British Reptiles and Amphibians 



and perpetuate its species. Reptiles as a whole have 

 no peace where men congregate, hence these creatures 

 dwell in curious places remote from cities. It is 

 natural for the eye and mind to feel refreshed when 

 the face of the earth is clothed anew in the springtime 

 of the year; as one notes the emerald colouring 

 gradually creep over the fields, he is apt to imagine 

 that all things are new. Yet every seed that breaks 

 the earth's surface is but the kernel of the past. Even 

 the Reptile and the Bat retain through winter's cold the 

 mysterious vital spark until the warm sun lends them 

 energy for another spell of active life. 



It is during the springtime that Nature adorns 

 herself for the banquet of summer. The tiny Stickle- 

 backs in the ditch assume vivid colours, while the 

 Heron on the watch for these finny denizens has its 

 crest renewed and its lappets refurnished as the waters 

 wash against its bony legs. In the rock-pools the 

 Crested Newt assumes its helmet, and its body takes 

 on its rouge and crimson spots when the sun stands in 

 the heavens. In the deeper waters, where the crystal 

 flow babbles over the pebbly bottom, the yellow Trout 

 gets dappled with finer spots, and the Salmon looks 

 more silvery, even when lying dead upon the bank. It 

 is then that the Lizard gains the metallic colouring on 

 its throat-pouches. 



The ponds and ditches give correct records of the 

 atmospheric conditions. A cold east wind sends the 

 Sticklebacks under the debris, and the brown Trout 



4 



