THE Snakes of the Boa tribe are distinguished from those of other tribes by the under surface of the tail being covered with scuta or undivided plates, like those on the belly, and by having no rattle. The individuals are strong, but not venomous, never attack except openly, and from necessity, and conquer by dint of strength. Three species are found in Asia, the others belong to the warmer parts of the new conti

nent.

The ground colour of the body of the Great Boa, which is the largest and strongest of the Serpent race, is yellowish gray, on which is distributed, along the back, a series of large, chain-like, reddish brown, and sometimes perfectly red variations, with other small and more irregular marks and spots.

The Great Boa is frequently from thirty to forty

feet in length, and of a proportionate thickness. The rapacity of these creatures is often their own destruction: for whenever they seize and swallow their prey, they seem like surfeited gluttons, unwieldy, stupid, helpless, and sleepy. They at the same time seek for some retreat, where they may lurk for several days together, and digest their meal in safety. The smallest effort will then destroy them: they scarcely can make any resistance; and, equally unqualified for flight or opposition, even the naked Indians do not fear to assail them. But it is otherwise when this sleeping interval of digestion is over; they then issue, with famished appetites, from their retreats, and with accumulated terrors, while every animal of the forest flies from their presence. One of them has been known to kill and devour a buffalo. Having darted upon the affrighted beast (says the narrator), the Serpent instantly began to wrap him round with its voluminous twistings; and at every twist the bones of the buffalo were heard to crack as loud as the report of a gun. It was in vain that the animal struggled and bellowed; its enormous enemy entwined it so closely, that at length all its bones were crushed to pieces, like those of a malefactor on the wheel, and the whole body was reduced to one uniform mass: the Serpent then untwined its folds, in order to swallow its prey at leisure. To prepare for this, and also to make it slip down the throat more smoothly, it was seen to lick the whole body over, and thus to cover it with a mucilaginous substance. It then began to swallow it, at the end that offered the least resistance; and in the act of swallowing, the throat suffered so great a dilatation, that it took in at once a substance that was thrice its own thickness. In 1799, a Malay seaman was almost instantaneously crushed to death, in the island of Celebes, by one of these serpents, thirty feet in length, which seized him by the right wrist, and twined round his head, neck, breast, and thigh.

THIS species grows usually to the length of one or two feet, of which the tail never exceeds an inch, or an inch and a quarter. It is from the extremities of its body being of an equal thickness that it derives its name. The eyes are exceedingly small, and covered in such a manner by a membrane, as to be hardly perceptible; from which circumstance, it has been called the Blind Serpent. The top of the head is covered by six large scales, in three rows of two each; and the body is entirely covered with smooth scales of an almost square form, arranged in regular transverse rings. It has a hard skin of an earthy colour.

This animal is found in India, particularly the Isle of Ceylon; and likewise in South America. Its habits are in a great measure unknown; but it feeds on earth-worms, beetles, and various insects; it is particularly fond of devouring ants; which in numberless legions often destroy all before them, leaving every thing desolate, as if destroyed by fire. Having the power of advancing or withdrawing itself without injury, in consequence of its structure, this Serpent is peculiarly fitted for penetrating into the subterraneous retreats of ants, worms, and other insects; and is able to dig deeper than any other Serpent, its skin being very hard, and its muscles very strong. The Amphisbæna is not venomous.

THE Ringed or Black Snake, which is the most common and the largest of the English Serpents, sometimes exceeds four feet in length. The neck is slender; the middle of the body thick; the back and sides are covered with small scales; the belly with oblong, narrow, transverse plates; the colour of the back is marked with two rows of small black spots, running from the head to the tail; the plates on the belly are dusky; the scales on the sides are of a bluish white; the teeth are small and serrated, lying on each side of the jaw, in two rows. The whole species is perfectly inoffensive, taking shelter in dunghills, and among bushes in moist places, whence they seldom remove, unless in the midst of the day, in summer, when they are called out by the heat to bask themselves in the sun. If attacked, they at first endeavour to escape, but if much pressed, they begin to hiss, and put themselves in a threatening position, though incapable of doing mischief.

The Snakes in winter conceal themselves, and become nearly torpid, reappearing in spring, when they uniformly cast their skins. This is a process that they also seem to undergo in the autumn.

The female deposits her eggs in holes fronting the south, near stagnant waters; but more frequently in dunghills, in the form of a continued chain of ova, to

the number of from twelve to twenty: these are about the size of the eggs of the blackbird, of a whitish colour, and covered with a parchment-like membrane. The young ones are rolled up spirally within the middle of the fluid, which greatly resembles the white of a fowl's egg. They are not hatched till the spring following the time when they are laid.

The Snake feeds on frogs, insects, worms, and mice, and is said to be particularly fond of milk. In pursuit of its aquatic prey it goes into the water, in which it swims with great elegance.

THE ground of this Snake is white, with brown transverse bars, which are straight and distinct on the back, but run into one another on the belly. The tail is slender, and has two ranges of imbricated scales on its under surface. This animal is a native of South America, and when irritated or preparing to bite, raises up the fore part of its body, and carries its head in a bending position.

Of this species there are a great number of elegant varieties, many of which are figured in the elaborate work of Seba, particularly the large Annulated Snake of Surinam.