12 B. NATURAL HISTORY. 



portant one, that the snakes mentioned above are all ovo-vivip- 

 arous with the exception of Ophibolus. There is nothing to 

 indicate that the habit is shared by the oviparous snakes of the 

 genera Liopeltis, Cyclophis, Storeria, DiadopJiis, and Pityopliis. 

 The case of Bascanion, which is oviparous, is still quite prob- 

 lematical, and it remains to be shown whether the "black snake" 

 of my correspondents is Coluber Alleghaniensis, or Bascanion con- 

 strictor. Mr. Gosse gives facts which make it seem quite proba- 

 ble that the Jamaica boa (Chilabothrus inomatus) may share the 

 habit.* 



The breeding habits of North American snakes deserve careful 

 investigation, as they are totally unknown in more than twenty- 

 five of the genera. 

 (185) 



* •' A Naturalist's Sojourn in Jamaica," London, 1851, pp. 31S-23, 501. There is rea- 

 son to believe that some of the Eutamias, like the scaly lizard {Zootoca vipara) arc in 

 some instances oviparous, in others ovo-viviparous, and this point should he Kept in 

 mind in making observations upon that and other genera. 



[Printed at the Salem Peess, April, 1S74.] 



