142 SAURIA. SCINCID^. 



invariably took them in one position. Elevating 

 its head slowly above its victim, it would sud- 

 denly seize the slug by the middle, in the same 

 way that a ferret or dog will generally take a 

 rat by the loins ; it would then hold it thus 

 sometimes for more than a minute, when it would 

 pass its prey through its jaws, and swallow the 

 slug head foremost. It refused the larger slugs, 

 and would not touch either young frogs or mice. 

 Snakes kept in the same cage took both frogs 

 and mice. The Blind-worm avoided the water ; 

 the Snakes, on the contrary, coiled themselves 

 in the pan coiitaining water which was put into 

 the cage, and appeared to delight in it. The 

 Blind-worm was a remarkably fine one, measuring 

 fifteen inches in length. It cast its slough whilst 

 in my keeping. The skin came off* in separate 

 pieces, the largest of which was two inches in 

 length ; splitting first on the belly, and the 

 peeling from the head being completed the 

 last."* 



For some other details of the history of 

 this little reptile, we quote Professor Bell, 

 from whose elegant work on British Herpe- 

 tology, most of the above particulars have 

 been gleaned. *' One very interesting point in 

 its habits, is its being ovo-viviparous. Like 

 the Zootoca vivipara, the young of this animal 

 are hatched before they come into the world, 

 and it is probable that in this case, as in that 

 of the species just named, as well as in the Viper 

 and the Rattlesnake, the rupture of the mem- 

 brane of the egg takes place during partu- 

 rition. The female is said to go with young 



* White's " Nat. Hist, of Selborne " (Bennett's edit.) 



