the Boa Constrictor takes its Prey. 219 



inch beyond the edge of the dilated lower jaw. I have seen in 

 company with others, the valves of the glottis open and shut, and 

 the dead rabbit's fur immediately before the aperture stirred, 

 apparently by the serpent's breath, when his jaws and throat 

 were stuffed and stretched to excess. In the case above mentioned, 

 where the prey was taken very awkwardly, and the dilatation 

 was consequently much greater than usual, I saw this wonderful 

 adaptation of means to the exigencies of the animal much more 

 clearly than I had ever seen it before. 



With regard to the next point, it is more difficult to account 

 for the variance between the agony of antipathy shewn by the 

 goat as described by Mr. M'Leod, and the indifference which I 

 have uniformly observed in the full grown fowls and rabbits pre- 

 sented to these serpents for prey. Immediately after our Boa 

 had swallowed his first rabbit, a second was introduced ; but the 

 serpent now exhibited a very different appearance. The left side 

 of his lower jaw was hardly in its place, and he moved about the 

 cage instead of lying in wait as on the former occasion. As for 

 the rabbit, after he had been incarcerated a little while, he treated 

 the snake with the utmost contempt, biting it when in his way 

 and moving it aside with his head. The snake, not having his 

 tackle in order, for his jaw was not yet quite right, appeared 

 anxious io avoid the rabbit, which at last stumbled upon the 

 snake's head in his walks and began to treat it so roughly, that the 

 rabbit was withdrawn for fear of his injuring the snake. This 

 treatment of the snake by the rabbit did not appear to be the 

 effect of anger or hatred, but to be adopted merely as a mode of 

 removing something, which he did not appear to understand, out 

 of his way. I have seen many rabbits and fowls presented to 

 different specimens of Boa for prey, and I never saw the least 

 symptom of uneasiness either in the birds or quadrupeds. They 

 appear at first to take no notice of the serpent, large as it is, and 

 when they do discover it they do not start but seem to treat it 

 with the greatest indifference. I remember one evening going up 

 into the room where one of these snakes was kept at Exeter 

 'Change, and seeing the hen, which was'destincd for the prey of 

 the Boa^ very comfortably at roost upon the serpent. The keeper 



