170 BRITISH SERPENTS. 
the young could get into the gullet they could not 
lire there. Of course it is not to be supposed that the 
young stay there indefinitely ; the presumption would 
be that they would be ejected as soon as the threat- 
ened danger was past, perhaps a matter of a few 
minutes. It is a well-established fact that some small 
animals have been taken alive out of a snake’s eullet, 
as was mentioned in reference to their food. More- 
over, there are cases of other reptiles having swallowed 
their young which are beyond dispute, notably the in- 
stance of the rattlesnake described by Dr Menger. 
So that the adder is not the only reptile that has the 
reputation of performing this curious action, only in 
the case of the rattlesnake it is established beyond 
doubt. Reptiles can do without a very good air-supply 
for some time, and the air naturally contained in the 
gullet after distension of the entrance would probably 
be sufficient to sustain the young for a short time. 
It has been thought by some who do not deny the 
swallowing that this is an act of cannibalism on the 
part of the adder-mother, concerning which supposi- 
tion Miss Hopley remarks: “The prey of snakes do 
not run helter-skelter a dozen at a time down the 
throat of an enemy; nor do snakes when feeding gulp 
down a number of snakelings at once, but one at a 
time, and by the action of the jaws moving gradually 
f 
over the prey.” 
t. The fact that no scientific naturalist has ever 
dissected a female adder with the young in the gullet 
