180 BRITISH SERPENTS. 



of facing my dog at close quarters, but in the other 

 case I saw no young." — Eythorne, 23rd July 1900. 



3. " A son of a late gardener to Lord Guildford 

 (whose seat, ' Waldershare,' is close by here) was, when 

 a boy, a sort of ' Thomas Edward ' in a small way. He 

 used to say that as he was proceeding to take a wasp's 

 nest one autumn, he smashed a viper's head with a 

 stone and a number of young ones emerged from the 

 throat. To me it seems evident that it is practically 

 impossible for a scientist to quit his study and say, 

 ' I'll have a day in the country and find out for myself 

 if vipers swallow their young,' with any great hope of 

 success. The thinsr is not done to order. But one 

 person here and another there once in a lifetime 

 stumbles unexpectedly upon a case, and this after 

 living and working all their lives in an adder-infested 

 district, while by far the greater number, with equal 

 advantages, are never in their whole lives equally 

 favoured."— Eythorne, 26th July 1900. 



4. " Since writing to you [the author] last I have 

 met the under-keeper of Waldershare estate, and I 

 asked if he had ever seen the adder swallow her 

 young. He replied that he had, and that it occurred 

 just outside his garden fence. He said he was going 

 quickly round a corner by this fence when he came 

 suddenly on a viper with three or four young ones 

 about 6 inches long. They went down her throat, and 



