154 BRITISH SERPENTS. 
men showed the eggs to be larger and more rounded 
—thus: 
Fie. 35,—Eacs or ADDER. 
The embryos were now quite distinct on opening an 
eee, over an inch long when uneurled, the head being 
prominent, and the eye the one dark spot in the general 
yellow colour of the embryo. Up to this time the 
female adder does not show much change in shape 
externally, but in another month the size of the belly 
is at once noticed. The embryos have now attained 
the length of 25 inches. The eyes are still most 
prominent, the mouth eapes, the body is about the 
thickness of a good-sized worm, and the wall of the 
belly is not closed in front in the middle line. 
Development after this is very rapid, and by the 
end of July great changes have occurred. 1 hap- 
pened to get three on July 25, 1900, all extremely 
large ones, one of which is figured with a male taken 
at the same time, on p. 245. The female measured 
263", inches. She contained ten embryos in seven 
gos, which is a point not mentioned before; but it is 
not at all unusual to find an ege with two embryos in 
€ 
it. In this case the left oviduet had two eees and the 
right oviduet five eggs in it. The eves are now much 
5D 
