British Reptiles : Snakes — Two Turtles 



" The Vivarium : Its Construction, Arrangement and 

 Management," by the Rev. G. C. Bateman (London : 

 L. Upcott Gill). 



CHAPTER III 



BRITISH REPTILES I SNAKES TWO TURTLES 



Thirty years ago a Scottish clergyman paid sixpence 

 per head for all Snakes brought to him, dead or alive. 

 It was then no unusual thing to see some labourer, 

 after work, making his way towards the manse, with 

 the dangling body of a Snake by his side. This 

 clergyman kept his offer open all the year round, 

 which meant that many of the victims secured were 

 slaughtered in their winter sleep. He had a belief 

 firmly rooted in his nature, that all Snakes — or any 

 creature in the form of such— ought to be done to 

 death. It was this belief that framed the annual offer 

 of six pennies to all and sundry in his parish who 

 deposited a specimen at the manse door. In his heart 

 he prided himself on his philanthropic action, being 

 convinced that Snakes in general were dangerous, if 

 not actually poisonous. It was to save his people's 

 lives that he paid for Snakes. A dead Snake could do 

 no harm, he thought ; but if allowed to live, some of 

 his church pews might show a vacant seat. In his 

 view, if Snakes were allowed to multiply in his parish, 

 some plague might break out, and should such a 

 catastrophe overtake his parish, he felt he would be 



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