So SNAKES. 



d'elles dans la cage, ou nous les tenions renfermees pour les 

 observer a loisir.' ^ 



But, as he goes on to describe, ^quelques serpents avalent 

 de I'eau sans se servir de la langue pour laper. Alors ils 

 tiennent la tete enfoncee sous I'eau au-dessous du niveau, 

 ils ecartent un peu les machoires, et font baisser le fond de 

 la gorge, dans laquelle I'eau descend par son propres poids.' 

 You can then perceive the slight movements of swallow- 

 ing, like a thirsty man gulping down a beverage {a la 

 rcgalade). 



What follows affords an explanation of M. Schlegel's 

 statement that he had never discovered water in a snake 

 which he had dissected, this learned author not having gone 

 so thoroughly into the matter. ' Cette eau,' says M. Dumeril, 

 ■* sert a laver les intestines ; car elle est rendue liquide avec 

 les feces, elle ne parait pas expulsde par les voies urinaires.' 



M. Dumeril speaks very clearly on this point both in 

 his introductory preface, and again in vol. vi., under the 

 more detailed descriptions of each especial sense and organ. 



Snakes rarely drink (that is, not every day, as most 

 animals do), most of them living in dry regions or forests, 

 where for long periods they are deprived of water. The 

 live prey upon which they subsist supplies them with 

 sufficient liquid. This may be known by the natural dis- 

 charges, which are usually of a liquid nature. Nevertheless, 

 a large number of serpents live close to water, and love 

 to plunge and to swim. These truly drink, — lapping with 

 the tongue, as above described ; at other times with the 



^ Erpetologie general^ par MM. Dumeril et Bibron, tome i. p. 136. Paris, 

 1844. 



