210 BRITISH SERPENTS. 



which Joseph Boadle presented to the Whitehaven 

 Museum. ' Instead of being grey and black, it is a 

 dull ferruginous red, and the zigzag markings are a 

 dark mahogany colour.' This animal had been caught 

 near Rig House, Dean, West Cumberland " (recorded 

 in the 'Whitehaven Times,' December 3, 1874). 1 



But as a matter of fact, the distribution of the small 

 red viper is much wider in England than has hitherto 

 been recognised, and not the least interesting of the 

 results of my effort to obtain a complete account of 

 the county distribution of our serpents has been the 

 discovery that this species is to be found in at least 

 fifteen English counties, five of which have already 

 been mentioned. I have myself observed it twice 

 in Herefordshire, both times in the same locality — 

 namely, on Garway Hill, once in 1898 and once in 

 1900. I have also taken one specimen in Monmouth- 

 shire, on August 1, 1900 ; this latter specimen 

 measured 9| inches, and was captured on the summit 

 of the Graig Hill. I showed it at the annual 

 meeting of the Woolhope Field Naturalists' Club 

 in 1900. I have also taken one — a male — in Central 

 Dorset (Buckland Newton) as mentioned. A refer- 

 ence to the county reports in this book will show that 

 it also occurs in the following additional counties : 

 Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Lincolnshire, West Sussex, 

 Northumberland, Durham, Dorset, Devon. In most 



1 From this description the specimen might have been a female 

 adder, the size not being given, nor the sex. 



