Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-05-19
For the freeman.
A ChaI with Farmers.
BY AGRICOLA
ABOUT ALTERNATING ANIMALS.

The boa constructor is one ofthe largest
serpents known in history. 1t is not ven
omous, but dangerous in view of its
immense muscular power. This is so
great that it crushes within its folds large
animals, and after lubricating its victim
with saliva, it swallows it, bone. muscle,
horns, all! Rather an indigestable dinner,
we should suppose. We have an instance
on record. by Mr.. Mcleod: this serpent
was brought to England from the Island
of Borneo, was sixteen feet long and
eighteen inches in circumference. Once in
three weeks n goat was put into the cage;
the snake first wound itself about the body
of the animal and pressed out its life, then
it arranged to appropriate its uncooked
meal and in two hours and twenty minutes
the goat was swallowed. The snake now
coiled itself up, and remained in torpid
state for twenty-one days, in which time
the goat had been completely digested.
and the snake was ready for another meal!
This instance seems to illustrate tke char
acter and habits of this monster serpent.
This family of serpents existed in ancient
Italy, Greece and the Mediterranean re-
gions of Africa. Virgil's description of
the death of LAGOON and his two sons, ,and
the account of Theoeritus of the serpents
sent by Juno to destroy the infant Hercu.
les in his cradle, were undoubtedly sug-
gested by knowledge of the habits of
constructing serpents. Pliny states that
these serpents grew so large that one
killed on the Vatican hill, during the
reign of Caudius, had the body OF an in
FAINT in its belly. Suetoneus mentions the
exhibition of "a serpent seventy-five feet in
length, in front of the Comitium. Now
thes, reptiles are found only in tropical
countries. They have been divided into
twenty-five genera, most of which contain
several species. The pithon has two spe-
cies and is distinguished from the boa con-
strictor by placing its eggs in groups and
covering them with its body. The pith0n
is one of the largest and most terrible OF
these monsters, growing to the length of
thirty feet, and proportionally stout. 1t is
said that this serpent is a match for full
grown bufftlo The horLalia, another race.
has three species, all natives of South
| Africa. The Natal rock snake is twenty
| five feet long, and is as large as the body
of Il stout man. The Guinea rock snake
weighs some hundred pounds. The boa
has four distinct species living in Mexico.
Honduras, Santa Lucia and Peru. This
last race has given the general name to
the whole family of large constructing SER
pents. The skin of one of these serpents,
which was an object ofworship among the
the Mexicans, is preserved in the British
museum. Cuvier did not regard the boa
as a native of any portion of the old world.
The euneeteS has but one species and is
found in tropical America. This is the
anaconda, which is the largest serpent in
this country, and it is equaled only by
some of the pythosis of the old world. 1t
attains to the length of twenty feet or more.
1t abounds mostly in the Guianas and
Brazil, and lives mostly in the water. 1t
is fond of shallow places where it remains
with all but the head submerged, watching
for prey 1t swims rapidly like an eel.
Sometimes it floats upon the current;
again it stretches itself on the sand or OH
the rocks, or along the trunk of fallen
tree and is ready at any moment to pounce
upon any victim that may chance to come
in its way. 1t first crushes its prey in its
resistless folds, then seizes it in its teeth
and swallows it whole. This snake is very
tenacious of life. When on land its mo.
liouo dio oluSSloii, coPOolahJ III WlutcI
when it is easily captured by the natives
) DR.. Broderick describes the killing and
J devouring of rabbit by one of these
} snakes in the Tower menagerie of London
l which illustrates their nloduS operdndi
| A large buck rabbit was introduced intt
the cage. The snake was down and mo
tionless in n moment. There it lay like {
log, without n symptom of life, save tn,
glare of its bright eyes The rabbit tool
no notice of its enemy, but walked leisure
ly about the cage, and approached tn,
ambushed head of the snake. Now tn,
snake dashed at its victim like lightning
A blow-a scream-and the rabbit VIA
locked in the coils of the serpent. 1t wa
soon dead and released; when it wa
fabricated for the swallowing the serpen
first took the forelegs into its mouth
though they usually take the head-ant
by slow degrees and painful efforts. con
tinued to draw in more and more of tn,
body, until the whole was engulfed, ther
: it stretched itself out and soon appeared
much as it did previous to the monstrou
repast.