30 GLEANINGS FROM NATURE. 



moist heat of their surroundings. These eggs are yel- 

 lowish white in color, and vary in size from Jxf inches 

 up to that of a pigeon's egg. They 



e oung are usually elliptical in form and have 

 of Snakes. . 



a tough leathery skin. I he number 



varies with the different species, some laying as many 

 as twenty at a time. The mother snake sometimes 

 remains in the vicinity of the eggs until they are 

 hatched. The young then accompany the mother for 

 a time, and of certain species, it has been affirmed, 

 that in time of danger the young escape down the 

 throat of the mother. Of most snakes, however, the 

 young, when hatched or born, are left to shift for them- 

 selves, and possibly not more than one in a hundred 

 lives to be a year old, as they have many enemies 

 among the other animals even among their own kin. 



If a snake be carefully examined many interesting 

 facts concerning the structure of its body may be noted. 

 Their long, slender, limbless forms are, on the upper> 

 side, covered with scales which overlap one another 

 like the shingles on a roof. On the under side these 

 scales are much larger and form a series of broad, over- 

 lapping plates which extend the full length of the body. 

 These are technically known as ventral plates or scutes. 



Many a person has, perhaps, wondered how an 

 animal without limbs, wings or fins can move so rap- 

 idly and gracefully as does a snake. 

 The Structure -g examinin ^ care fully a snake's skel- 



of a Snake. J 



eton and noting its relation to these 



ventral plates one can easily understand how the 

 movement is made. .The skeleton consists merely of 

 the skull, spinal column and ribs, 



