, 1900-02-15
ALL o SNAKES,

dragon or serpent al a helmet crest.
There are said t be over one hun
dred varieties Of poisonous serpents in
India.
The serpent has two lungs, but only
n is developed, the other being rudi-
m%entary.
Snake experts say that of all veno-
nous reptiles the rattlesnake is the
most deadly.
The asp Of Cleopatra is supposed to
have been a small sand viper common
in Egypt.
Pythons n boas in captivity have
been known to go twenty-five months
without food.
The teeth of a serpent are hooked
backward, so that its prey, once seized,
rarely escapes.
In the temple of inerva at Athens a
large snake was always kept in a cage,
and was termed THE Guardian Spirit
OF the Temple"
The ears of a snake do not appear ex-
ternally, being merely small orifices
covered by the skin.
Among both Greek and Roman sculp-
tors the serpent is frequently repre-
scented as a protecting deity.
The cobra is said to be the only SER
pent that emits a cry, which resembles
the squeak Of a rat.
The male snake is always smaller,
more slender, of brighter color and
more active thar the female.
Some commentators believe that the
serpent" which tempted Eve in the
Garden of Eden was an ape.
The skin of the serpent is exceed
ingly extensible; it can be stretched
to twice its ordinary dimensions.
1t is said that in tropical regions the
natives have vegetable a%ntidotes for al
most all kinds OF snake poison.
There are many islands in the world
besides Ireland where snakes and rep
tiles Of all kinds are unknown.
All serpents even in the tropical re-
gions, become either torpid or languid
during the cool season OF the year.
The emblematists make the snake
a symbol Of eternity, forming it into a
circle, with its tail in its mouth.
A snake does not always climb a tree
by winding round it. The smaller SER
penis use the ventral plates as hooks.
1t is said by naturalists that the sto-
ry of vipers swallowing their young,
when in danger. has a foundation in
fact.
A snake has a liver, which, fortunate
ly, however, does not often get out OF
order, only n lobe being developed.
A snake finds the same difficulty in
crossing a plate of glass that a man
experiences in walking upon very
smooth ice.
Some boas and -pythons have horny
hooks on the sides OF the body, which
seem to be the rudiments of a pair of
hind legs.
The shell of the snakes egg is soft,
resembling that of the common hen
when no lime or other calcareous mat
ter, has been provided.
There is a tradition in many parts
Of Europe that when a serpent's sight
grows dim with age he eats fennel, and
thus regains his vision.
The venom fangs of the viper and
other poisonous snakes are Of a bony
tissue covered with a thin layer of al
most transparent cement.
The Indian government pays a boun-
ty on snake heads, and every year pay
ment is made On from half a million
to a million slain snakes.
The python, in the Old World, re-
places the boa in the New. The python
differs from the boa in having four
teeth in the Intermediary bone.
Snakes have frequently been known
to commit suicide. 'Rattlesnakes, when
surrounded by a circle of fire, will bite
themselves to death.
AL snakes feed on living animals
and refuse to touch those which they
have not killed themselves. A snake
is very, choice, about his meat.
q, The viper 9 cthe' only poisonous ser
pent known in Europe, ,and it is found
in every part of the continent and In
many localities in the south of Eng
land.
In all Christian art the serpent is
emblematic Of wisdom, the origin of
this emblem being the Bible express
sion, '"Be We therefore wise as SER.
penis" .
Throughout the East Indies arsenic,
in pills or liquid solution, is consider
ed"an fnfalhble remedy for the bite of
the cobra and other poisonous snakes.
The cobra, or spectacle snake"
from the markings on his back, when
angered, distends the neck, Just below
the head, sometimes to 5 or 6 inches in
breadth.
The poisoned arrows in use among
some native tribes OF the Upper ANA
zon derive their venom from having
been dipped in the poison sacs OF VEN
omous serpents.
In pagan art the serpent was an en-
blem of deity. Plutarch, says: "It
feeds upon its own body, even 80 ,all
things spring from God, and will be,
resolved into deity again"
The kissing sound produced by ser
penis is greatly exaggerated, as the i.