40 SNAKES. 



tion, for ' the next morning it disgorged an amphisbosna or 

 small serpent (it was half digested) actually longer than 

 itself, and weighing half as much again.' 



Prodigious meals engender drowsiness, and thus the 

 Ophidia habitually repose a long while after taking food. 



This habit of gorging enormous prey being one of the 

 most striking of ophidian characteristics, it has been intro- 

 duced thus early in my work, as affording opportunity for 

 a general glance at the anatomical structure. In the next 

 chapter we will enumerate a few other peculiar features, ere 

 proceeding to examine in detail some of the most important 

 organs. 



