320 BELMONT. 



Sam observed, one day near the end of April, two 

 young ones — not, however, very young — apparently 

 caressing each other. The one was on a low wall, 

 with its head hanging down ; the other on the ground, 

 with its head a little reared ; so that their muzzles 

 were in contact. The forked tongues of both were 

 protruded, much vibrated, and seemingly engaged in 

 licking each other's face. A large Boa was at a little 

 distance, looking on. 



April 30th. — A lad brought me, from Belmont, six 

 eggs of the Boa. He had observed a Snake crawl 

 out of a narrow hole in the side of a yam-hill, a low 

 but wide heap of pulverised earth, in which the yam- 

 tuber is planted. On examination, he found that the 

 hole was the mouth of a narrow passage, just wide 

 enough to admit the body of the reptile, and leading 

 to a large chamber in the centre of the heap, where 

 lay these six eggs. They were long-oval, 1^ inch 

 by ^ inch; plump when first discovered, but now, 

 through exposure to the air, shrunken in at the sides ; 

 adhering to each other by small portions of their 

 surfaces, so as to form an agglutinated mass. Their 

 surface was dull white, the integument thin, but 

 tough, and resembling white kid leather. On snipping 

 the skin of one, a clear glaire exuded, in which was 

 a large whitish vitellus, stained with blood-vessels, 

 and containing a young Snake about seven inches 

 long, of which the tail was two and a half. The 

 head was large ; the two lobes of the brain promi- 



themselves and separate ; so that any active person armed might then 

 easily decapitate or destroy them." ( Oti the Fishes, §-c. of Jamaica. 

 Zool. Journ. v. 419.) 



