THE CLASS REPTILIA. 9 



against which we shall have to carefully consider 

 and examine ; and without giving them credit for 

 possessing any supernatural powers, we shall find, 

 I hope, that they present a most interesting study. 



Before beginning to describe various species of our 

 serpents, it will be well to have a very clear under- 

 standing as to the terminology employed. We have 

 already classified the species above, and also enum- 

 erated them. Let us consider now for a moment their 

 ordinary everyday names. 



Our venomous serpent is sometimes spoken of and 

 written about as " the adder," and as often, perhaps, 

 as the " viper." These are synonymous terms, both 

 correct, and both referring to Vipera herns. But in 

 some books, especially the older writings, the Latin 

 name of Vipera communis is used, or again Vipera 

 vents may be found. These also, then, are synonyms. 

 In order to avoid any confusion we shall always use 

 the term Vipera hems for the adder. It is convenient 

 to restrict the use of the term " viper M to the small 

 red variety of the species. This reptile is not at 

 present regarded as a distinct species, though, I con- 

 fess, it seems to me that it might well be so. The 

 scientific name of our harmless common British snake 

 is Tropidonotus natrix (the Latin matrix meaning a 

 water snake). In English we hear and see this species 

 spoken and written of as the ring snake or as the 

 grass snake, the former term having reference to the 

 peculiar marking, the latter to the habit, of the reptile. 



