The Parents' Cabinet of Amusement and Instruction Volume 8 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ...with her work and the books. The first volume she opened contained a print of the viper (Coluber verus) and of the common harmless snake Coluber natrix). "Why, mamma," exclaimed Charles, as he observed the different marks, "I am surprised they can ever be mistaken, and yet I am sure I saw the cowboy at Ashburn Farm kill a poor snake just like this, which he called a viper. It had none of these diamond patches on the back, nor on the sides, like this picture of the viper. I wonder how ho could mistake them." "They are not mistaken, my dear," replied Mrs. Long, "by any one who has taken the pains to learn the difference between them; but people generally have so great a dread of the bite of a viper, that they kill any poor harmless thing that in the least resembles it, without troubling themselves to inquire whether it be injurious or not." "And which is the larger of the two, mamma'" inquired Charles. "The common or collared snake, as it is sometimes called, from the three white spots oil its neck, which form a kind of collar. This is often found above three feet long; but, merely knowing its length, Charles, would not assist you to distinguish between the snake and the viper, because you might mistake a young snake for a full-grown viper. The colour of the viper, also, varies materially, sometimes being of a very dark brown, and the diamondshaped patches are occasionally so blended, that the back seems marked with one long zigzag line; but the patches are never absent altogether. Even in the darkest-coloured viper the black spots can easily be seen. The colour of the collared snake is usually a dingy gray with black spots along the sides. Look, here is a print of the mouths of a harmless and of a poisonous s...