562 SNAKES. 



bitten by one of the others of the same kind in the cage 

 at the time ; for he had known snakes to die from bites 

 in this way, sometimes from their own bites. On one 

 occasion three Puff adders (Vipei'a arietans) all died through 

 quarrelling and biting each other. One of the three sur- 

 vived ten days, the others dying sooner. 



One day in April 1873 or 1874, on going to the Gardens, 

 I was informed that a water viper {Ce?ic/iris piscivoriis) had 

 been found in the tank in its cage, presenting a very unusual 

 appearance, and enormously swelled. On going his rounds 

 that morning, the keeper observed it, and touching it with 

 his iron rod, he discovered that it was quite dead. He 

 said these vipers frequently quarrel, biting each other and 

 causing this great inflation of the body, as if blown out by 

 wind. The vitality of this species is very strong. From 

 such bites the inflation is sometimes only temporary, and 

 they recover, but not always. One of them lived a long 

 while with a broken back. It was endeavouring to escape 

 by the sliding door, which was raised while the keeper was 

 making some arrangements. The movements of the reptile 

 were so swift that Holland was obliged to suddenly drop 

 the slide ; and though he succeeded in partly pushing back 

 the snake, it got caught and was jammed under it, completely 

 dislocating its spine. But it did not appear to sufler very 

 much, he said, and entirely recovered from the injury. 



Some 'viperine snakes' (named from their aspect, but 

 not really venomous) not only bit each other, but killed 

 and swallowed each other. 



Several cases of cobras injuring each other and themselves 

 are on record at the Gardens. On one occasion a cobra 



