Soiiif ()h.srrr)iH(iiis (ni ilr- I'l'Ui'ins. 117 



IJki'wiso (Ik- tcclli of llic p.\(h(.ii arc iiiiiiicrnus. In the iippor jaw thero 

 is a row ol" tcolli in the iiia\illai\ . ami a second row. set at considerable 

 ilistanee inside the first and imlicddcd in. or ratlicr anU.vloscd to. the |>ala- 

 tiue bones. In the low(>r Jaw tlierc is ImiI one r.iw of teeth, that of th(> 

 inferior maxillai-.v. Imt it is reall.v donhle. as there is a line of tiny teeth 

 .iiist inside the lar-er ones. 'I'lie teclli arc all acutely conical in form, 

 sniootli. and with no ca\ities. depi-cssions. or ridges, and set so that they 

 point towaiil the hacU of the month. They serve merely for catching and 

 hohiinj-- tlie prey, not for masticatinn. As there are no particles of decjiyiM« 

 food on the teeth to be carried iido the woinid and produce septaceiuiu, a 

 hiti' from one of these monsters tisnally heals ipiickly. \one of the teeth 

 are set in alveoli, but merely ankyiosed to the ontside of the l)one, and as 

 the ankyiosed surface is small, it follows that the att-icliment is not 

 \-ery solid. ("onse(piently it is not nnnsnal for the teeth to break (iff when 

 the reptile is feediii--. We often found them on tlu' floor of the ca«e after 

 a feeilinj;. 



In seeking' his jirey. the itytlion depends much move on his sense of smell 

 than on that of siirht. It is always danserous to go near these bii; 

 snakes with the smell (d' any kind of bird or mammal on the hands or 

 clothiuir. When they are liuiiixry and scent their natural food, they will 

 strike at the tirst tlnui: they see moving. They will even strike at 

 inanimate objects \\hich ha\e come in touch with their natural 

 ])r(>y. One evening we were feedin.^ a big ])ython. For some reason he 

 had dropped the prey, and to get him to return to the chicken, I picked 

 lip a woolen duster which the janitor liad been using to dust the glass cases, 

 and pushed it towards his head. Instantly he struck and seized the duster 

 in his teeth. His jaw^s had to lie pried oi)en to make him let go. T'nder 

 similar circumstances a python in the Philadelphia Zoological Garden a 

 few years ago. seized and swiillowed a lilanket. After retaining it for two 

 days, he disgorged the article, rolled into a compact wad. 



The sense of taste in the serpents is very keen. If chickens are kept 

 in a dirty box, these reptiles will refuse to feed on them. If a python 

 bites into the crop of a chicken ccmtaining bad-tasting matter, he will 

 drop the chicken. To test the sensibilities of the serpents, we once put a 

 stale Q^i:. in with a Black snake. This species (Boscanium comtrictor) is 

 \('ry fond of eggs, but no sooner had the shell broken in his stomach than 

 tlie littl(> fellow commenced vomiting, and continued until the stomach was 

 completely evacuated. 



It is sometimes said that tli(> snakes have no eyelids. In fact the eyelids 

 are fu.sed in a transparent skin over the eyes. When they shed they shed 

 the skin from over the eyes as well as that from other parts of the l)ody. 

 •lust before the old skin is removed, it dies. l)ecomes dull in color and opaque 

 in texture, so that for several days before shedding a snake is almost blind. 

 There is a nnlky fluid between the dying epidermis and the newly forming 

 skin beneath. It is a strange fact, hut dui-ing the last few hours this 

 fluid disappears and the skin over the eyes partially clears. As .soon as 

 the old skin is removed, the snake is able to see again as well as ever. 

 r.ttt it sometimes happens, in captivity, at least, that the skin over the eyes 

 is not reniove<l when that from other jiarts of X\w liody is sho<1. and as a 

 conseijuence the snake remains blind. I Ikinc known this to hapjien for two 



