3b'0 SERPENTS IN GENERAL. 



race; they have the length and suppleness of the eel, 

 without its fins ; they have the scaly covering and 

 pointed tail of the lizard, but want their legs ; they 

 have -the crawling motion of the worm, yet have lungs 

 to breathe through, which that animal has not : like 

 all the reptile kind, they are resentful when offended ; 

 and Nature has supplied them with arms to revenge. 



With respect to their conformation, all serpents have 

 a very wide mouth in proportion to the size of their 

 heads ; and their jaws are capable of so great an ex- 

 tension, that they can swallow a body of incredible size; 

 the eyes of the animal are r.ather small ; and some have, 

 whilst others have not, teeth : the holes for hearing are 

 perceptible in them all, but there are no conduits for 

 smelling apparently to be seen : the tongue is very long 

 and forky, and composed of two fleshy substances 

 which terminate in a point : the bodies of these ani- 

 mals are long and slender, and contain an hundred and 

 forty-five joints, which enables them to bend in a cir- 

 cular direction, and twist themselves round the trunk 

 or branches of trees : the skin also contributes to its 

 motion, being composed of a number of scales, united 

 to each other by a transparent membrane, which grows 

 harder as the animal increases in age ; though twice in 

 the year it is generally changed, when the colours of 

 the new skin appear infinitely more bright, 



When we compare serpents with each other, the 

 great distinction between them appears to be in their 

 size ; for what animal of the same species can be so re- 

 motely separated as the great liboya of Surinam, that 

 grows to the length of thirty-six feet, and the little ser- 

 pent of the Cape of Good Hope, that does not mea~ 

 t>ure more than three inches in length ? 



A gentleman, w r ho had large concerns in the Bit: 



