INDIAN SNAKES. 153 



arid takes the place of lids : it is periodically cast off 

 With the rest of the epidermal covering. Having no 

 eyelids, snakes cannot wink, so that rt the' stony wink- 

 less stare of the snake," is not altogether a myth. 



Mouth and teeth of harmless snakes. We now come 

 to the consideration of the mouth and teeth of the snake, 

 and, for the sake of convenience, take the harmless snake 

 first. A snake seldom opens its mouth except for the 

 purpose of seizing its prey, or in defence ; or sometimes 

 when yawning after food or drink ; or again, as it has 

 been observed to do in captivity, When the mouth is sore. 

 If the upper arid the lower jaws are separated, it will be 

 found that one surface fits exactly into the other in every 

 detail. It is thus brought about. There are four rows 

 of teeth in the roof of the mouth which divide the palate 

 into three elongated depressions. These three depres-* 

 sions receive the three corresponding elevations in the 

 lower jaw. The elevations in the lower jaw are caused 

 by the two rows of teeth on two sides, and the wind-pipe 

 in the middle. Almost every harmless Indian snake has 

 six rows of teeth, four in the upper, and two in the lowef 

 jaw. In some snakes, all the teeth are equal or nearly so ; 

 in others, they are irregular. They are all directed back^ 

 ward, thus offering a formidable obstacle to any resist- 

 tance on the part of the prey when once seized. The 

 mouth of the snake is, in fact, an efficient prehensile 

 apparatus. 



Mouth and teeth of a venomous snake. Having glanced 

 at the characters and arrangement of teeth in harmless 



