28 BRITISH LIZARDS 



found, in more or less abundance, universally in 

 Europe, with the exception of the extreme northern 

 portions of the Continent, where the cold is too severe 

 for reptile life to flourish. In the British Isles it is 

 common — in England, Scotland, and Wales, but does 

 not occur in Ireland. It seems to occur in all the 

 counties, but is much more numerous in some localities 

 than in others. In my own experience I have found 

 it more abundantly in the south-western counties of 

 England than in the eastern or northern counties, and 

 in Wales it is found in great numbers in the southern 

 parts. I have been much struck with its rarity in 

 some counties, where the snakes were common, and 

 where the viviparous common lizard was plentiful. 

 Such a case is found in the Broadland district of 

 Norfolk, where one may capture a dozen adders in a 

 day and never see a slow-worm in the same time. 

 In Dorset, on the other hand, where both adders and 

 ring-snakes are common, the slow-worm is also plenti- 

 ful. Most counties, however, contain some suitable 

 spots where search will be rewarded. 



Description. — The general appearance of this lizard 

 is too familiar to need detailed description, and a 

 glance at the illustrations in this book will give an 

 excellent idea of its postures and attitudes. Great 

 variety is seen in size and colour. As the result of a 

 large series of measurements of specimens taken from 

 different parts of the country, we may state the aver- 

 age size of a full-grown specimen to be between 



