366 WHITE 



the time of changing his coat, had entangled himself intricately 

 in the grass and weeds, so that the friction of the stalks and 

 blades might promote this curious shifting of his exuviae. 



. . . " Lubrica serpens 

 Exuit in spinis vestem." LUCRET. 



It would be a most entertaining sight could a person be an 

 eye-witness to such a feat, and see the snake in the act of 

 changing his garment. As the convexity of the scales of the 

 eyes in the slough is now inward, that circumstance alone is 

 a proof that the skin has been turned; not to mention that 

 now the present inside is much darker than the outer. If you 

 look through the scales of the snake's eyes from the concave 

 side, viz., as the reptile used them, they lessen objects much. 

 Thus it appears from what has been said, that snakes crawl 

 out of the mouth of their own sloughs, and quit the tail part 

 last, just as eels are skinned by a cook maid. While the scales 

 of the eyes are growing loose, and a new skin is forming, the 

 creature in appearance must be blind, and feel itself in an 

 awkward, uneasy situation. WHITE. 



I have seen many sloughs or skins of snakes entire, after 

 they have cast them off ; and once in particular I remember 

 to have found one of these sloughs so intricately interwoven 

 amongst some brakes that it was with difficulty removed with- 

 out being broken ; this undoubtedly was done by the creature 

 to assist in getting rid of its encumbrance. 



I have great reason to suppose that the eft, or common lizard, 

 also casts its skin or slough, but not entire like the snake ; for 

 on the 3Oth March, 1777, I saw one with something ragged 

 hanging to it, which appeared to be part of its old skin. 

 MARKWICK. 



NOTE 



1 The ivy is haunted at night by swarms of moths and other insects. I 

 have seen an ivy bush, on a warm summer night, literally moving with the 

 number of moths which were feeding on it. The eyes of the larger ones 

 glowed like sparks of fire. G. C. D. 



