8:26 



V £ R I £ Ji R A I £ B . 



The Asp. 



ita food, the Boa-constrictor lies in wait ly the side of some river 

 or pool, Tirhere animals of all kinds are likely to come to quench 

 their thirst. It patiently waits until some animal draws within 

 reach, when, with one spring, the Boa fixes its teeth in the crea- 

 ture's head, coils its body round its victim, and crushes it to death. 

 After the unfortunate animal has been reduced almost to a shape- 

 less mass by the pressure of the snake, its destroyer makes prepa- 

 rations for swallowing it entire, a task which it accomplishes, 

 although the slaughtered animal is usually very much larger than 

 the dimensions of the serpent. At last, the snake succeeds in 

 swallowing its prey, and then lies torpid for nearly a month, until 

 its enormous meal is digested, when it again sallies forth in search 

 of another. 



The Cobra de Capello is a native of India. It mast 

 not be confounded with several other hooded snakes, such as the 

 Haje of Egypt, the snake so frequently depicted on the hiero- 

 elyphical monuments. 



The serpent charmers invariably use this formidable reptile 



