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394 — BREEDING HABITS OF SNAKES—HAY. 
faint hiss was sometimes uttered, but that may not have been voluntary. — 
One would sometimes flatten its head and body and rear up with the | 
anterior third of its length free from the ground. If one did not know. 
well their inoffensive natures, one would be exeused for fearing to 
handle them. An extremely singular habit possessed by the adults is — 
that of feigning death. On being struck or teased they will roll over 
and over, as if in the intensest agony, and then throw themselves on 
the back and lie there as if dead. Out of some fifteen of the young 
experimented with, I succeeded in getting only two or three to go 
through with this performance, but these did it to perfection. On be- 
ing lightly struck a few times, they would turn over on the back, writhe 
about awhile, and then lie perfectly still. If turned right side up, they 
would again turn on the back. If left undisturbed for a little while | 
they would turn over and creep slyly away. The others of the young 
would not act in this way, however much they were teased. It would 
be interesting to know whether all the adults possess this odd habit, 
or only a portion of them. 
The cuticle of the young Heterodons is shed very shortly after their 
escape from the egg-coverings. Within a few minutes after one had 
left its prison the skin was observed to be broken about the head. It 
had left the egg at half-past 1 and by 4 o’clock the skin was pushed 
back half the length of the body. The next morning the skin was 
wholly shed, revealing the brighter colors of the new skin. While get- 
ting rid of the cuticle the little reptile kept crawling over the clay and 
among the roots of grass. 
The opportunity was embraced to observe the use which is made of 
the egg-tooth. The tooth itself is easily seen in the just-hatched snake. 
Its lateral borders are more nearly parallel than those of the tooth of 
Bascanion, as figured by Weinland. Seen from the side, the anterior 
or upper outline is concave, the posterior outline convex. Thus, the 
tooth projects forward and is turned slightly up. The anterior face is 
also concave from side to side, so that there is, on each side, a distinct 
cutting edge. The tip is eut off square. The tooth appears to have a 
ligamentous attachment, and may be lifted a little, but not much de- 
pressed. It seems quite evident that the tooth is first engaged in the 
ege-covering and then made to do its work by a forward push of the 
head. An examination of the covering, after the snake has left it, 
gives ample proof that it has been eut and not merely torn. The edges 
are as smooth as if they had been slashed with a razor. <A long slit is 
sometimes made as if by a single effort. In other cases, several at- 
tempts appear to have been made before the covering has been open 
enough for the snake to get out. In one or two eases, a tooth has not 
been inserted deeply enough, and the only result was a seratech on the 
inside of the covering. The egg-tooth having performed its office be- 
comes loose and drops out. This oceurs usually within twenty-four — 
hours. 
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