THE SNAKE. 205 



edges of wet swamps, creeks, &c. I have often seen a 

 snake drinking, when I have been watching by the side 

 of a water hole. I once shot a pair of ducks in a creek, 

 and they fell in the rushes on the opposite side. As I had 

 no retriever, I stripped and swam in ; and while I was 

 swimming across, I saw what I took to be a black piece 

 of stick, lying on the top of the water ; when I came up 

 to it it proved to be a large black-snake, lying, perfectly 

 motionless, at full length on the water. I passed within 

 a foot of it, but it never moved. I often wondered since 

 whether it was after the ducks. 



The bush-fires must destroy thousands of snakes 

 annually, and wherever the country becomes cleared 

 they will, of course, in a great measure disappear. But 

 they can never entirely be rooted out of this land, where 

 so many miles of swamp, scrub, and heather must for 

 ever remain, in their original wild state, a harbour for 

 the snake and other vermin. But I think Government 

 should offer some slight reward, say sixpence or a shilling, 

 for every snake's head that was brought in. 



It is strange that this country should be so prolific in 

 snakes, while in New Zealand, only about a thousand 

 miles distant, not a reptile is, I believe, to be found. 



The guano is a large species of tree-lizard, and 

 frequents gullies and ranges where the timber is high, 

 and the localities wild and unfrequented. It was very 

 rare in our district ; in fact, it is found only in the most 

 solitary places. The guano runs from all sizes, up to 

 ten feet, and I have heard of them even longer. The 



