160 BRITISH SERPENTS. 
through the abdominal wall, and it was evident that 
they must be about full time. After she had been 
photographed im foto, she was dissected with the 
ereatest care in the way described. Opening the 
abdomen, about 1 inch from the anal orifice a young 
adder at once presented itself to view, loose in the 
cavity of the belly. Proceeding very slowly, two 
more appeared, also lying free and loose. These three 
were lifted out on to a dish, and the whole of the two 
oviduets with the eggs then exposed. These were 
tied and lifted out in the usual way. The eggs were 
counted aud unmbered eleven, each of which contained 
one embryo adder, making a total of fourteen for the 
whole htter.' But the size of the young was amazing. 
I measured the three loose ones first with great care, 
and found that they were 7,74, and 8 inches long 
respectively. The other eleven were simply covered 
with a very thin membrane (there was no yolk left in 
the eges now), and were extracted and uncoiled. The 
whole fourteen were found to measure from 7 to 8 
inches in length. They appeared pertectly formed, 
and no one would have taken them for unborn adders. 
Larranged ten of them on a dissecting-dish and photo- 
eraphed them, and to be on the sate side in ease of 
any accident happening to the first negative, took a 
second view. 
Of course the great interest of this specimen is that 
the young were just on the point of being born. In 
' Three embryos had already ruptured their covering. 
