NATURE'S REALM. 
surgeons have, the most serious consequences 
follow the bite inflicted by an angry man, and 
several years ago the writer had his hand con- 
fined in a sling for many weeks from such a 
-~wound administered by the teeth of a common 
cat, the even tenor of whose life had been sud- 
denly interrupted.” 
The most conclusive of my own experiments 
on the subject of this notice, H. suspectum, 
eighteen inches in length, was made with a 
young cat less than one-third grown. The cat 
was bitten on the right hand and wrist, the 
lizard holding fast like a bull dog, and blood 
was seen to flow when they were released. 
That there might be no doubt of the effective- 
ness of the bite, in two minutes the teeth were 
inserted a second time, the saurian retaining 
his hold and sinking his teeth deeper as the 
cat struggled to get free. For half an hour or 
more the wound occasioned some distress and 
was licked and dressed by the kitten, which then 
went to sleep for about an hour and a half. 
In expectation of its death it was left undis- 
turbed. To my surprise it awoke as lively as 
if nothing had happened. Though the hand 
was somewhat swollen, it was but slightly 
lame. Twenty-four hours afterward, when it 
was as bright as ever and apparently without 
ill-effects from its mishap, the same cat was 
again bitten twice on the forearm, a little 
higher than before. As in the first experiment 
there was no room to doubt the penetration of 
the teeth. The cat again licked the wounds 
and for a considerable time was occupied in 
dressing them. There was no disposition to 
go to sleep as on the day before. In two 
hours, as soon as the cat was inclined to pay 
no farther attention to its wounds, it was killed 
and the skin removed the better to note the ef- 
fects of the bites. The forearm and hand were 
found to be swollen to twice the size of the op- 
posite hand and arm. The track of each tooth 
was marked by the blood in and close around 
it, and the number and depth left no doubt of 
the conclusiveness of the experiment; the teeth 
had gone to the bones and between them. I 
saw nothing by which to distinguish the cuts 
from those made by a needle. There were no 
signs of disorganization in either the first or 
the second bites. Nothing could he seen in 
Io3 
the way of discoloration or otherwise to give 
reason for any other conclusion than that the 
kitten would have entirely recovered in a few 
hours, by the time the swelling had gone 
down, if it had been allowed to live. 
The outcome of such observations as have 
been made on this specimen has been confirm- 
ation of the opinion that the species is ven- 
omous to a certain degree, to an extent that, 
while it may most often prove fatal to very 
small animals, is only in exceptional instances 
deadly or perhaps even dangerous to larger 
ones. The effect on the kitten was identical 
with that on the puppies in Sumichrast's ex- 
periments. That poison was introduced by the 
bite was evident from the distress and swelling 
occasioned. 
Dr. Fischer has described and figured secre- 
tory apparatus on the lower jaws; no glands 
have been found on the upper. There is an 
important question to be solved in connection 
with this apparent lack of venom-secreting or- 
gans on one of the jaws, which is quite as well 
prepared for its use as the other on which the 
glands are so well develope4. On both upper 
and lower jaws each tooth has a lateral groove 
on each side; these furrows are supposed to 
be for the purpose of inserting the venom in 
the wounds made by the teeth. Unless there 
are, not yet discovered, means of supplying 
venom to the upper teeth, it is difficult to see 
how their furrows are made available, it not by 
means of a quantity set free in the mouth, from 
the lower jaws, before the attempt to bite, a 
process of such uncertain efficacy as hardly to 
be considered probable. 
Averse to torturing the creature, no attempt 
was made to verify the statement made by 
Sumichrast concerning the habit of turning on 
the back to defend itself when struck or beaten 
with a club. However, it might be expected 
to do just what is asserted of it under such 
circumstance, for the position would be that 
which would enable it most effectively to use 
feet and claws in aid of the teeth in self-defense. 
The breath is no more colored than that of 
human beings; neither is it nor could it be 
any more offensive in its odor than the incense 
wafted from the lips of multitudes of the repre- 
sentatives of proud humanity. In regard to 
