270 BRITISH SERPENTS. 



posed not to bite, I had one specimen (2 feet 7 inches) 

 which I could never take out of her cage without an 

 attempt on her part to bite me — an attempt, moreover, 

 which was frequently very successful. I have at 

 present in captivity a ring snake which is so tame as 

 to readily take a frog from my hand whilst itself 

 being held in the other ; and this snake will also 

 come the whole length of a room to my whistle. 

 Shortly after I captured her she deposited 29 eggs, 

 none of which was I successful in hatching. 



" The adder averages here about 20 inches. I have 

 no knowledge of the occurrence of the smooth snake 

 or the small red viper in the immediate locality." — A. 

 Cheshill, St Leonards. 



Arundel District. — " In this district I should say 

 that the ring snake is more common than the adder, 

 though the latter is also pretty plentiful. In my 

 experience I should put the average length of the 

 harmless species at about 2 feet, and that of the 

 adder at about 21 inches, locally. I have never come 

 across the rare smooth snake here." — Leslie E. Lewis, 

 Binsted Rectory, Arundel, Sussex. 



Eastbourne District. — " Speaking from personal 

 observation of the country within a fifteen-mile radius 

 of Eastbourne, I should say that the ring snake is 

 undoubtedly the most common species found. The 



