i68 SiYAKES. 



species. From May to September in Australia, timid 

 persons need be in no fear of snakes in the 'scrub.' The 

 larger and more dangerous species retire deep into the 

 ground, and only the young ones under stones. Warm 

 days entice them out for an hour or two, and they retire 

 again at night, just as is the case with those of the United 

 States. 



The ancients Avere aware of this hibernation of reptiles ; 

 and Pliny, who, having sometimes a foundation of fact to 

 build upon, is all the more dangerous from his fabulous 

 superstructure, writes, * The viper is the only serpent that 

 conceals itself in the earth. It can live there without taking 

 food for a whole year. They are not venoinoiLS when they are 

 asleep! he sagely adds. Vipers can live without food for even 

 more than a year, and so can other snakes ; but this often is 

 irrespective of hibernation, and of this more will be said 

 presently. 



A still stronger evidence of vitality or suspended animation 

 is witnessed in the extraordinary custom of packing the 

 poor wretched snakes in air-tight bottles, which some bar- 

 barous (the word here in both senses may be used) people 

 adopt. A Cerastes arrived in England in a bottle, which 

 had been hermetically closed for six wrecks, and it revived. 

 It was so crowded into the bottle as to look quite dead, 

 but revived directly it was released, and struck a fowl, which 

 died instantly! Sometimes a bottle or jar is literally crowded 

 with ophidian captives, that are certainly out of harm's way 

 so far as others are concerned, and travel in a compact com- 

 pass ; but it stands to reason that even when they survive 

 this close imprisonment, they are not in a very lively con- 



