THE SNAKES 341 



I most clearly recollect was in the side of a hill and about five feet deep, 

 and had evidently been made by some burrowing animal. I am told by 

 those who have seen them that the eggs are usually found some three or 

 four feet in. Our temperature is about 76° Fahrenheit in January, and 

 in September about 79° Fahr. It occasionally reaches 90°. I think the 

 woods are cooler than other parts of the island, and I think there may be 

 a little difference beneath the surface of the ground — that is to say the 

 temperature is lower. The earth was red alluvial clay. I am reminded by 

 Mr. Urich, who has read this letter so far as it has gone, that in many 

 parts of the country there is a large quantity of vegetable debris. Prob- 

 ably you will be able to arrange a cage in which this Lachesis will lay her 

 eggs and perhaps bring them out, for I think they incubate them. They 

 will be due some time in August. My own idea is that snakes from the 

 tropics are generally kept in cages which are far too dry and hot for them 

 to do well. I hope this letter may be of service to you in further advancing 

 general knowledge of the habits of our big Pit Viper. 



Unfortunately, the splendid specimen referred to in 

 the letter died on the way North. 



An examjile from Nicaragua measured 11 feet, 4 

 inches. The fangs, measured along the curve, were one 

 and three-eighths inches long. 



From a reliable source the writer is informed that a 

 man bitten in the thigh bj^ an eight-foot Bushmaster, 

 died in less than ten minutes — the long fangs appar- 

 ently wounding an important blood vessel. 



Another of these formidable reptiles receives its most 

 familiar title — the Fer-De-Lance — from the Creole- 

 French. This is L. lanceolatus. The definition of the 

 name signifies — head of a lance, and is appropriate, as 

 the snout is pointed, the temporal region swollen and 

 the aspect of the head like a javelin point. The distri- 

 bution is from southern JNIexico into tropical South 

 America; the species is also common in the Lesser An- 

 tilles on the islands of St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica 

 and Gaudeloupe where, on the sugar plantations it is 

 a constant menace to human life. 



The length is from five to six feet. The coloration 

 is olivaceous gray, crossed by dark bands narrowly mar- 



