BOA 



BOA 



of beard, that is shameful, affects the 

 cheeks with blushes, driving- the blood 

 into their minute vessels at the same time 

 that it affects the eye and ear. Mr. Der- 

 ham farther observes, upon this subject, 

 that a savory thing- seen or felt affects 

 the glands and parts of the mouth; if* a 

 thing heard be pleasing, it affects the 

 muscles of the face with laughter ; if 

 melancholy, it exerts itself on the glands 

 Of the eyes, and occasions weeping, &c. 

 To the same cause is, by others, the plea- 

 sure of kissing ascribed. 



B MI, in Music, the third note in the 

 modern scale. 



B MOLLARE, or MOILI:, one of the 

 notes of the scale of music, usually called 

 softer flat, in opposition to b quadro. 



BOA, in natural history, a genus of ser- 

 pents, of which the generic character is, 

 plates on the belly and under the tail, 

 without a rattle. Gmelin, mentions ten 

 species only,butDr. Shaw and others enu- 

 merate as many as eighteen* B. contor- 

 trix is found in Carolina, and has about 

 150 plates on the belly, and 40 on the 

 tail ; it is broad, with a convex back ; co- 

 lour cinereous, with lateral round spots ; 

 has a poisonous bag, but no fangs ; tail 

 from one third to a half the length of the 

 whole body : it is very slow in its motions. 

 B. constrictor is very remarkable for its 

 Vast size, some of the principal species 

 which are met with in India, Africa, and 

 South America, have been seen between 

 SO and 40 feet long, and possessed of so 

 much strengh as to be able to kill cattle, 

 by twisting around them and crushing 

 them to death by pressure, after which 

 they devour them, eating till they are al- 

 most unable to move ; in that state they 

 may be easily shot. Dr. Shaw observes, 

 that these gigantic serpents are become 

 less common, in proportion to the increas- 

 ed population of the parts where they are 

 found ; they are, ho \vever, still to be seen, 

 and will approach the abodes in the vici- 

 nity of their residence. This species is 

 beautifully variegated with rhombic spots; 

 belly whitish ; is of vast strengtli and 

 size, measuring 30 and 36 feet long. With 

 respect to age, sex, and climate, it is sup- 

 ^ectto considerable variations. It is sup- 

 *poscd that an individual of this species 

 once diffused terror and dismay in a 

 whole Roman army, a fact alluded" to by 

 Livy in one of the books that have not 

 come to us, but which is quoted by Vale- 

 rius Maximus, in words to the following 

 effect^ " Since we are on the subject of 

 uncommon phenomena, we may here men- 

 tion the serpent so eloquently recorded 



by Livr, who says that near the river Ba 

 grada in Africa, a snake was seen of so 

 enormous a magnitude, as to prevent the 

 army of Attilius Regulus from the use of 

 the river ; and after snatching up seve- 

 ral soldiers with its enormous mouth, and 

 devouring them, and killing several more 

 by striking and squeezing them with the 

 spires of its tail, was at length destroyed, 

 by assailing it with all the force of mili- 

 tary engines and showers of stones', after 

 it had withstood the attack of their spears 

 and darts ; that it was regarded by the 

 whole army as a more formidable enemy 

 than even Carthage itself; and that the 

 whole adjacent region being tainted with 

 the pestilential effluvia proceeding from 

 its remains, and the waters with its blood, 

 the Roman army was obliged to remove 

 its station. The skin of the monster was 

 120 feet long, and was sent to Rome as a 

 trophy." 



Another account says, that " it caused 

 so much trouble to Regulus, that he found 

 it necessary to contest the possession of 

 the river with it, by employing the whole 

 force of the army, during which a con- 

 siderable number of soldiers were lost, 

 while the serpent could neither be van- 

 quished nor wounded, the strong ar- 

 mour of its scales easily repelling the 

 force of all the weapons that were direct- 

 ed against it: upon which recourse was 

 had to battering 1 engines, with which the 

 animal was attacked in the manner of a 

 fortified tower, and was thus at length 

 overpowered. Several discharges were 

 made against it without ^ success, till its 

 back being broken by an immense stone, 

 the monster began to lose its powers, and 

 w r as with difficulty destroyed, after hav- 

 ing diffused such a horror among the ar- 

 my, that they confessed they would rather 

 attack Carthage itself than such another 

 monster." 



The flesh of the serpent is eaten by 

 the Indians and Negroes of Africa, and 

 they make its skin into garments. 



BOA sci/tale, or spotted. The spotted 

 boa is sometimes scarcely inferioivin size 

 to the constrictor, and is of similar man- 

 ners, destroying, like that animal, goats, 

 sheep, deer, &.c. It is described as being 

 generally of a grey or glaucous colour, 

 marked with large orbicular black spots 

 on the back, and with smaller ones of si- 

 milar form, but with white centres, on the 

 sides; while on the abdomen are scat- 

 tered several oblong spots and marks, in- 

 terspersed with smaller specks and varie- 

 gations. It is a native of several parts of 

 South America. And, like other large 



