266 BLUEFIELDS. 



was one sixth of an inch in length ; and the umbilicus 

 was exactly one inch distant from the caudal point. 

 The egg measured an inch and one eighth in length, 

 and five twelfths in diameter : and this size struck 

 me as surprisingly great, seeing that the greatest 

 thickness of the body in the adult animal is consi- 

 derably less than that of this egg ! * The appear- 

 ance of a female Typhlops with such an egg contained 

 in the abdomen, must be singular, even if but one is 

 developed at a time ; but if many are synchronously 

 matured, her dimensions must be immensely enlarged 

 during pregnancy. 



In another, of about the same size as this prema- 

 turely born young one, or rather less, which was 

 taken on the 1st of November, wriggling quickly 

 along on the ground near Bluefields house, the um- 

 hilicus was not perceptible, except by an exceedingly 

 slight depression. 



I am not aware that this reptile, or any of the 

 allied species, is aquatic in the slightest degree ; but 

 its natatory powers are considerable. One, which I 

 put into a vessel of water for observation, swam 

 rapidly and gracefully, throwing the body into ele- 

 gant vertical undulations like a Leech. Snakes, I 

 think, swim in this way. The faecal discharges I 

 found to have the white creamy appearance common 

 to Serpents. 



Mr. Hill informs me that, in course of the cuttings 

 for the laying down of the railway between Spanish- 

 town and Kingston, the labourers laid open the sub- 



* This young specimen, still attached to the egg, is now in the 

 magnificent collection of the British Museum. 



