THE SMOOTH SNAKE. 49 



six years before, and on sending his example to the 

 Museum, its identity was at once established (' Zool.,' 

 1859, p. 5787). During numberless rambles on Blox- 

 worth Heath from 1853 to 1872 I was on the look- 

 out for this snake, but only once saw an example, 

 which I failed to capture. It was not until June 

 1872 that I succeeded in authenticating it in that 

 locality by actual capture ('Zool.,' 1872, p. 3113). 

 Kecords, however, of its occurrence in the New Forest 

 have been published, in 1862, by Mr F. Buckland in 

 the ' Field ' newspaper, where other notices also, I 

 believe, subsequently appeared by the same writer, 

 but without details of time and locality (see 'Zool.,' 

 1869 (2), p. 1658). Since 1872 I have seen it much 

 more frequently and captured it occasionally, in order 

 to have always by me one or two preserved specimens 

 for friends who have wanted it either for their own or 

 for public collections. In the year 1879 it was un- 

 usually frequent on Bloxworth Heath. Several were 

 killed one day in September or early in October of 

 that year by a shooting - party, under the impression 

 they were adders. Having been informed of this on 

 the same evening bv one of the shooters at a dinner- 

 party, I took a moonlight tramp that same night over 

 the Heath to redeem two of their victims, feeling 

 quite sure (as it turned out) that they were Coronella 

 Icevis and not adders ; the next day being Sunday, I 

 feared, too, that before the Monday they would be 

 made prize of by some old carrion-crow or other 



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