HINTS TO ADDER-SEEKERS 29 



covering it, he must be provided with some simple 

 contrivance for its capture. 



My plan, which cannot be recommended to 

 timid persons liable in moments of excitement to 

 get flustered and awkward, is to catch the retreat- 

 ing adder quickly by the tail, which is a perfectly 

 safe proceeding if there is no blundering, since the 

 creature when going from you is not in a position 

 to strike. 



I confess I am always a little reluctant to offer 

 such an indignity to the adder as grasping and 

 holding it up, enraged and impotent, by the tail, 

 although such treatment may be to its advantage 

 in the end. We have a naturalist in England who 

 picks up every adder he finds and pinches its tail 

 before releasing it, just to teach it caution. The 

 poor creeping thing with a zigzag band on its 

 back to advertise its dangerous character has of 

 all creatures the fewest friends among men. My 

 sole object in picking up an adder by the tail 

 is to be able to look at its under-surface, which 

 is often the most beautiful part. As a rule the 

 colour is deep blue, but it varies; the darkest 

 specimens being blue-black or even quite black, 

 while the exceedingly rare light blue is too 

 beautiful for words. Occasionally we find an 

 adder with the belly plates of the same ground 

 colour, a dull or pale straw yellow, as the upper 

 part of the body, with the dark blue colour in 

 broken spots and dots and lines inscribed on it. 

 These markings in some cases resemble written 



