50 BRITISH SERPENTS. 



vermin. One only, however, proved to be worth pre- 

 serving, the other having been too much damaged in 

 the anxiety of the slayer to ensure its destruction. 



" By the additional records of its occurrence in the 

 pages of the ' Zoologist,' not only is its authenticity 

 as a British species more than fully established, but 

 its recent comparative frequency (in my own district 

 at least) is undoubted. During the past summer 

 (1885) I have seen it several times, capturing it twice. 

 On each of these occasions a slight tap near, but not 

 on, the head appeared to paralyse it, as it seemed for 

 some time quite dead, though on reaching home some 

 hours afterwards it had quite recovered and was as 

 lively as ever. The first of these two was put into 

 a roomy cage with glazed sides and perforated zinc 

 cover, and a clod of heather to bask upon in the 

 sun, or to conceal itself under. Thus, attended to by 

 one of my sons, and furnished with a small vessel 

 of water and a few bluebottle flies per diem, it lived 

 from June till the beginning of September, always 

 active, retaining its plump well-to-do appearance, and 

 changing its skin once. It became also verv tame 

 and docile : if lying under its piece of turf, it would, 

 on hearing my son whistle or call it, come out at 

 once and rear itself on its tail' as if to enjoy a little 

 conversation. One day, however, it managed for the 

 second time to push aside with its nose a small ven- 

 tilating -slide at the side of the cage, and the door 

 of the room being also open, it made its escape into 



