A circumstance happened at the London Zoological Gardens a few years ago, which, although familiar to many, may be referred to as bearing on two of the above features—namely, the dull sense of taste in a snake, and the abundant supply of mucous secretions. It was in the case of a large boa which swallowed her blanket. She was about to change her skin, and, as usual on such occasions, was partially blind, as also indifferent to food. The rabbits given to her dodged her grasp, and her appreciation of flavours was not sufficient to enable her to discriminate between blanket and rabbit fur; so, seizing a portion of the rug, she with natural instinct constricted this, and proceeded to swallow it. She was, however, made to disgorge it afterwards, when it was scarcely recognisable from the thick and abundant coating of mucous in which it was enveloped. Mr. F. Buckland described its appearance as that of a ‘long flannel sausage.’ These highly-developed salivary glands are beneficent provisions in the economy of the serpent race. The reptile cannot, as we said, tear flesh from bones, and discard the latter; nor separate the food from the enveloping feathers or fur; nor reject whatever unsavoury portions other animals might detach and leave uneaten. All must be swallowed by a snake, and all digested; and its digestion, sufficiently powerful, is aided by the excessive flow of saliva, or the insalivation of such food. It is not difficult to make snakes disgorge their food. They often do so on their own account, when, after swallowing some bulky meal, they are alarmed or pursued, and escape is less easy with that load to carry. The illustration exhibiting the numerous ribs, which are all loosely articulated with the spinal column, enables us to comprehend the capacity for bulk, and the ease with which these fine ribs would expand to accommodate a body even broader than the snake itself. We comprehend, also, why it is that a creature swallowed alive need not be injured or wounded by the mere fact of being swallowed, but would die of suffocation after all. A frog has been known to turn round and escape from the body of the snake, if the latter indulge in a prolonged yawn; and yawning almost always does follow as soon as the prey is swallowed, because the snake has for the time breathed less regularly, and now requires to take in a fresh supply of air. In this act you see the two jaws extended to an enormous degree, almost, indeed, to form one straight line perpendicularly. In such condition the teeth are well out of the way, and the adjustable ribs, expansile covering, and loose head bones render them not insurmountable obstacles to an escape when the prey is uninjured.