TYNE PROVINCE. 335 



was captured in a house in Sunderland, having 

 taken up its residence in a hole in the wall. It is 

 not uncommon in various parts of Berwickshire and 

 Ro.xljurghshire, especially on the sylvan bank of the 

 Teviot and the beautiful Jed and other tributaries 

 of the Tweed. 



" The adder is common in many parts of Northum- 

 berland and Durham, and the writer has met with 

 it on different parts of Middleton and Belford estates, 

 as well as at Bewick, Hedgely, and Wooler. When 

 a lad I lirst became acquainted with this animal 'in 

 the flesh' in the summer of 1849 on Belford Moor, 

 where it was then very plentiful, and where several 

 examples, including a female and nine young ones, 

 were killed during the course of the summer. None 

 of these much exceeded 2 feet in length, but one 

 killed by myself in the coal wood, Belford, on Easter 

 Monday, 1850, measured over 2 J feet, and was the 

 largest specimen I ever saw." — " J. A.," in the ' New- 

 castle Weekly Chronicle,' 1881. 



Durham. 



" The adder is the most common serpent in this 

 county. The species is common over the whole of 

 the Derwent valley, from Gibside to Blanchland, 

 the greater part of which district I have explored, 

 and where I have seen many fine specimens. About 

 five years ago I captured one on May 20, measuring 

 not less than two feet. This was very early in the 



