CHAPTER VIII. 



~O REPTILES TOR THE AQUARIUM. 



UR native reptiles form, but a very 

 restricted family; a few species of 

 small Lizards and Newts, all pretty 

 little creatures, and perfectly harm- 

 less, notwithstanding their bad name, 

 the Frog, the Toad, and the Hedge 

 Snake, a beautifully marked, harmless 

 creature, completing the list, with the exception 

 of the Blind Worm, the bite of which in self-defence 

 is perfectly free from venom ; and, lastly, the only 

 poisonous reptile of the native family, the Viper, or 

 Adder, the virulence of whose bite has been much 

 exaggerated. Bell, in his " History of British Rep- 

 tiles," distinctly states that no well-authenticated 

 case of death from the bite of a Viper is recorded, 

 though inflammation of a serious character nearly 

 always ensues. 



One of the greatest advantages of all the coun- 

 tries of the temperate zones is their freedom, like 

 England, from the presence of venomous and dan- 



