113 



found. Each of them was 8 inches long. Dr. Heilprin mentions* a large 

 specimen from which thirty-three young were taken. These were in dif- 

 ferent stages of development. Some of the larger ones had absorbed all 

 the yolk, while to others a considerable mass of this was attached. In a 

 specimen (U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 17962) from some point in northern Indi- 

 ana I find sixteen eggs, eight in each oviduct. The young are 7^ inches 

 long, and each is provided with a well-developed egg-tooth. This is curved 

 upward like a short horn, and tapers gradually to near the point, where it 

 rounds off rapidly. The egg-membranes are thin. I have some reasons 

 for believing that the larger specimens of this species will be found to pro- 

 duce a considerably larger number of young than the above observations 

 imiicate. 



I have met with no statements regarding the breeding habits of either 

 Tropidonotus grahamii or T. leberis, except that made by Miss Hopley,t to 

 the efiFect that a specimen of the last-mentioned species in the Zoological 

 Gardens produced in August five young and at the same time some eggs. 

 What the state of development of these eggs was, and what became of 

 them, we are not informed. I have a female specimen (No. 26) taken 

 somewhere in Indiana, and in this I find eight eggs, of which three are in 

 the left oviduct. There are no signs of beginning development. A gravid 

 female (U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 17970), captured on July 15, and sent me by 

 Mr. W. O. Wallace, of AVabash, Ind., is 24 inches long. There are eight 

 eggs, two of which are in the left oviduct. The eggs are of different shapes, 

 on account of pressure. A considerable amount of yolk is still present, an 

 indication that the embryos are not yet completely developed. A meas- 

 urement of one of these shows it to be 63 inches long. The longitudinal 

 bands of the upper surface are sufficiently well displayed to enable one 

 easily to determine the species, but the longitudinal brown ventral bands 

 are not seen. I find no indications of the presence of the egg-tooth, al- 

 though it is probably present. 



Some years ago I killed a specimen of a female of T. grahamii in Bureau 

 County, 111. Of the specimen the skin and a few eggs (U. S. Nat, Mus., 

 No. 17954) were preserved. The time of capture was about the middle of 

 July or later. The mother snake was of such a rusty color that the species 

 to which she belonged could not then be determined. One of the eggs 

 measures an inch and a half in long diameter by three-quarters trans- 



■ Proo. Phil. Acad. Sci., 1887, p. 121. 

 t Snakes, etc., Mi.ss C. C. Hopley, p. 137 



