SNAKES 



143 



dry and marshy localities, is comparatively slow in its 

 movements, and is easily captured ; it does exceedingly 

 well in captivity, better, in fact, than any other European 

 snake, becoming very tame and feeding from the hand. 

 It feeds principally on birds and mammals ; it is also fond 

 of eggs, which, being an expert climber, it is able to procure 

 from the nests. The eggs, six to fifteen in number, are 

 laid in July and August, and hatched the following month. 

 The ^scuLAPiAN Snake, Coluber longissimus, which is 

 distributed throughout Italy and South-Eastern Europe, 

 and is also found in certain parts of Central and Northern 

 Europe, as far north as Denmark and Poland, has been 

 supposed to be one of the snakes worshipped by the 

 Romans, and its occurrence in various Northern and 

 Central localities, which were once Roman thermal stations, 

 has given rise to the supposition that their presence in 

 such localities is due to importations in the temples of 

 iEsculapius ; there is, however, probably more reason to 

 assume that the disconnected habitat of C. longissimus 

 indicates a species once more generally distributed in 

 Europe, and now in process of extinction in the Northern 

 and Central parts. In colour this snake is yellowish or 

 dark olive above, some of the scales with whitish spots or 

 lines which may form a network ; the young have dark 

 brown dorsal spots, which form a number of longitudinal 

 series, and a yellow collar like our Common Grass Snake. 

 The iEsculapian Snake usually inhabits woods or meadows. 

 It is vicious when freshly captured, but soon becomes 

 amenable to captivity, and feeds with some regularity on 

 small mammals. Its period of hibernation is remarkable 

 for its length, extending from the beginning of October 



