324 on the viper. Oct. 3i« 



From another correspondent I have been favoured 

 with the following fact, which perfectly corresponda 

 with the foregoing remarks. 



Sir, To the Editor 0/ the Bee. 



" An acquaintance of mine who lives in the High- 

 lands of this count J, had been telling me, some 

 time ago, that he had killed a serpent which had 

 young ones in it j but as I did not recollect the par- 

 ticulars of his story, I sent for him since I read^ 

 G. R. H's paper, and he is now here : he says. That 

 as he was one day returning home, he saw a viper 

 among the heath, which he struck with his hand' 

 itafF, and carried home half dead upon the same : 

 that upon coming near his house, he threw it down, 

 and struck it with a spade, and divided it into two ; 

 upon which there sprung out a number of small 

 creatures, very lively and nimble, which were un- 

 doubtedly the young of that viper. He says he con- 

 tinued looking at them till they had travelled a con- 

 siderable distance, (by no means stuck together) and 

 then he killed them, for fear that they might escape 

 and live, ■ The old one was about twenty inches 

 long, of a blackifh colour, with ugly yellow streaks ; 

 the young ones were all of a blackifli colour, about 

 five indies loqg, of the thicknefs of a packthread ; 

 the head considerably larger than the rest. He is 

 not quite sure as to their number ; but is very cer- 

 tain it did not exceed twelve. If nothing more sa- 

 tisfactory has come to hand, ^rom any other quarter, 

 concerning the viper, the abcve may be agreeable to 



