242 BRITISH SERPENTS. 



killed some thousands of snakes in his lifetime. The 

 average length is fairly uniformly 2 J to 3 feet. 



Coronella austriaca. — As one would expect from 

 climatic considerations, our reptiles show a decided 

 preference for the southern counties of England, and 

 this division of the counties includes the only area in 

 which the smooth snake is seen at all frequently — 

 namely, Bloxworth. It is also found in Hants, but 

 more often in Dorset than elsewhere, its peculiarly 

 local distribution being hard to account for. Possibly 

 a very careful investigation in some other southern 

 localities might reveal its presence where it is so far 

 unrecorded. 



The small red viper occurs in Dorset and Sussex, 

 and in all probability in other parts of this division. 



III. Thames Province. 



Vipera hems. — This is another division prolific in 

 reptiles, especially in its southern portions. The 

 chalk downs of Kent are famous for adders, and some 

 of the spots in the neighbourhood of Dover are de- 

 scribed as being infested with them in some seasons. 

 The average size in most parts is 20 inches or there- 

 abouts, an adder of 2 feet being considered a very 

 large one, — a striking contrast to Herefordshire, for 

 instance, where that figure is the average for male 

 adders. There are a good many localities in this 

 division where the adder outnumbers the ring snake, 

 especially some places in Surrey, another example of 



