Some Observations on the Pythons, 117 
Likewise the teeth of the python are numerous. In the upper jaw there 
is a row of teeth in the maxillary, and a second row, set at considerable 
distance inside the first and imbedded in, or rather ankylosed to, the pala- 
tine bones. In the lower jaw there is but one row of teeth, that of the 
inferior maxillary, but it is really double, as there is a line of tiny teeth 
just inside the larger ones. The teeth are all acutely conical in form, 
smooth, and with no cavities, depressions. or ridges, and set so that they 
point toward the back of the mouth. They serve merely for catching and 
holding the prey, not for mastication. As there are no particles of decaying 
food on the teeth to be carried into the wound and produce septacemia, a 
bite from one of these monsters usually heals quickly. None of the teeth 
are set in alveoli. but merely ankylosed to the outside of the bone, and as 
the ankylosed surface is small, it follows that the attachment is not 
very solid. Consequently it is not unusual for the teeth to break off when 
the reptile is feeding. We often found them on the floor of the cage after 
Ptecarn ey... 
In seeking his prey, the python depends much more on his sense of smell 
than on that of sight. .It is always dangerous to go near these big 
snakes with the smell of any kind of bird or mammal on the hands or 
clothing. When they are hungry and scent their natural food, they will 
strike at the first thing they see moving. They will even strike at 
inanimate objects which have come in touch with their natural 
prey. One evening we were feeding a big python. For some reason he 
had dropped the prey, and to get him to return to the chicken, I picked 
up a woolen duster which the janitor had been using to dust the glass cases, 
and pushed it towards his head. Instantly he struck and seized the duster 
in his teeth. His jaws had to be pried open to make him let go. Under 
similar circumstances a python in the Philadelphia Zoological Garden a 
few years ago, seized and swallowed a blanket. 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 containing bad-tasting matter, he will 
drop the chicken. To test the sensibilities of the serpents, we once put a 
stale egg in with a Black snake. This species (Boscanium constrictor) is 
very fond of eggs, but no sooner had the shell broken in his stomach than 
the little fellow commenced vomiting. and continued until the stomach was 
completely evacuated. 
It is sometimes said that the snakes have no eyelids. In fact the eyelids 
are fused in a transparent skin over the eyes. When they shed they shed 
the skin from over the eves as well as that from other parts of the body. 
Just before the old skin is removed, it dies, becomes dull in color and opaque 
in texture, so that for several days before shedding a snake is almost blind. 
There is a milky fluid between the dying epidermis and the newly forming 
skin beneath. It is a strange fact, but during 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. 
But it sometimes happens, in captivity, at least, that the skin over the eyes 
is not removed when that from other parts of the body is shed, and as a 
consequence the snake remains blind. I have known this to happen for two 
