Another boa from Panama, on 30th June 1877, had twenty young, which displayed ability to take care of themselves forthwith by leaving the marks of their teeth on Holland’s fingers. These twenty were all produced during the night, or before the arrival of the keeper the next morning, and were lively and spiteful, biting any one who attempted to touch them, and sharply enough to draw blood. Mr. E. W. Searle, who described them in _Land and Water_ at the time, July 1877, said: ‘This is probably the first recorded instance of the breeding of boa constrictors in captivity.’ He seemed also to infer that this proved the boa to be viviparous instead of oviparous, as ‘had been always understood.’ Having already known of cases of abnormal, and also of postponed production of eggs or of young, I ventured at the time to cite such cases in _Land and Water_, July 7, 1877, adding: ‘We must not too hastily conclude that because one boa constrictor produced a family of lively young ones, this species is invariably viviparous.’ Also in the _Field_, July 14, 1877, I suggested that ‘the circumstance might be received rather as a further example of snakes breeding under abnormal conditions,’—opinions further confirmed by subsequent observations. The little fry were supplied with young mice, which they constricted as if they had served an apprenticeship; but the mother left them entirely to themselves, and betrayed no other unusual feelings than to hiss when disturbed. When they were seven weeks old, they in one night ate twenty-four mice and a few young rats between them. They all cast their first coat before they were a week old. The mother had been in the Gardens about eight years. All but one of this fine family were alive in the following November, and two are still living at the time of going to press, viz. ‘Totsey’ (illus. p. 201) and one brother. The dates of these few following cases are a little uncertain, also exactly how many survived of those that were born. A ‘seven-banded’ snake (_Trop. leberis_) had six. A ‘chicken snake’ (_Col. eximius_). A ‘moccasin snake’ (_Tropidonotus fasciatus_) had nine young ones. This species has sometimes produced young and eggs at the same time. A ‘garter snake’ (_Tropidonotus ordinatus_). A boa constrictor had eight pretty little active snakelings that at two days old pretended to constrict my fingers, and forcibly enough to prove their powers. On two occasions at the Gardens within the time specified, hybrids have been born between _Epicratis angulifer_ and _Chilobothrus inornatus_, and I can but think that occurrences of this nature must happen among snakes in their wild state occasionally, which may throw some light on the perplexities of classifiers.