REPTILES. 



mouths of the bon conftriflor and tlie crotalus horiidus, in 

 his Abbilduiigcn Natur-Hillorifcher gcgenftandc-, No. 37, 

 to fliew the difference between the venomous and innocent 

 kinds; an objeft of the greatell importance, both with 

 rcgnrd to the fewer fpecics of the former, and the much 

 more numerous of the latter kind, in order to warn mankind 

 againil real danger, and preferve them from groundk-fs 

 terrors. " All ferpents (fays Blumenbach), whether ve- 

 nomous or not, have the double internal row of palatine 

 teeth, and the inferior maxillary teeth, in common. But 

 the innocent fpecies have moreover the whole outer edge of 

 the upper jaw furniflied with teeth : in the venomous kinds, 

 this is toothlefs. But the latter have, at each anteriur 

 corner of the mouth, attached to the upper jaw, the long 

 hollow fangs with a flit at their point. Thcfe are connected 

 with the venomous glands, of which they may be regarded 

 as bony excretory dufts, to convey venom into the wound 

 made by the bite. 



" When, therefore, we fee in any fnako four rows of 

 teeth in the upper jaw, i<iz. belides tlie two internal palatine 

 rows, an external row on each fide running to the corner of 

 the mouth ; we may be ftire that the fpecies is poifonlefs, 

 and fo far innocent." 



The poi/unous gland, peculiar to the ferpents with fangs, 

 and faid to be of the conglomerate kind, like the falivary 

 glands of the mammalia, is fituated on each fide, behind the 

 crbit, clofe to the branch of the fuperior maxilla, and almoil 

 immediately under the fliin. It is covered by a membranous 

 or aponeurotic femitranfparent flieath, fixed to the bones of 

 the head in front of the gland. The excretory duft extends 

 from ihe anterior part of the gland, immediately under the 

 erbit, to the bony bafi< of the fang, and opens into a canal 

 excavated in the fang, running through it from above down- 

 wards, and terminating by an oblique aperture on its ante- 

 rior furface. Two mufcles dcftined to elevate the fangs, to 

 deprefs the fuperior maxillary bones, and confeqnenlly to 

 clofe the mouth, pafs along thefe bones from before back- 

 wards ; one on the outer, and the other on the inferior fide 

 of the gland. Thefe cannot adt without comprefTing the 

 gland, and expelling its fecretion into-the excretory dad. 

 See a reprefentation of the gland and the furrounding 

 mufcles in the coluber naja, Phil. Trani. 1804, pi. 2. pi. 8. 



In the article Poison of this work, there is an account 

 "•of the appearance and fcnfible properties of the fluid fecreted 

 by the venomous gland of the viper, and of its efTcas on 

 animals. We have a few additional points to mention on 

 this fubjeft, as well as concerning the poifonous properties 

 of fome other ferpents. 



Fontana ali'erts, that the noxious qualities of the fecre- 

 tion are retained for a long time, even in a dry flate ; and 

 that perfons have fufFcred from wounds inflicted by the fangs 

 of vipers, and other venomous ferpents, preferved in fpirits 

 or dried, even years after the death of the animal. The 

 venom retains its colour and tranfparency in the dead tooth, 

 and is Hill adive enough to kill animals, if it be rendered 

 fluid by immerfion in warm water. He alfo found it aclive 

 after many months, when dried and powdered. 



Leeches, fnails, and flugs, were not injured by the venom 

 of the viper. The blindworm and common fnake were not 

 affefted. Of tortoifes, fome were infenfible to the bite, 

 others died at the end of fome hours, when bitten by fcveral 

 vipers. 



The bites of the vipers of thele climates produce more or 

 lefs alarming fymptomsin the human fubjeft, but are not at- 

 tended witli danger. A pcafant, bitten by a viper in the 

 httle toe, had the foot, leg, and thigh fwoln in fix hours ; 

 the pulfe fmali and intermittent ; tliere was head-ache, pain in 



fio 



the abdomen, laJTitude, and ojiprefrion ; he cried frequently 

 and had no appetite. He gradually recovered in two days, 

 under the ufe of vegetable decoflions and poultices, whicii 

 probably did not contribute mucii to hifc relloration. Dau- 

 din. Hill. Nat. des Reptiles, 8vo. iiitrod. p. 138. 



