Lo 
2 BRITISH SERPENTS. 
varies according to the amount of moisture absorbed 
aud to the time of development, but they are gen- 
erally about an inch long when found, and the bulk 
of a pigeon’s egg. 
The eggs are laid in the late spring or early summer, 
and having selected the spot for their deposition, the 
female apparently cares no more about the future of 
her offspring. The spot selected more often than not 
takes the form of a heap of manure (which offers both 
warmth and moisture), or any convenient collection of 
rubbish. But bundles of the eggs may be found in all 
sorts of places—in fagots,in old walls, or any warm 
moist vegetable material. The separate eges adhere 
together by means of a glutinous secretion deposited 
with them, and which causes them to adhere in strings 
even when the young have left the eggs, and the latter 
are quite dry and brittle. The covering of the embryo 
is not shell but a tough leathery membrane, through 
which moisture can penetrate. The period of develop- 
ment varies somewhat with the heat and moisture to 
which the eggs are exposed, but is generally about 
eight weeks after the egos are extruded. This is not 
the whole length of the period of development, which 
has already reached a certain stage when the eggs are 
deposited. “The embryo at the time of hatching is 
provided with a temporary horny tooth on the snout, 
to cut through the eggshell.” t 
Anatomy.—Without going into any great detail 
1 Packard. 
