420 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 1891. 



down for a little, but again suddenly jumping up went to the corner in the 

 first room and instituted a fresh search. How long it was before she was 

 satisfied that she had not been deprived of a kitten I cannot say, for I had to 

 go out, and by the time I returned she had settled down. 



Incident No. 2. — The same cat turning up while I was at breakfast to-day, 

 I sent a servant to see if the kittens in the writing room were all right. 

 They were reported not to be there, but I was told that yesterday she had 

 been seen transporting the kittens to a coach house near the stables, some 

 150 yards away from the house. I sent to have them fetched and shown to 

 the mother, then I had them taken to an almirah in my bed room which 

 formerly she had much affected. She followed the servant who carried them 

 up, saw where they were deposited and returned to me to the dining room 

 to finish her breakfast. She then immediately went back to the almirah and 

 removed the kittens one after the other back to the coach house ! 



I trouble you with these incidents only because facts, however trivial, may, 

 at some time or other be of use to those interested in such matters. You will 

 observe that I am careful not to condemn all cats as wanting in reasoning 

 power, as the data on which I draw my conclusions are furnished only by the 

 conduct, under observation, of a single cat. 



KENNETH MACKENZIE, 



Colonel. 

 Amraoti Camp, Berar, 6th October, 1891. 



V.— THE BREEDING OF SNAKES. 



As little has been recorded about the breeding of snakes the following may 

 be worth noting : — 



On July 30th this year a large green tree-snake, Dryophis mycterizans, was 

 brought to the Public Gardens here. On the 27th September she gave birth to 

 12 young ones, thus proving that this particular species is viviparous. The 

 size of young snakes is usually about one-sixth of that of the adult, but the 

 yoimg in this case were about seventeen inches in length, the mother being 

 about four feet six inches long. It is possible that the ride only holds good 

 for those snakes that are hatched outside the body of the parent. 



HAROLD S. FERGUSON. 



Trevcmdrum, 30th September, 1891. 



Wo have had several gravid females of the above mentioned snake in the 

 Society's Rooms, and although the young ones were, in the majority of cases, 

 produced alive, in one instance they did not hatch out until the day after 

 the eggs were laid. Dryophis mycterizans may therefore be described as 

 being avo-viviparom, and I strongly suspect that all true tree-snakes are the 

 same. Until steps are taken to keep Indian snakes, under observation, in 



