THE ADDER. 163 



all probability another hour or so would have seen 

 fourteen lively young adders playing about at that 

 spot : they certainly have every appearance of being- 

 capable of looking after themselves. This group shows 

 the fact that was mentioned when discussing sloughing 

 — namely, that the first slough is cast before birth. 

 Several of the embryos show the slough as a ring 

 round the body, peeling off towards the tail. 



It is quite possible that the size of the young in 

 this particular case was larger than usual ; but I 

 think there can be no doubt that young adders are 

 born greater in size than is usually supposed, and 

 are quite perfectly developed at birth. All these 

 embryos were provided with their teeth, including the 

 fangs. Two of them are now in Sir William Turner's 

 museum at Edinburgh University, the others preserved 

 in my own collection, where any one interested can see 

 them. This size of the young at birth will be again 

 referred to when discussing the question of the adder- 

 mother swallowing her young for protection. 



