138 



BRITISH SERPENTS. 



rabbit throws itself up when lying on its back), but 



I have never seen even 

 this much myself. But 

 the adder's anatomy is not 

 such as to permit it to do 

 more than raise itself up 

 on to the tail as a volun- 

 tary act, and as a rule it 

 may be said that the rep- 

 tile always has some part 

 of itself on the ground. 

 Still I am quite aware 

 that some say otherwise ; 

 witness the following: — 



" One of my workmen 

 told me that an adder 

 sprang at him as high 

 as his waist, but he 

 managed to dodge it, 

 and it just missed him ' 

 (letter from W. Jacob). 



Again, " I was very 



near putting my foot on 



a lame dark - coloured 



female adder when she 



jumped right at me, and 



hissed ' (letter from a 

 Fig. 31. — Adder in motion. . . 



gamekeeper). 



The ordinary motion of the adder in progression is 



