LECTURE VII. 39 



but without any rattle. Very few of this genus 

 are poisonous, but some of them are remarkable 

 for their enormous size; in particular a species 

 found in Africa and called the Boa Constrictor, 

 which grows to the length of thirty-five feet, and 

 is said to destroy even Deer and Antelopes, by 

 writhing itself round their bodies, so as to break 

 or crush their bones, and then swallowing them 

 very gradually, for all Serpents are capable, from 

 the particular organization of their jaws, of swal- 

 lowing animals of much greater diameter than 

 their own bodies. 



This is supposed to be the species which ter- 

 rified the army of Regulus near the river Bagrada 

 in Africa, and which is said to have measured 120 

 feet in length. This perhaps was an exaggera- 

 tion. In the British Museum is a skin measuring 

 thirty-five feet, and it is probable that many ages 

 ago much larger specimens might have occurred 

 than any at present to be found, the increased po- 

 pulation and cultivation of most countries having 

 tended more and more to lessen the number of 

 such animals. Some of the Boae are .remarkable 

 for the elegance of their colours and the beautiful 

 .disposition of their pattern. 



