MEMOIR ON AMPHIBIA. 



2>7S 



found nothing. Captain Hawkins now conduced us 

 about half a mile further to a low ground nearly funilar, 

 lefs covered with wood, but conliderably loaded with 

 fphagnum paluftre, without which we Ihould have funk 

 infallibly into the mud, fo foft was the foil. The firft 

 I'earch produced nothing ; hut the fecond made us ample 

 amends for the pains we had given ourfelves till that time. 

 In the fpace of two hours, and in a fpot of ground about 

 1 2 feet long and 8 or 9 wide, we took eight boiquiras of 

 various frzes, which had each from two to nine rattles. 



I had perfuaded myfclf, after the different reports which 

 I had heard, that I Ifiould hnd in the fame cavities, and 

 mingled with the boiquiras, many other fpecies of ferpents 

 and even frogs. Having met with none, I inquired of 

 Captain Hawkins if he had ever made the fame obl'erva- 

 tion. He anfwered it was not rare to find black fnakes 

 (coluber conrtriftor) mingled with the boiquiras ; but he 

 liad never met with others, except once that he found in 

 the fame hole a young garter-fnake (coluber faurita) : as 

 to frogs or toads he had fometimes met with them, but in 

 fmali numbers, and very rarely. 



We afked him whether he was acquainted with the re- 

 treat of other ferpents, he anfwered in the negative, but 

 fuppofed they paffed their winters in holes at the foot of 

 trees, on the heights. It would not be lefs important to 

 difcover and inveftigate the retreat of other reptiles : the 

 true way to do it would be, it appears to me, to obferve 

 what holes are in the vicinity of the exuviae, w^hich thefe 

 animals caft oft" in the fpring and autumn, and to feek 

 them in fuch places during the winter. 



Third Observation. — The cold was very mode- 

 rate when we made this fearch, for about 10 o'clock the 

 thermometer liood at 30° or 310 of Fahrenheit's fcale ; 

 at noon we plunged it into the mud above which lay the 

 boiquiras, where we left it ten minutes ; it had rifen to 



43° 



