Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1891-06-05
A sERPENTlNE Eoa-EATER.
Some Interesting Points About Various
Kinds of Snakes.

Alnus Ot Suhkebs
"The funniest snake / know any
thing about is one found in Africa,
which lives upon eggs, /" said Osteologist
Lucar to Star reporter. ut has a GU
rious projection downward from its
backbone, just behind the head, which
Is like tooth, the extremity being
actually tipped with enamel. This
tooth-like appendage has most inn
portant function with relation to the
creatures method of getting living,
and it would be difficult to find more
astonishing illustration in nature of the
adaptation of structure to necessity.
"When this snake swallows an egg
the latter is passed down through the
gullet until it encounters the sharp
tooth l have spoken of, which breaks
the shell. Thus not only is the food
rendered ready for immediate digestion,
but no portion of the fluid contents is
lost, as would be the case if the snake
were obliged to bite into the egg with
its mouth fangs.
SIT seems surprising how many snakes
are able to swallow animals bigger
than their own diameter, until 1t is con-
sidered how particularly nature has
adapted to the purpose the structure of
their jaws. The lower jawbone, instead
of being in single piece, is merely
connected in front by an elastic liga-
ment, so that the two halves are capa-
BILE of great extension. Again, the halves
of the lower jawbone are attached
to the skull very far back, 50 that the
animal can make an enormous gap.
ITO properly reparethe skeleton of
snake is one of the most difficult
pieces of work in my line of business.
Serpents of all sorts come to the Smith
sonian institution In two shapes. The
smaller ones are usually in alcohol,
while the big fellows are apt to be
simply dried and poisoned by soaking
in an arsenical solution. In the prep
aration of specimen very sharp and
delicate scissors are employed, with
forceps to supplement them, the flesh
being carefully removed so far as is
Then recourse must be had to the
scraping of the bones until they are
perfectly clean. Sometimes the sBele-
ton is soaked in an acid preparation for
! the purpose, but this destroys the liga-
ments, and it is not easy to put all the
parts together again rightly. In the
preparation of delicate skeletons the
great thing is patience. There are two
very finely prepared skeletons of big
snakes In the National museum, and
in making them ready for exhibition
the utmost pains were taken to pre-
serve the cartilaginous extremities oil
the ribs, which, with ordinary treatment
are lost Without these little pieces OF
cartilage the serpents skeleton car
hardly be said to be complete, inasmucf
as they are the feet upon which the
reptile walks, as it were. In fact, a
snake walks on the ends of its ribs, ant
in that manner achieves locomotion
Some big serpents, however, like Tho
boas and pythons, really have hind legs
though they are quite rudimentary
Pythons, you know, are constructors
crushing their prey in their folds. They
have no poison glands, but they car
bite terrifcally with their many teeth
which turn inward like hooks, so that
person once seized would have littl,
chance of disengaging himself save b,
chopping off the head of the reptile" ~
Kansas CITY Star.