torpid state. 



It was long supposed that Adders, and iSnakes generallj^ 

 exercise a sort of magnetic action from a distance — a power which 

 has been c^ed^ fascwafion. This impression has been denied, 

 and attributed, not without reason, to a less mysterious cause; 

 namely, the sentiment of profound terror which these creatures 

 inspire. This terror manifests itself in animals by tremblings, 

 spasms, and convulsions. The sight of a veneraous Snake some- 

 times renders its victims immovable, incapable of flight, and as it 

 * A few cases have been knoivn. — Ed. 



