20 The Field Nahiralist' s Quarterly Feb. 



other when whistled to or called by name. It will lie in 

 the hand without the slightest sign of nervousness — indeed 

 people are much more afraid of tame ring snakes than the 

 snakes are of them, — appreciating the warmth supplied by 

 the human circulation. In fact, in a short time the great 

 fear shown in nature disappears almost entirely, the snake 

 becoming truly domesticated. 



What, then, is to be learnt from thus noting how captivity 

 affects the character and disposition of these two reptiles ? 

 Obviously it indicates that observation of animals in 

 captivity is not a safe guide to their natural habits. The 

 case of the adder refusing to feed is an extreme illustration, 

 for no one, I presume, would argue therefrom that it did 

 not feed in a state of nature. So in regard to its alleged 

 habit of swallowing the young for protection, the adder 

 does not do so in captivity ; but that is not a conclusive 

 or even reliable argument that the process does not occur 

 in the wild condition. It proves that it does not occur 

 in captivity, nothing more. 



By all means let us observe animals in captivity, but 

 keep in mind that their behaviour may be different in their 

 natural condition. 



II. Hibernation. 



In its simplest sense the word "hibernation" means, of 

 course, merely to pass the winter ; but as applied to certain 

 sections of the animal world it has come to imply the 

 passing of that season in a particular manner. But 

 although we now use the term in a somewhat restricted 

 sense, hibernation is, after all, only a particular example 

 of one of the great laws of nature — namely, that of period- 

 icity. Every living organism goes through a cycle of 

 events comprised in the terms birth, growth, maintenance, 

 and decay, and in the course of the whole period of its 

 existence throughout those successive stages it has also 

 its times of activity and its times of rest. The most obvious 

 of these divisions is that which corresponds with the diurnal 

 variations of day and night, light and darkness, and the 

 highest animals, including man, arrange their lives accord- 



