46 REPTILES 



the same hole ; and occasionally a number of individuals have 

 been found coiled up into a solid mass. The most extraordin- 

 ary instance of such a collection of these snakes (which were 

 not hibernating) was recorded a few years ago in the month of 

 September near Llanelly, South Wales, where they took pos- 

 session of a house. The reptiles crawled over the floors, infested 

 the cupboards, curled themselves together on the furniture, 

 while some individuals climbed the stairs and luxuriated in the 

 comforts of the bedrooms. The human occupants of the house 

 had done their best to rid themselves of these unwelcome visitors, 

 and had waged a war of extermination against them. The 

 snakes continued to come, however, although no fewer than 

 twenty-two were slaughtered in one day. The eggs from which 

 the twenty-two individuals were hatched were probably de- 

 posited by the parent behind the oven, or in a hole in the back 

 wall. On taking down a portion of the latter wall forty 

 bunches, each containing thirty eggs, were discovered, all on 

 the point of hatching. There were thus some twelve hundred 

 snakes in an area of a few square feet. 



Similar large congregations of rattlesnakes are well-known 

 in certain parts of North America about the commencement of 

 the hibernating season. In some districts it is reported that 

 the snakes used to collect in hundreds, or even thousands, in 

 the den, to which they travelled from distances of thirty or forty 

 miles. Whether all reptiles that hibernate fatten themselves 

 preparatory for their fast, does not appear to be ascertained. 

 It is stated, however, that chamseleons certainly do so; and 

 that in North Africa at any rate they retire for the winter under 

 ground, although how long they remain there is unknown. It 

 is likewise not ascertained whether any of the tropical species 

 aestivate. 



