VIPER WOUNDS. 89 



superposed circles, then they 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 

 equal 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 they 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 cautions 

 all persons against running any risks in the heat of summer and 

 autumn, when the poison is most virulent. The remedy 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, t 



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

 wastes, are the usual haunts and hibernaculum of the adder. 



It was long supposed that Adders, and Snakes generally, exercised 

 a sort of magnetic action — a power which has been called fascina- 

 tion. This impression has been 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 venomous 

 snake sometimes renders its victims immovable, incapable of flight, 

 and as if it were paralysed, and thus allow themselves to be seized 

 without opposing the slightest resistance. M. Dumeril, while pur- 

 suing experiments in the Museum of Natural History demonstrative 

 of the sudden and mortal action of the bite of a viper on little birds, 

 saw a goldfinch which he held in his hands die suddenly merely at 

 the sight of one. 



In warm countries wounds produced by the larger species of 

 these terrible reptiles are extremely dangerous — they swell, become 

 red and ecchymose, and sometimes livid ; the wounded person is 

 seized with syncope, fever, and a series of morbid symptoms, which 

 often terminate in death. The remedy is to bind immediately a 

 ligature above the wound with a band, such as a rolled handkerchief, 

 a cord, or a string, so as to stop all communication of the blood with 

 the rest of the body, and thus prevent the absorption of the venom into 



* A few cases have been known. — Ed. 



t Subsequent experiments with the virus of the Indian Cobra have conclusively 

 proved that ammonia is not a sufficient antidote. — Ed. 



