THE SMALL RED VIPER. 213 



make every effort to glide quietly away, as does the 

 adder, but, curling its tail in a circle on the ground, 

 erects its head and hisses vigorously. 



Much requires to be learnt regarding its food and 

 reproduction, the great difficulty being to secure enough 

 specimens to form reliable data. 



The illustration of the small red viper (p. 211) is 

 from the one I captured in Monmouthshire. 



Specific name. — If naturalists could see their way 

 to use some specific name, such as Vipera ruhra, when 

 referring to this viper, it would greatly conduce to 

 accuracy and clearness, and would avoid the confusion 

 which at present exists. 



