REPTILES OF DORSET. 91 



recorJcd as Britisli — viz., the Edihlc Frog, Rana escidcnia (Duni. 

 et Bib.), and the llawkshill Turtle, Chelonia imhricata Sclnveig ; 

 Dorsetshire, therefore, can boast of nearly all the known Lriti-^h 

 Eeptiles. Ko other county can at present furnish a much more 

 imposing list, even if any one has so many species certainly recorded 

 within its limits. * It may be remarked here, however, that the 

 number of Reptiles found in Great Britain is but scanty when 

 compared with those found on the Continent of Europe. The 

 European Reptilia number at present a total of about one hundred 

 against the meagre fifteen species of Great Britain. The Li::ards of 

 Europe are thirty-seven as against three British, The non-venomous 

 Snalies eighteen or twenty as against our two Biitish species, 

 and the venomous ones four against onr one ; while as against our 

 four species of the Frog group the Europeans count nineteen ; the 

 three British species of Neiois being represented in Europe by seven- 

 teen. Some of us may perhaps be inclined to think that this 

 comparative paucity of the reptile class in Britain tells in her 

 fa\our as an abode of the human species; but still, though one 

 can scarcely covet the additional European venomous Rei)tilcs, y(;t 

 all who in their researches love to see every corner and crevice of 

 the face of Nature peopled with many and varied animal forms 

 will, I think, agree that a few more of the lively lizards and 

 harmless snakes would increase the pleasure of our summer 

 rambles. In addition to these general remarks, perhaps this is the 

 best place to refer very shortly to one or two (I am almost in- 

 clined to call them) superstitions in respect to some of our Eeptiles. 

 I allude first to the asserted habit of the adder, when alarmed, of 

 swallowing its progeny ; or rather, I suppose I should say, of the 

 young, Avhen alarmed, of bolting down their mother's throat. I 

 have often seen this stated in i)rint in a very dear ami 

 circumstantial way, but though I have in my time known 

 intimately and personally a great many zealous field-naturalists 



* Carnarvon has a Y\^X, of \?> si)eeies ; J)('voiisliir(\ l."> >-|iccit>s ; 

 Somerset, 12 species ; Yorkshire, 12 species. (See Mr. Millci- L'liiislie's 

 catalogue. ) 



