25 



selves, two very opposite qualities^ wonderful absti- 

 nence, and yet incredible rapacity. 



Serpents will swim a long time, but they cannot 

 stay long under the water, without being suffocated. 

 In winter they retire under stones, roots of trees, 

 old walls, or any warm, dry shelter. Here they sleep 

 half dead, though with their eyes open, till the re- 

 turning sun rccals them to life. 



3. Their brain little differs from that of fishes : 

 but their stomach very much. It is like a loose gut, 

 which runs along, from the jaws quite to the tail. 

 They have likewise solid ribs and vertebre, at smali 

 distances, from the neck to the end of the tail. Here- 

 by they are enabled to raise themselves up, to -sup- 

 port, tc^ writhe themselves into rings, to spring for* 

 ward, and to suck or swallow any thing,, with sur- 

 prising force. And their whole tiesh is of so close 

 and firm a texture, that they will live for some time, 

 even after they are cut in pieces. There is nothing 

 more harmless than the common snakes; they are as 

 innocent as flies. 



There is a great deal of geometrical nicety in the 

 sinuous motion of serpents. For the assisting hen?. 

 in, the annular scales under their body, are very re- 

 markable, lying cross the beliy, contrary to those 

 in the back and the rest of the body. Also the 

 edges of the foremost scales lie over the edges of the 

 following scales from head to tail. So that when 

 each scale is drawn back, or set a little upright by 

 its muscle, the outer edge of it is raised a little from 

 the body, to lay hold on the earth, and so promote 

 the serpent's motion. But there is another admirable 

 piece of mechanism, that every scale has a distinct 

 muscle, one end of which is fixed to the middle of 

 its scale, the other to the upper edge of the next 

 scale. There is nothing peculiar in the generation 

 of serpents, most of which are oviparous. 



4. Vipers and many other serpents have small. 



VOL. II, C 



