MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 689 



well behind her with her hind legs. Colour first muddy, then vivid green 

 and black. Roosted all night. Next morning 12th completed the filling 

 up of her burrow. 



On the 13th I had her put into the garden and began to search for the 

 eggs. As they are evidently deep down, I had the whole bush gently 

 lifted up by the roots, when a heap of eggs were visible in the loose mould 

 at the bottom of the pot, nearly a foot from the surface. Eggs were whit- 

 ish, shaped like a snake's, a perfect oval, about a half inch by a quarter 

 inch, and numbered 31. I replaced 20 and the rest were put in another 

 pot. The female still drives the male away if he comes near her. A few 

 general remarks on these animals as pets may be of interest. They are 

 voracious and should be watered, on a bush, at least once in two days. 

 They will not drink out of a receptacle. Their gymnastic feats are a 

 source of endless amusement and interest and they give the impression of 

 possessing an intelligence much above that of other reptiles. They are 

 long sighted and very tenacious of purpose. If put on the floor of the 

 verandah my own would invariably first take their bearings and then make 

 for the hedge, climbing it at the same spot in order to catch the over-hanging 

 branch of the Gul mohur tree. Their dominant purpose is still to escape 

 into the high branches of this tree. If kept in a wire cage their persistent 

 ■efforts to escape lead to the skin of their nose being frayed to the bone, but 

 a cage of mosquito netting obviate this mishap. 



I should be grateful for any information the Society can give me as to 

 their distribution, also the size they attain. An informant tells me of one 

 -over two feet long, picked ofl' a tree during a beat in one of our Southern 

 districts and kept tied to a peg for two days when its captors killed it and 

 'dried its tongue and heart for a charm. I should have unhesitatingly 

 put this animal down for one of the so-called ' iguanas ' but for the 

 ■description of its gait, shape and colour and the incident of its death, for 

 while the tongue and heart of a chamgeleon have noted magical properties 

 in this country, I never heard the same of the iguana. 



C. OHENEVIX TRENCH, i.c.s. 

 Damoh, C. p., l&th November 1911, 



[The iguana referred to is probably the Indian Monitor or " G-horpad ' (Varanus 

 bengalensis). The largest chamseleon which is in our Museum measures snout to 

 vent. 7J inches, tail 85 inches, a total length of 16 inches. — Eds.] 



No. XXXIX.— SNAKE EATING A SNIPE. 



On 20th November while I was out snipe shooting with my wife a 

 •curious incident occurred which I think is of sufficient interest to record. 

 I had brought down a couple of Snipe and my wife had gone to pick up 

 ■one while I went to get the other. On approaching the spot where the 



