170 BRITISH SERPENTS. 



the young could get into the gullet they could not 

 live there. Of course it is not to be supposed that the 

 young stay there indefinitely ; the presumption would 

 be that they would be ejected as soon as the threat- 

 ened danger was past, perhaps a matter of a few 

 minutes. It is a well-established fact that some small 

 animals have been taken alive out of a snake's gullet, 

 as was mentioned in reference to their food. More- 

 over, there are cases of other reptiles having swallowed 

 their young which are beyond dispute, notably the in- 

 stance of the rattlesnake described by Dr Menger. 

 So that the adder is not the only reptile that has the 

 reputation of performing this curious action, only in 

 the case of the rattlesnake it is established beyond 

 doubt. Eeptiles can do without a very good air-supply 

 for some time, and the air naturally contained in the 

 gullet after distension of the entrance would probably 

 be sufficient to sustain the young for a short time. 



It has been thought by some who do not deny the 

 swallowing that this is an act of cannibalism on the 

 part of the adder-mother, concerning which supposi- 

 tion Miss Hopley remarks: "The prey of snakes do 

 not run helter-skelter a dozen at a time down the 

 throat of an enemy ; nor do snakes when feeding gulp 

 down a number of snakelings at once, but one at a 

 time, and by the action of the jaws moving gradually 

 over the prey." 



4. The fact that no scientific naturalist has ever 

 dissected a female adder with the young in the gullet 



