THE SMOOTH SNAKE. 51 



the shrubbery and was found no more. The other 

 example (captured at the beginning of August) also 

 throve fairly well, but it did not show signs of 

 becoming tame like the other. It was finally sent, 

 on my son's going to school, about the middle of 

 September, to the Zoological Gardens, Begent's Park. 

 I have noticed above that a very slight tap with a 

 stick appeared to paralyse it, but that in the two 

 cases there noted it soon recovered. This was not 

 so, however, with the first example I ever obtained 

 ('Zool.,' 3114). In this case the snake never stirred, 

 nor recovered in any way, after a blow, apparently 

 no stronger than those from which the others soon 

 rallied. Mr Kemp -Welch ('Zool.,' 3150) also men- 

 tions the fatal effect of a slight blow. On the other 

 hand, three examples subsequently taken alive, and 

 which I wished to preserve as specimens, seemed quite 

 unaffected by piercing through the brain with a pen- 

 knife. In these cases chloroform had to be freely used 

 afterwards before immersion in spirits of wine. 



" Then with regard to its food — that is probably for 

 the most part the sand- lizard {Lacerta agilis) : this 

 species is frequent in the same localities inhabited by 

 the snake, though, as proved by Dr Blackmore (' Zool.,' 

 9735), it will freely devour our other lizard, Zootoca 

 vivipara, which is also found in some of the situations 

 affected by Coronella Icevis. In confinement it de- 

 voured slow-worms as well as lizards (' Zool.' (2), 1659), 

 but would not touch frogs. Those which we kept in 



