46 
STRANGE DWELLINGS . 
be able to excavate a burrow, and throw out the earth, seems 
almost incredible. How did the snake remove the earth? As 
the reptile was not seen in the act of excavating, this question 
could not be precisely answered. Mr. Hill, however, to whom 
this subject was referred, gave as his opinion that the snake 
loosened the earth with its snout, and then worked the loose 
soil out of the hollow by successive contractions of the segments 
of the abdomen, which would thus ‘ deliver ’ the soil after the 
manner of the Archimedean screw. 
The eggs which were found in the chamber were removed, and 
from one of them, which was opened, was taken a young snake, 
about seven inches in length. 
