THE SERPENTS OF SCOTLAND AND THEIR STUDY 



95 



it is not surprising to find specimens captured now and then 

 in cities, sometimes in very curious places. Such a case 

 occurred in Leeds in 1901 when a specimen was taken in a 

 chapel ! Two cases of this species being taken in Edin- 

 burgh are on record, one in July 1892, when the snake was 

 found on a footpath near Haymarket, and a second in a 

 garden at the Grange in September 1893. The first of 

 these two was examined by Mr. Eagle Clarke, who found 

 that it was a variety of T. natrix often seen on the Continent ; 

 the second was the common English type. 



The distribution of the Scottish serpent, the Adder, in 

 the islands round the coast is most interesting, and suggests 

 matter for inquiry. It is found in Arran, but perhaps most 

 abundantly in Mull and Jura. Curiously enough, however, 

 there are no Adders in lona, although a very narrow stretch 

 of water separates this island from Mull. Tradition tells us 

 that St. Columba banished all reptiles and other undesirable 

 animals from lona, and a most interesting account is given 

 by Rev. Dr. Alexander Stewart of the fate of the only Adder 

 known to reach those protected shores. Mr. Ritchie on one 

 occasion noticed something swimming towards the shore. 

 When it landed, and after a short rest, the creature wriggled 

 on to the grass land, then suddenly stopped, and in a 

 moment was dead ! An unromantic zoologist would in all 

 probability conclude that the Adder died from exhaustion 

 from the effort of swimming to land, unaccustomed as this 

 species is to taking active exercise in the water, but the 

 more emotional inhabitants of lona, naturally enough, pre- 

 ferred to attribute the fate of the venomous beast to the 

 blessing conferred on their soil by St. Columba's decree. 

 The biological interest of the incident is that it seems to 

 establish at least one instance of an Adder being observed 

 swimming, a feat which the writer has never seen himself in 

 spite of much watching. Indeed, I have never caught an 

 Adder in any circumstances which would point to the reptile 

 taking to water, either for food or enjoyment ; the harmless 

 Ring Snake, on the other hand, delights in that element. 



There is a small venomous serpent found in some 

 English counties called the Small Red Viper. This reptile 

 is regarded by authorities as a variety of the Common 



