Natural History of Birds, Fish, Insects and Reptiles: Embellished with Upwards of Two Hundred Engravings. In Five Volumes..

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Page 96 - ... he immediately felt a violent pain, both at the top of his thumb and up his arm, even before the viper was loosened from his hand; soon after he felt...
Page 97 - About an hour and a quarter after the first of his being bit, a chafing dish of glowing charcoal was brought in, and his naked arm was held over it, as near as he could bear, while his wife rubbed in the oil with her hand, turning his arm continually round, as if she would have roasted it over the coals : he said the poison soon abated, but the swelling did not diminish much. Most violent purgings and vomitings soon ensued ; and his pulse became so low, and so often interrupted, that it was thought...
Page 74 - Having darted upon the affrighted animal, it instantly began to wrap it round with its voluminous twistings ; and at every twist the bones of the buffalo were heard to crack almost as loud as the report of a cannon. It was in vain that the poor animal...
Page 296 - But they are not kept constant to one employment ; they often change the tasks assigned them ; those that have been at work being permitted to go abroad, and those that have been in the fields already take their places. They seem even to have signs by which they understand each other ; for when any of them...
Page 84 - Feuille tells us, that being in the woods of Martinico, he was attacked by a large serpent, which he could not easily avoid, when his dog immediately came to his relief, and seized the assailant with great courage. The serpent entwined him, and pressed him so violently, that the blood came out of his mouth, and yet the dog never ceased till he had torn it to pieces. The dog was not sensible of his wounds during the fight ; but soon after his head swelled prodigiously, and he lay on the ground as...
Page 95 - ... capable of supporting very long abstinence, it being known that some have been kept in a box six months without food ; yet during the whole time they did not abate of their vivacity. They feed only a small part of the year, but never during their confinement ; for if mice, their favourite diet, should at that time be thrown into their box, though they will kill, yet they will never eat them. When at liberty, they remain torpid throughout the winter ; yet, when confined, have never been observed...
Page 70 - The skin also contributes to its motions, being composed of a number of scales, united to each other by a transparent membrane, which grows harder as it grows older, until the animal changes, which is generally done twice a year. This cover then bursts near the head, and the serpent creeps from it, by an undulatory motion, in a new skin, much more vivid than the former. If the old slough be then viewed, every scale...
Page 93 - Snake by the colour, which in the latter is more beautifully mottled ; as well as by the head, which is thicker than the body ; but particularly by the tail, which, in the Viper, though it ends in a point, does not run tapering to so great a length as in the other. When, therefore, other distinctions fail, the difference of the tail can be discerned at a single glance.
Page 27 - I rescued it, pulled out one eye, and hurt it so, that notwithstanding its living a twelvemonth, it never enjoyed itself, and had a difficulty of taking its food, missing the mark for want of its eye. Before that accident, it had all the appearance of perfect health.
Page 98 - ... oil, heated in a ladle over the charcoal, by Dr. Mortimer's direction, who was the physician that drew up the account. From this last operation, he declared that he found immediate ease, as though by some charm: he soon after fell into a profound sleep, and, after about nine hours...

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