ON THE COMMON INDIAN SNAKES. 617 



three on the 14th, one on the 15th, and three on the 18th — 

 occupying a full month in the accomplishment of this function. 



Snakes are credited with the power to retain their ova, or 

 foetus when circumstances are unfavorable for their deposition, 

 but of course they cannot do so indefinitely. An unsuitable en- 

 vironment such as is likely to occur under captivity may explain 

 the spasmodic discharge of the eggs in the above instances, but 

 even in the vivarium the £ usually deposits her full complement 

 within a few hours. 



Eggs. — Inside the parent the ova lie in a single string like the 

 beads' of a necklace, their long axes disposed in the length of the 

 body. They do not overlap one another nor lie transversely as is 

 the case with their more prolific relative piscator. In their later 

 stages owing to pressure within a contracted space, their poles are 

 strongly flattened against one another, but no suggestion of this 

 flattening is seen after they are discharged. 



Immediately after expulsion the egg investment is moist and 

 sticky so that many or all the eggs become firmly adherent to one 

 another to form a cluster. They are pure white in colour, and the 

 ovicular investment pliant like white kid. They are soft to the 

 touch and their tension rather firmer than that of a grape. The 

 poles are equally domed, and the eggs measure from £ to 1 j| inches 

 in length, and | to f of an inch in breadth. Eggs in the same clutch 

 always vary somewhat in their dimensions, but what one lacks in 

 length is usually compensated for in girth. They sink in water. 



When freshly oviposited they contain a custard-like material in 

 which no trace of the developing embryo can be discerned. 



It is extremely difficult to place eggs artificially under conditions 

 favorable to their incubation. One of two things usually happens, 

 either they shrivel up or become mouldy within a few hours, accord- 

 ing as to whether their environment is too dry, or too wet. It is 

 certain that they require a humid atmosphere, and I believe a light 

 approaching twilight if not darker. After many unsuccessful 

 attempts at incubation I find the best way to treat them is to put 

 them on fresh earth every day under an inverted flower pot. 1 

 turn up earth in the morning to a depth depending on the 

 humidity of the soil, and select that which is slightly damp, and 





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