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tube. The poison glands are modified salivary glands. They 
are situated below and behind the eye and may extend a consi- 
derable way along the neck. They are covered by muscles so 
that the poison may be forced into the tooth. Notwithstanding 
the numbers of poisonous snakes in this part of the world, it is 
remarkable how rarely deaths through snake bite are recorded. 
Certainly the mischief done by these reptiles is infinitesimal as 
compared with that done by the Spotted-winged Mosquito 
{Anopheles), the carrier of Malaria. 
We begin with the Blind Snake (Typhiops), a harmless 
little worm-like creature of burrowing habits, of a uniform 
yellowish or brownish colour, and rarely exceeding a foot in 
length. Its eyes are rudimentary and are covered by the scales 
of the head^ nor has it any teeth in the lower jaw. 
The next group are the giants amongst the snakes, the 
various species of Python, to which the American Boa constrictor 
is closely allied. They are not poisonous either. The most 
common of the Malayan species is the Python reiiadatus (Ular 
sawah). The Museum has a stuffed and a skeletonized specimen, 
each 22 feet in length, both caught on Singapore island, but they 
are said to grow up to 50 feet. The exhibited skeleton has 320 
pairs of ribs. Also a piaster of Paris cast of a young Python 
is exhibited, showing the beautiful carpet-like pattern of the 
skin. — The Python curtus is a short and thick species, only 
about 5J4 feet in length. 
A third group includes a snake which the Malays call 
'Ular kepala dua,' i.e. snake with two heaas [Cylindrophh 
rufus). It is a burrowing snake, about 2 feet long, shining 
black above, and below with a large number of irregular 
whitish or yeliowish bands. The tip of the taii is bright red. 
The tail resembles the head not only by its shape, but also 
by the way it is occasionally carriedt raised off the ground 
and curved forwards. 
Orriitting a Uttle important group we come to the 
Cohbridae, a family which includes by far the most snakes, 
non-venomous and venomous ones, land and marine. A very 
pretty snake is Macropisthodon rhodonielas. which is frequently 
met with in Singapore, It is of a pale brown colour and has 
a black line running along the middle of its back, ending on 
the nape in a V— shaped mark. The sides of its neck are 
whitish in colour, apparently due to the secretion of a gland. 
Very remarkably coloured is the ' Ular selenseng ' of the 
Malays, Coluber oxycephalus. It is about S feet in length and is 
of a more or less uiiiform bluish-green colour from snout to 
