320 
BELMONT. 
Sam observed, one day near the end of April, two' 
young ones — not, however, very yo\mg — apparently 
caressing each other. The one was on a low wall, 
with its head hanging down ; the other on the ground, 
with its head a little reared ; so that their muzzles 
were in contact. The forked tongues of both were 
protruded, much vibrated, and seemingly engaged in 
licking each other’s face. A large Boa was at a little 
distance, looking on. 
April SOth . — A lad brought me, from Belmont, six 
eggs of the Boa. He had observed a Snake crawl 
out of a narrow hole in the side of a yam-hill, a low^ 
but wide heap of pulverised earth, in which the yam- 
tuber is planted. On examination, he found that the 
hole was the mouth of a narrow passage, just wide 
enough to admit the body of the reptile, and leading 
to a large chamber in the centre of the heap, where 
lay these six eggs. They were long-oval, IJ inch 
by inch; plump when first discovered, but now, 
through exposure to the air, shrunken in at the sides ; 
adhering to each other by small portions of their 
surfaces, so as to form an agglutinated mass. Their 
surface was dull white, the integument thin, but 
tough, and resembling white kid leather. On snipping 
the skin of one, a clear glaire exuded, in which was 
a large whitish vitellus, stained with blood-vessels, 
and containing a young Snake about seven inches 
long, of which the tail was two and a half. The 
head was large ; the two lobes of the brain promi- 
themselves and separate ; so that any active person armed might then 
easily decapitate or destroy them.” ( On the Fishes, §’c. of Jamaica. 
Zool, Journ. v. 419.) 
