CHAPTER I. 



THE CLASS REPTILIA. 



RELATIVE DISTRIBUTIOX OF REPTILES — IRELAND — NEW ZEA- 

 LAND — RELATION TO AMPHIBIANS AND BIRDS — EXISTING 

 ORDERS OF REPTILES — BRITISH SPECIES — DIFFICULTY OF 

 OBSERVATION — CLASSIFICATION AND TERMINOLOGY USED IN 

 BOOK. 



Ix very few coantries of the world are the members 

 of the class Reptilia so sparsely represented as in 

 the British Isles, and in all probability there are 

 few persons who regret that fact. The charm of a 

 ramble through solitary English woods, or over the 

 more rugged mountains of Scotland and AVales, is 

 not materially lessened by the dread of encountering 

 venomous serpents, as is the case in so many 

 countries which are otherwise delightful. What a 

 striking contrast, for example, to the continent of 

 America, where " out of some three thousand species 

 of living reptiles known, three hundred and forty- 

 eight are North American " ; while " there are one 

 hundred and thirty species of snakes in America 



