82 BRITISH SERPENTS. 



pared with a ring snake of equal length, it will be 

 seen that the appearance of greater bulk is borne out 

 in their respective weights, an adder of 2 feet weigh- 

 ing considerably more than a ring snake of the same 

 length. The tail of the adder is much shorter and 

 much blunter than that of the rin" snake, and is 

 generally about one-eighth of the total length of the 

 reptile, being slightly longer in males than females. 

 The arrangement of the plates on the head differs 

 from that noted in the ring snake, and the head 

 itself is broader and not so rounded. 



Haunts. — Generally speaking, the place to look for 

 an adder is the hottest spot in that particular district. 

 More definitely, they occur on commons, on the sum- 

 mits of hills, in woods, in fern and bracken, among 

 rocks and rough stones, on dry slopes, on sandy banks, 

 on the warm side of hedges, on hot grassy banks, on 

 heaths, and especially on chalky soil such as is found 

 in parts of Kent and Dorset. But there are three 

 kinds of places in which adders like to lie above all 

 others. These are, first, on the edge of a " ride " which 

 has been cut through the fern for shooting purposes ; 

 secondly, on the warm stones of a disused and un- 

 frequented quarry (splendid places for reptiles are 

 these old quarries) ; and thirdly, on the top of an ant- 

 hill. Of all the adders I have taken the vast majority 

 have been in one of these three situations. The most 

 likely place of all is a patch of fern surrounded by 

 woods, for there the adders have both summer and 



