10 OUR REPTILES. 



former life if the water is gradually thawed; I 

 found myself that even the eggs of Eana tem- 

 poraria, frozen in ice during seven hours, 

 suffered no harm by it, and afterwards were 

 developed. A snake can only endure a much 

 less degree of cold : even in the cold nights of 

 summer it falls into the state of lethargy ; it 

 awakes late in the spring, when some frogs and 

 tritons have already finished their propagation ; 

 it retires early into its recess in harvest, whilst 

 still the evenings resound with the vigorous 

 croaking of the tree-frogs and the bell-like 

 clamour of Alytes obstetricans. Our European 

 snakes die generally in captivity during the 

 winter, partly from want of food, partly by the 

 cold nights. The eggs of our oviparous species 

 are deposited during the hottest part of the year, 

 requiring a high temperature for development. 

 Further, though some accounts of Batrachians 

 enclosed in cavities of the earth or trees may be 

 exaggerated, the fact is stated by men whose 

 knowledge and truth are beyond all doubt, that 

 such animals live many years apparently without 

 the supply of food necessary for preserving the 

 energies of the vital functions."* 



In this country, all Reptiles pass the winter 



* Dr. A. Giinther on the Geographical Distribution of 

 Reptiles. Proceedings of Zoological Society. 



