182 SNAKES OF CEYLON. 



Nicholson had a brood hatching out at Bangalore in 

 September. Father Dreckman had a brood which hatched out 

 near Bombay in the same month. My Fyzabad clutch 

 hatched in the same month. A clutch of ten eggs, found in 

 Colombo on October 18, 1917, showed four eggs already 

 evacuated. The remaining six hatched out about three days 

 later (I am informed) in the Museum. Evans and I 

 witnessed the hatching of a brood at Rangoon in December. 



My measurements of young furnish a great deal more infor- 

 mation, from which I conclude that in the Western Himalayas 

 (Almora), in Chitral beyond the North-west Frontier, and in 

 the Nilgiri and Anamallay Hills the young usually appear in 

 May, June, July, August, and rarely as late as September. In 

 all these localities the winter is severe enough to compel 

 retirement and hibernation. On the other hand, in the plains, 

 where there is no winter, such as in Cannanore, and in Rangoon 

 I got young just hatched in December and January, and none 

 in the summer and autumn months. 



(d) Period of Gestation : Not known. 



(e) Period of Incubation : Not known. 



(/) The Eggs : The number of eggs in a clutch Varies from 

 nine to fourteen. They are white, glazed, equally domed at 

 each pole, and have a rather crisp shell, like thick parchment. 

 They are laid in a heap, and, being sticky when voided, adhere 

 wherever they touch one another. The cluster resembles a 

 bunch of huge grapes. They vary a good deal in size. Those 

 I had in Fyzabad varied from 51 to 57 mm. (2 to 2 J inches) in 

 length, and were about 29 mm. (1 1/20 inch) in breadth. 

 Nicholson's clutch were 51 mm. (2 inches) long and 32 mm. 

 (1J inch) broad. My Burmese clutch were 41 to 45 mm. 

 long (If to If inch). One of the Colombo eggs is 50 mm. 

 (2 inches) long and 28 mm. (1J inch) broad. A single 

 sterile egg taken from the abdomen of a specimen in the 

 Nilgiris measured 60 mm. (2| inches) long and 25 mm. (1 inch) 

 broad. It weighed seven-eighths of an ounce. 



Growth. — (a) Intraoval Life : I made some observations on 

 the growth of the hatchling during intraoval life. An egg I 

 opened on August 8 contained an embryo 196 mm. (7f inches) 

 long. Another embryo of the same clutch extracted on 



