66 TAME BLIND-WORMS. 



purpose are generally dry and warm spots, where the dried leaves and dead twigs of decayed 

 branches have congregated into heaps, so as to afford it a safe refuge. Sometimes it bores its 

 way into masses of rotten wood ; and on heathery soils, where the ground slopes considerably, 

 it selects a spot where it will be well sheltered from the winter's rains and snows, and burrows 

 deeply into the dry loose soil. 



It is singular to see the creature emerging from the ground when the least touch will soil 

 the fingers, and to see how totally free from earth stains is the bright glittering skin of the 

 reptile, upon which not a particle of mud can cling. I once detected upon the head of my 

 specimen a projection which I thought was a little lump of mud, I having just watered the 

 ferns and turf, greatly to the discomfiture of the Blind- worms, both old and young ; but, upon 

 close examination, I found it was only a little pebble which had lodged upon the head, as the 

 reptile came hastily out of its burrow to avoid the water. So quietly did the Blind-worm 

 move, that the stone retained its place upon the head for several minutes, and did not fall off 

 until I startled the creature, and caused it to turn its head rather sharply. 



The Blind- worm would be a most useful inhabitant of a garden not at all repulsive, and, 

 indeed, very seldom seen, its instinct teaching it to remain within some dark recess during the 

 day, and only to come out at night when the slugs leave their earthy hiding-places, and com- 

 mence feeding. Moreover, it is very pi'olific, and needs no special appliances, as is the case 

 with the frog and toad, which require the presence of water to produce and hatch their young, 

 and for the little reptiles to come to maturity. Sometimes the number of young is twelve or 

 thirteen, and sometimes there are only seven or eight. The usual average is, however, nine 

 or ten ; and they are very hardy little things, requiring no care whatever. 



Being one of the earliest to retire into its winter quarters, the Blindworm is one of the 

 first reptiles to leave them, appearing before either the snake or the viper. The reason for 

 this early appearance is simple enough. Neither creature can venture into action when it can 

 find no food, the active powers of the body causing a waste which must be restored with nutri- 

 ment. The snake feeds upon frogs, and therefore cannot leave its winter' s home until it finds 

 the frogs ready for it. The frogs, again, which feed upon insects, must wait until the vegeta- 

 tion has attained sufficient luxuriance to afford food for their insect prey ; but the Blind-worm, 

 which finds its nourishment among the mollusks which devour the earliest leaves, is able 

 to leave its winter quarters as soon as the vegetation begins fairly to sprout, and the slugs to 

 devour it. 



Even during the winter, a warmer sunbeam than usual will tempt the Blind-worm to come 

 to the mouth of its burrow, poke out its head, and enjoy the temporary, but cheering warmth. 

 My own specimens have not yet made any preparations toward retiring to winter quarters, 

 though the usual time has passed away nearly two months ago, a circumstance which is prob- 

 ably due to the warmth of their home, and the occasional supply of slugs which I now and 

 then put into the case. 



Like the snakes, the Blind-worm casts its skin at regular intervals, seeming to effect its 

 object in various modes, sometimes pulling it off in pieces, but usually stripping it away, like 

 the snakes, by turning it inside out, just as an eel is skinned. Some persons, who have 

 witnessed the process, state that this eversion is only extended to the base of the tail, and that 

 the entire tail is drawn out of the skin like a hand out of a glove. Mr. G. Daniel mentions, 

 that a Blind-worm in his possession cast its skin in so many pieces, that the largest portion 

 was only two inches in length. The process began by a split along the abdomen, and the head 

 was the last part extricated from the rejected integument. This mode of shedding the skin 

 was, however, owing, in all probability, to some weakness in the individual, or to the want of 

 the usual aids, such as the stems of grass, heather, and other vegetation, against which the 

 reptile contrives to rub itself, so as to assist its efforts in peeling off the cuticle. The color of 

 the Blind- worm is rather variable. In my own specimen, now crawling over the paper on which 

 I write, and blotting it sadly, the color is dark olive-brown above, with a shining silvery lustre, 

 and diversified with a narrow black line along the back, and a broader black line down each 

 side. The flanks are grayish-white, mottled with black, and the under parts are nearly black, 

 variegated with a little gray. The Y-like mark on the head is still apparent, but there is 



