262 The Field Naturalist's Quarterly Nov. 



of the two above-mentioned cases in the ' Field ' have 

 brought us so many letters asking for information on 

 some points not then dealt with, that we return to the 

 subject now. 



The report on the specimen sent by Mr Wilkins is not 

 signed, but states that some adders had been taken to 

 the College of Surgeons to be opened by the Curator : 

 presumably this was one of them, though the report is 

 not quite definite on this point. No young ones were 

 found in the gullet, but the report makes use of an ex- 

 pression which has puzzled some of our correspondents 

 who are not comparative anatomists. The portion referred 

 to is as follows : " The Q.gg which was opened contained, 

 as is invariably the case, a large amount of opaque albumen 

 and a fully developed young viper. All the other three 

 were in precisely the same condition. The stomach is 

 situated nearer the head than the ovary which contains 

 these eggs, and has no direct communication with it." 

 We have italicised the words which have given rise to 

 the difficulty in the minds of our own correspondents. 

 Curiously enough, Mr Tegetmeier's report on the other 

 dissection contains similar expressions in the same con- 

 nection ; and in order that there can be no question about 

 it, we quote his letter in full. It is as follows : — 



Sir, — To-day I have received from Mr Frohawk a letter en- 

 closing a communication from Mr Short, of Lyndhurst, informing 

 him that Brusher Mills has forwarded another viper with young 

 inside, and he states that " Brusher thinks he is entitled to the 

 reward, which would be of great service to him now." This 

 specimen, enclosed in a tin box, Mr Frohawk has forwarded to me 

 for examination. On opening the box I found a full-grown viper 

 and three young ones, which were tied together with string, having 

 obviously been caught with the mother. The three young, which 

 had obviously been born in the usual way, were 5 inches in length. 

 The parent was carefully killed by me by division of the vertebrse 

 near the head. On being opened, the oesophagus, some 9 inches 

 in length, was found perfectly empty, and contained no trace of 

 food. The ovary contained five eggs, each enclosed in a very thin 

 membrane. Each egg contained a full-grown young viper, 5 

 inches in length, coiled up into a compact form, and a consider- 

 able quantity of white opaque albumen. The young were all per- 



