EPIDERMAL APPENDAGES. 337 



him some assistance, and by the time he reappeared in front 

 the whole slough was discarded, excepting a few inches of 

 tail. These few inches caused some trouble, until his friend 

 the python happened to pass over it, when with one final 

 jerk the slough was free and entire from lip to tip. It was 

 the quickest and most complete sloughing I have ever 

 watched. 



When all was over, the large, beautiful black eyes of this 

 four-striped or ' four-rayed ' snake were particularly brilliant, 

 as the little constrictor looked about and watched observantly, 

 rejoicing in his newly-found faculty, after the blindness of the 

 preceding days. Often the snakes are shy, and change at 

 night ; the tamer ones, however, undress when it suits them, 

 affording frequent opportunities for observation. 



The slough when first discarded is moist and flabby ; but it 

 soon dries, and then in substance is as much like what is 

 called ' gold-beater's skin ' as anything else, though a stronger 

 texture is observable in the head-shields and the ventral 

 scales. 



The size of the scales does not appear to bear any very 

 regular correspondence with the size of their owner ; for you 

 will notice that some snakes only three feet in length, have 

 larger scales than others three yards in length. Some of the 

 immense pythons have smaller scales than a rattlesnake ; and 

 again, snakes of similar dimensions have scales different both 

 in size and form. As great a variety is seen in the form and 

 arrangement of scales as of shields. 



Snakes are to a certain extent invalids previous to the 

 shedding of their skin, temporarily blind, courting retirement, 

 and declining food ; but they recover triumphantly the 



