SLOW WORM 
keeping perfectly still. It is probably because of this 
that it has obtained its name of Slow Worm. I have 
found it most frequently in Kent and Cornwall, but there 
are few, if any, counties in which it does not occur, 
though in several it is of local distribution. It haunts 
commons, downs, heaths, grassy waysides, and woods, 
and when discovered may be picked up and handled 
without fear of any harm accruing to the captor. But 
care must be taken not to interfere with the tail, as many 
species of Lizards havea knack of snapping off a portion 
of that appendage with the idea apparently of making 
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Slow-worrm, LD Ese = Fig 5 
good their escape. Moreover, it is a capital device for 
enabling the Slow Worm and its cousins to escape from 
natural enemies when a hold is secured of the tail end. 
The reptile, minus a part of its extremity, goes off to 
all intents and purposes no worse for its adventure, and 
its pursuer has obtained a meal. Lizards reproduce 
either by depositing eggs, or bringing forth living young. 
The present reptile comes under the last-named category. 
17 
