21 



the long fasts which snakes often undergo. The liver lies 

 alongside of the gullet and stomach ; it is a long organ, in 

 two longitudinal lobes, of the usual hepatic colour and . 

 texture ; it reaches upwards nearly as high as the heart, 

 and terminates below opposite the middle of the stomach. 

 The gall-bladder, with the other digestiye glands, is situated 

 a little further down, at the lower end of the stomach. The 

 end of the bowel opens into a short cloaca, the common 

 passage of the intestinal canal of the ureter and of the 

 ovarian or spermatic ducts, according to sex. 



Just behind the end of the intestine is a little prominence 

 in the mucous membrane of the cloaca. Below this are the 

 urethral, above it the ovarian or spermatic orifices. 



The testes are two elongate white vesicular organs, not 

 unlike full-grown silkworms in appearance. The spermatic 

 ducts, of tortuous structure, descend close along side of the 

 kidneys and thence accompany the ureters. The kidneys 

 are elongate multilobular organs situated nearer to the vent. 

 These four genito-urinary glands alternate, the right testis 

 and kidney being each higher than the same organ of the 

 left side. 



In the female the ovaries when unimpregnated are found 

 in the position corresponding to that of the testes ; each 

 consists of a series of colourless vesicles lying behind the 

 intestines. When eggs are mature the ovary extends often 

 more than half-way up the body quite effacing the intestine. 

 The number of eggs found may vary from 6 or 6 to 30 and 

 upwards. When the number is small I have generally 

 found one ovary unoccupied. 



The male snake has a double organ of copulation lodged 

 in the tail (which is generally longest in males) ; when 

 protruded by pressure from behind forwards it is seen in the 

 form of two highly vascular protuberances armed with 



