g OUR REPTILES. 



snake and Cobra to the Kinged Snake and Viper of 

 our own islands. Of these we possess but three, two 

 of which belong to the harmless snakes and the 

 third to the venomous snakes. There are many- 

 others known on the Continent of Europe which do 

 not occur on this side the Channel, and in Ireland 

 those of Britain are also unknown. 



We have now indicated the primary groups which 

 include the nine species found either as true natives, 

 or naturalized, or as occasional visitors to the British 

 Isles. Of these, two belong to the Chelonians or 

 Tortoises, four to the Saurians or Lizards, and three 

 to the Ophidians or Snakes. Only one of, these 

 nine is capable of inflicting serious injury by means 

 of its venomous fangs, although, amongst Batra- 

 chians, the toad secretes an acrid fluid beneath its 

 skin, to which allusion will hereafter be made. 



" Frogs and toads are found on the Shetlands, 

 whilst Vipera berus, the most northern snake, is 

 already scarce in the north of Scotland. Rana 

 temporaria is met with in the Alps, round lakes, 

 near the region of eternal snow, which are nine 

 months covered with ice ; whilst Vipera berus 

 reaches only to the height of 5,000 feet in the 

 Alps, and of 7,000 in the Pyrenees. A triton or a 

 frog, being frozen in water, will awake to its former 

 life if the water is gradually thawed ; I found my- 

 self that even the eggs of Rana temporaria, frozen 



