SECT. I.
282 JST A* T U- R A L H I S T # R Y
toughnefs, arid was become gritty ,y'tutting fhort'^lke- chalk : it Was
hollow iri the-middle, the medullary pith being eaten out, and the
fides of the hollow more'corroded than the outfide. This Intimates
that therè is^’ipâr fufôèàded in the -Wàtèrs of our northern coaft
which cemëritedthefefands intd ftriKjvthough indëed' iiM-that ftohe
I can perceive no {hells? after examining therri, min'utëly- iri the mfc
crofcope. Gn the fbuthern coaft iri is' ivery probate $hktTp^mduth
Harbour (where thefêds fuch p le n ty c o r a l, a fubftance little dif-
ferent from the nature of fpar) may1 afford us‘ fefxie Ipecimfens of
fbffiWhiells raw r I have riow before xrie a lüntp bf^lpàr^fèvln iridhèl
long, three inches and a half wide and deep? with limpets,- Jie&um-
des, fea-eggs, whelkes, oyfters, mufcles, cocklêspand fome teftà-
ceous and coralline fragments mixed throughout in the body of the
ftorie; all finall, except the muièles, which were" o f feverat fizes :
this lump was-not fixed-in any riatatal\rock, but lay âsëaf detached
nodule on the ftrand near the mills betwixt Falmouth town and
Pendinas cafüe j it may not therefore carry all the evideffce>that-it
would have done i f found farther from the fea, and in a-Êjüriê?ÆSt
jiratum ; but it muft be acknowledged, that it could not ferimwfrbm
far byreafon of the roughnefs of the furface y arid fôrafmuch âs’ it
contains no fhells or fragments but what are common to this -hatbour;
it is'moft likdy to have been the prodmft of thërièighbouririg diftsS
At the Par, near FaWy, there is a lime-ftone ; not very rihlike; the
fubftance o f a coarfe: coral ; it is much eateti by the ; Pholades 'and
finall worms, with the fhells of lèverai pipe-worms âfiÉtid? of? a
fubftance veiy little different from the ftone itfelf. This -ftone
makes a ftrorig effervefcence with aqua fortis ; and i f there-be-not
much fpar-ftone in this neighbourhood, moft probably theft worm-
eaten ftones have been imported frétai other p'arts for makirig- lime,
and being difperfed in the lands and fea, have been feized by the
pholades o f this coaft.
C H A P. XXIV.
_ Reptiles.
OF reptiles, we have the adder or viper, ufually about two feet
long, of which the icon may be feen Pi. xxvm. Fig. xxxni. p.
276* Its bite is attended with immediate fwelling, -and dangerous if
fome remedy be not foon applied. Sallad-oil, taken internally, as well
as externally rubbed on the wound, is reckoned a falutary. method
of proceedirig j but the firft thing to be done, fays Dr. Mead i upon
* O f poifonsj page 42.
the
the bite of a viper of any kind, is, that the < patient, J or fome one
fori him, fh p ^ ^ ^ e d J a ,^ 5£A4k thoi-WSund; IhaVihg-firft wafhed
his mouth with warm biMand, holding, fome of this in his mouth
jyjulft the ffi^ien# -perfoisrf$jigfi to ;pr#Y£rit:*Siiy inflammation ofthe
f f s a^ -tohg»ey from the h|,% ^Ihe^oifonwiafter; which the faid
% r n ^ , a u t h o j^ ^ r ib e s . l^ ^ w^kecfer^ w i i oik, and^warrfi
but # ifW % fq p reG au tio^ {w h i9 h (:do;-ndi> alvvays^occtri
'tp -jperfons l^hafte, Aand i,n< tprture),'rit'-isXcertainly' very;’dangerous
||g k$3ck Matthtel^s,^ giv.estlus) an». inftait4^'?>'»rift^ipprfnn
iWho having ^S'firiger0bi||^fb^a;^per, in;the-ago^eiijdeafh ,put
Wl m hls moA with the, hloodffritted'in^hg^^n^arid-died on
the' fpot. ,,I|.miay;n<^ be amife ;tt-fe|r,efQre; in^thisiplace^t^fuggeft 1 -
more harn^efs remedy, ad^iisft^ji^byeaJgppdrjlk^oft^taiy
neighbourhood * : faffing ,-ffe
.»garden,- bad<h|& brea^\jfljung }by» 'ai| faddef?; , W4ked' 'fij^hek-^aink <gf
the„ woun,d,; he- fhook off; ,the-aadder fromp hk,,ihii^-. an A f immfo.
,diately applied |p' the Lady iSf rtHd3h5ufe»ri<^ie ^dpted-. a, yoiifig
kpigeon( jyith^ts,«»«j- elbfe tds.thq Wounds to be a^plf^^th^g3pigeon
;( whofe. , reciprocal- GOntigdfion^and/- - ’dilatation
well known )^fopn fwdled, fickened, and died j -a
Was adpiiniftered .to the place irifeaed’ in like«m an ^ l .^rijd;fept
clofeto'the breaft for fome time,- till it-grew feint, .and icould^draw
no morg; the man Was entirely, cpredj - and the feCond<’jiigeon |was
&md;deadythe next morning. • ( t
On the northern coaft, of Cornwall, about Stratton^ Pha'd;a Jhake Snake,
brought'me: It differs from the viper in the -weftern- rparts-, nf MtbM
jaunty in that it- is {larger/ o#a brcfWner-cbloitkjhndt^falEooniincynfi
ed, ,,nor. fojgpifonousIt is.'very prolific?- and generally^ays- egffi
iri, heaps of rotten „fiorfe-dung; Sojat of one'heap;,of whihh,;|as I Was
informed; by my hoft at Kilkhacnptpn, hp -had: feeri,1 at theJEarton
houfo'ofeLancels near Sfiratton, three hundredritafedn-orit a^;;ohe'-rimei
The fame perfon fome years finceTiftfed one T\ake four'feet jiwo- ihche^
|Png> and proportionably thick-: my guide-ialfo' ftom ^ilkhamptori'
^liared me, that he had this year (T75s7-) killedronei aboutt four feet
Iprig. „..The country people have-remarked two-fl^tsof them one
fbr-tjhas; a whi^ garland,round ijs'jneck,~rwith a fharp tail 11&- th§
poitit of ^ rufh; the other fort ies a yellow garland, with* a fhqrtei
and more obtufe tailRs||
»■ Iri the iflands of Scilly they have neither adder, fnake, oran,y..df;the
ferpent kindj whether the earthris here too falt^,- foi;„.PhriyoQ|)ierves?s
and to him clients Dr Pldtt (0 ^ford£hire, page|i 9 Is), ^ thdt brackiftt
earth is freer from vermin than any other); 'or whether the lands
®-' ,m WoI%.
are