338 BRITISH SERPENTS. 



On single occasions he has seen specimens at New- 

 lands, near Carletou, and Black Moss Pool, near 

 Cotehill. 



Viper. — " ' The mosses in the neighbourhood of 

 Morecambe Bay share with those which fringe the 

 Solway Firth the unenviable distinction of affording 

 tolerably safe asylum to large numbers of vipers. 

 I have rarely visited any of our flows on a hot 

 summer's day without coming across one or two 

 individuals of the present species basking in the 

 sunshine upon some heather- covered prominence. 

 The late Mr Kirkby captured great numbers of 

 vipers in the neighbourhood of Ulverstone, and 

 showed me some pretty sections of their teeth under 

 the microscope. His skill in capturing these animals 

 was very great. The occupation appeared to have 

 become his ruling passion.' — Eev. H. A. Macpher- 

 son, extract from 'Fauna of Lakeland.' 



" The only local reptile whicli seems to show a 

 tendency in tlie direction of variation is the 

 common viper. Most of the Lakeland vipers are 

 grey or brown in ground colour, regardless of their 

 sex. The only instance at present known to me of 

 the capture of a red individual within our limits 

 relates to a viper which Joseph Boadle presented to 

 the Whitehaven Museum. Instead of being grey 

 and black, it is a dull ferruginous red, and the zig- 

 zag markings are a dark mahogany colour. Tliis 

 animal has been caught near Kig House, Dean, West 



