Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-28

| NM the others are in Lon
(MES Hon, Paris. Berlin and
! !"
AA Vtenna-an Of them
~JkNMNM\ belonging to govern
MkMUHEM ments. The collection
,WHyNX%W here Is hidden from
>NVSxNM& public view In an out
\ f~ Will, of-the-way corner of
the National Mu-
serm. 1t Is under the care of DR.. Leonard
Stejneger. who Is known everywhere as an
expert in reptiles.
you do not admire snakes suppose?'
said DR.. Stejneger yesterday, as he sat in
| his work room, surrounded by reptilian
specimens In bottles Of alcohol. "Well, it
| is all a matter of taste. There was Prof.
| Baird, formerly secretary of the Smith
sonian Institution. He swallowed the poison
glands of a rattlesnake one day. just to
make sure that the venom was harmless
| when taken internally. The experiment was
| a risky one; i would have advised him
| against it. At all events. it is we'll that he
did not try the poison glands of cobra.
You see," continued the doctor, gently
stroking with his finger the head of a HARM
| less living snake, to give the creature pleas
ure, 1.-THE poisons are different Each of
| them contain two distinct active principles
one of which produces local symptoms in
d
| dency to paralyze the nervous centers of
the victim. The latter preponderates in
The cobra venom. wound made by the
tooth of that species of serpent is a mere
puncture and causes little swelling. The
person bitten Is killed by paralysis of the
nerve centers. The danger of the rattle
snake bite, on the other hand. is from NOR
tlilcatlon OF the injured part, which may
Proceed SO far that the flesh actually putre-
hes. Cobra poison in its natural state is
one OF those fluids which are able to pass
through membranes. If swallowed 1t would
be apt to go Through the walls of the ALI
mentary tract and get into the circulation
in that way"
Snakes of North America
Kicking out of the way two large land
turtles which were walking across the floor.
Dr. Stejneger called attention, with a wave
OF his hand, to shelves on every side con-
tanning thousands of jars and bottles of
| serpents and other reptiles. Said he: "Of
course, this collection is far ahead of all
others IN respects to the snakes of North
America. Where do the specimens come
| from? you ask. Well. they are contributed
mostly by private individuals; people send
Them from everywhere. You cannot employ
heiu agents to gather Serpents, because one
only comes ccross them by chance and oc-
casionaiiy. We obtain good many by ex-
chahSe with scientific institutions abroad.
Here Is Jarful of reptiles of various kinds.
warded from Africa by young Astor Chan
Ter, the explorer. Not few specimens
come to us through the Department of Ag-
riculture ANY government expedition. such
as that OF the Mexican boundary survey
commission, Is likely to furnish more or
less of such material.
The specimens come in alcohol usually
After being identified they are nut into
jars, each species having a bottle to itself
II may be desirable to obtain the skeletons
or some of them. That Is a very difficult
task with snakes The flesh must first he
removed with delicate scissors and forceps
Then the bones are carefully scraped. great
pains being taken to preserve the cartila-
ginous extreTities of the ribs. These M;
be regarded as the feet Of q snake. which
actually walks on the ends of its ribs The
&c as and pythons have rudimentary hind
legs" -
The Horned Toad and Liznrd.
The doctor reached to shelf near by
and took therefrom a small and particu-
larly hideous object. 1t was e. horned toad
from some desert region OF the southwest
Evidently quite tame, 1t blinked its bright
little eyes at the reptilian expert as he
rubbed the front part of its head with his
hnger That ii enjoyed the operation was
unmistakable. When angry this animal
squirts Jets of blood out of its eyes to a dis
tance of foot. This fact. long discredited
by scientists. has been established recently
Though called a toad, this creature is in
reality kind Of lizard" said DR.. Stejneger,
as he replaced 1t on the shelf. But.
speaking of lizards, the queerest one we
nave seen for long time reached us the
other day from New Zealand. 1t is named
the 'cyciopean lizard because it has a
third eye on the top its head. However, 1t
is not a true lizard, but a sort of connect
ing link between the lizards and turtles
The species Is limited to a small island
near New Zealand, and 1t has been rem
dered almost entirely extinct by hogs with
taste for its flesh. 1t attains a length of
three feet. but all of the big ones were
eaten up long ago. The third eye is rudi-
mentary, but dissection of its structure
plainly reveals the eye-socket. the lens and
a strand of nerves connecting with the
visual tract of the brain.
This eye Is interesting chiefly because 1t
corresponds to the third eye with which
every human being Is provided. The So
called pineal gland is actually an eye that
mas become rudimentary. The gland is of
ABOUT the Size and shape of pea, and is
situated in the middle of the head. Place
the tip OF your finger just above the bridge
OF your nose. on a level with the eyes, and
directly behind that point about Ave inches
Is the gland. 1t still retains somewhat of
the structure of an eye. The ancients sup
posed 1t to be the center of consciousness
and the seat Of the SOUL"
The doctor pointed to a big jar Of alco-
hol in which ia tsingle huge snake with
stripes was caiied, up.
APython's Attack.
THAT is a python" he said. but 1t is
rot a very large one. The species attains
length Of thirty feet and a diameter of a
foot. If 1 met such a serpent would my
scientific knowledge give me better chance
in an encounter with it? Well, perhaps
Notwithstanding my enthusiasm col
lector, 1 would certainly run away if i
could. Supposing that the animal seized me
1t is probable; that l would keep my wits
better than the average citizen would I'M
der such circumstances. The only thing
n would RI nv
the throat to strangle it. The other day i
read statement to the effect that the
proper courses to pursue yin an emergency
of the kind was to take hold of the tail
of the snake and unwind the constructing
coils from that end. In my opinion that
would be a poor plan to adopt with a py-
thon, inasmuch as it's tail is the strongest
part of it, being made powerful for holding
on.
Snakes have their usefulness in the
world. They are the scavengers of swamps
and morasses where other animals of size
are unable to penetrate or to exist 1t is
in the tropics, of course, that serpents
a.