BRITISH REPTILES 109 
creatures, I feel sure folks would look with interest 
on the very beings they have turned away from before 
with feelings of disgust. 
The smooth snake, the Coronella, feeds on lizards, 
small snakes, and slow-worms, the deaf adders of the 
rustic population. This is our miniature Ophiophagus, 
or snake-eater. It is harmless ; in this respect differ- 
ing from the large and deadly Hamadryad, which is 
really a monstrous snake-eating cobra found in South- 
eastern Asia. The coronella will bite, but there is 
nothing to fear from that. This creature is much 
smaller than a common snake ; it has a smooth look 
that the other has not ; there are other distinctions 
difficult to make plain]} on paper. They have had 
specimens of it in the reptile house at the Zoological 
Gardens, where the difference between the two can 
be easily seen. 
The snake is local in its habitat ; up to the present 
time, Dorsetshire and Hampshire are the two counties 
where it may be procured. Dorsetshire I am not 
able to say anything about, but of Hampshire I can 
speak. 
The blind-worm, or slow- worm, Anguis fragilis, is 
not a snake ; it really belongs to the lizard tribe. If 
ever a poor innocent creature has been persecuted, 
this one has ; and, simply for untold benefits con- 
