244 BRITISH SERPENTS. 



more common all over the province, the adder appar- 

 ently being rarer than it used to be. The ring snake 

 seems to have a slightly larger average length here 

 than farther south, specimens of 3J to 4 feet being 

 frequently found. 



V. Severn Province. 



Vipera berus. — Here we have a division which in- 

 cludes some of the snakiest places in the country for 

 both adders and ring snakes ; but, as elsewhere, the 

 distribution is very local. Herefordshire is referred to 

 in detail elsewhere, and no more need be said here 

 than to recall the average length of adders on the 

 southern border of the county, where they are prob- 

 ably larger, as a rule, than anywhere else in England, 

 the average size being the maximum of Boulenger's 

 English averages — 25 inches. Very large adders are 

 found in some Monmouthshire districts, wdiile in other 

 parts a much smaller average obtains. In this prov- 

 ince the adder is more common than the ring snake 

 all along the western border of the province, from 

 West Hereford to the Forest of Dean. 



Tropidonotus natrix. — In all the remaining counties 

 and districts of the province the ring snake predomin- 

 ates, and in some places is very abundant. Gloucester- 

 shire, perhaps, has it in more abundance than the rest, 

 and here it is very common. In the Churnett Valley, 

 Staffordshire, too, it is plentiful, and is of a fairly 

 uniform average length everywhere in the province. 