Lcpechin mentions the circjmflani.c of a young Bafchkir, 

 ten years old, being bitten by a black viper (coluber prcller, 

 L.) in the foot. " Son pied enfla extrememcnt en moin* 

 d'unc demi-heure, et il eprouvoit tant de douleur dans la 

 partic bleflce, qu'il ne pouVoit pas remuer le piad fans ctre 

 force de crier : la paleur extreme de fon vifagc, fes yeux 

 troubles, et fa refpiration gence, annonijoient tres-fortement 

 k danger que couroit ce jeune homme, fi I'on n'y apportoit 

 un prompt remcde." Olive oil externally, and volatile 

 alkali by the mouth, were the fuccefsful remedies. Daudin, 

 v. 6. p. 168 ; (quoted from Lcpechin, Tagebuch einer 

 Reife, Sect. 2. p. 105). 



While Charas was engaged in refearches for his work on 

 the viper, he was bitten in the fore -finger. He immediately 

 fucked the wound, made a ligature on the root of the finger, 

 and another on the v\Tiil. The bite gave him but little pain. 

 He took fome fudorifics, which operated in a few hours, and 

 he was cured. 



Boyle fays that he cured a man bitten by a vip'-r, by hold- 

 ing a red-hot iron near the wound for a quarter of an hour. 

 The truth feems to be, that the effcfts of the bite are not 

 confiderable in the human fubject ; and this accounts better 

 for the recovery of perlons bitten, than any virtues in the re- 

 medies employed. 



The wounds inflicted by thefe animals are not, however, al- 

 ways fo free from danger. The viper cherfea (coluber 

 cherfea, L.), fays Daudin, is very venom.ous, and its bite is 

 often mortal. Linnaeus employed olive oil in the cafe of a 

 woman who had been bitten ; but flie died, although the re- 

 medy had been fuccefsfuUy employed in the bite of the 

 black viper (vipera preiter). Dacdin. v. 6. p. 148. 



The wounds of many Indian, African, and American fer- 

 pents, are, liowever, fatal to the human fubjecl. The vi- 

 pera cornuta of foulhern Africa, is defcribed by Paterfon as 

 very virulent, infomuch, that the Bosjefmen and Namaquaws 

 employ its venom for poiloning their arrows. Daudin, ibid, 

 p.' 189. 



A captain Hall made fome experiments on the poifonous 

 powers of the rattlefnake, of which he has recorded the re- 

 fults in the Philofophical Tranfaftions. Tke firft dog- bitten 

 by this animal died in fifteen leconds ; the fecond at the end 

 of two hours; and the. third of three hours. He recom- 

 menced his experiments with the fame ferpent on the follow- 

 ing day : the firll dog died in thirty feconds ; another in 

 four minutes. Three days after, a frog died in two minutes, 

 a chicken in three minutes. A httle time after, an amphif- 

 baena was bitten, and died in eight minutes ; and the fer- 

 pent, having fubfequently bitten himfelf, died in twelve 

 minutes. 



Su- Everard Hume has defcribed at full length the cafe of 

 a man, who was bitten on the thumb and fore-finger by a 

 rattle-fnake between four and five feet long in this country. 

 He died eighteen days after the accident. Great fwelUng 

 of the whole limb up to the axilla enfued ; the tumefaction 

 did not extend to the neck, but there was a fuUnefs down the 

 fide, and blood was extravafated as low as the loins, produ- 

 cing a mottled appearance. A full trial was given to the 

 volatile alkali, both externally and internally, and to other 

 medicines of the like nature, as ether, brand), &c. alfo to 

 opium. The cellular fubilancc had floughed over the whole 

 fwelled part of the limb, fo that the ftin was feparated uni- 

 verfally from the mufcles. For a further account of this cafe, 



and 



