t62 snakes. 



because it is during the hottest seasons in the tropics that 

 they resign themselves similarly to an almost death-like 

 repose and temporary tomb, burying themselves in the 

 mud, which is hard-baked around and over them, almost 

 hermetically sealed until the rainy season loosens the soil, 

 and frees them from this literal sarcophagus. In this case 

 the so-called * hibernation ' is the result of drought. It is 

 moisture now which revivifies them, rain which restores 

 their vital functions, and like the chrysalis bursting its 

 shell and emerging a new and brilliant creature, the reptile 

 lives anew, doffs his muddy coat, and re-appears in all his 

 resplendent colouring. 



The prairie rattlesnake {Crotahis confliientus) is known to 

 undergo this species of torpor, which is, in fact, estivation. 

 It is described as having been found in this 'stupid condi- 

 tion' in the dry caiions of the Rocky Mountains during 

 the droughts of July and August. American naturalists 

 who accompany the Exploring Expeditions affirm that this 

 partial torpor is common to many species of snakes, and 

 analogous to hibernation. They are 'sluggish, stupid, 

 blind, striking wildly,' says one of the official Reports. 



Snakes remain torpid on an average half the year. It 

 is a winter sleep in colder and temperate climates, and a 

 summer sleep in hot ones. The green garter-snake of the 

 United States hibernates eight months out of the twelve. 

 So do some of the Australian snakes, others being under- 

 ground five months in the year, Krefft tells us. The dura- 

 tion of insensibility varies, of course, with the climate and 

 season. 



Snakes in mcnaq;eries have been known to manifest in- 



