s; the
fer de lance (_Craspedocephalus lanceolatus_) renders the paradise of
Martinique almost uninhabitable; the tic paloonga (_Daboii russelli_)
is the scourge of Cinghalese coffee estates; the giant ehlouhlo of
Natal (unclassified) by its presence secures a forbidding waste for
miles about; the far famed cobra de capello (_Naja tripudians_)
ravages British India in a death ratio of one-seventh of one per cent.
of the dense population, annually, and is the more dangerous in that
an assumed sacred character secures it largely from molestation and
retributive justice; and in Europe and America we have vipers,
rattlesnakes, copperheads, and moccasins (_viperinae_ and _crotalidae_),
that if a less degree fatal, are still a source of dread and
annoyance. All these forms exhibit in general like ways and like
habits, and if the venom of all be not generically identical, the
physiological and toxicological phenomena arising therefrom render
them practically and specifically so. Indeed, their attributes appear
to be mere modifications arising from difference in age, size,
development, climate, latitude, seasons, and enforced habits, aided
perhaps by idiosyncrasies and the incidents and accidents of life.

In delicacy of organism and perfection in mechanism and precision, the
inoculatory apparatus of the venomous reptile excels the most
exquisite appliances devised by the surgical implement maker's art,
and it is doubtful whether it can ever be rivaled by the hand of man.
The mouth of the serpent is an object for the closest study,
presenting as it does a series of independent actions, whereby the
bones composing the upper jaw and palate are loosely articulated, or
rather attached, to one another by elastic and expansive ligaments,
whereby the aperture is made conformatory, or enlarged at will--any
one part being untrammeled and unimpeded in its action by its fellows.
The recurved, hook-like teeth are thus isolated in application, and
each venom fang independent of its rival when so desired, and it
becomes possible to reach points and recesses seemingly inaccessible.

The fangs proper, those formidable weapons whose threatening presence
quails the boldest opponent, inspires the fear of man, and puts to
flight the entire animal kingdom--lions, tigers, and leopards, all but
the restless and plucky mongoose--and whose slightest scratch is
attended with such dire results, are two in number, one in each upper
jaw, and placed anter