340 THE ROLL OF THE SEASONS 



In their basking-places in spring we found vipers 

 enough, in spite of the massacre in the copse. By 

 the end of May these sun-parties break up, and 

 each individual goes foraging near and far for mice 

 and other game, many of them having no recognised 

 den, but sleeping where daylight and a gorged 

 appetite find them. Married couples often live a 

 more regular home life, male and female being find- 

 able on a hot day in one place within reach of their 

 respective dens. This year there has been no treading 

 on vipers possible for children with any capacity for 

 noise. There has not been enough sunshine to make 

 them somnolent, and at the sound of human approach 

 they make off. On the other hand, the quiet 

 man has seen more vipers than usual. Whenever 

 there has been the least sun they have been out, 

 instead of enjoying the shaded heat under a loose 

 partial cover such as a blackberry spray. When we 

 picked our first dewberry on a south-sloping bank, 

 we found a huge female coiled within a yard of the 

 path, but almost hidden from it by a screen of long 

 grass. The sun was shining, but with not much 

 vigour, except on such a south-sloping bank, and 

 the grass at that spot was so well beaten down that 

 it was evident that it had frequently been used for 

 the catching of inconsiderable rays in the best spot 

 available. Another large female uses a bank of 

 similar situation, but of loose stones among which 

 wild strawberries grow. This is a more frequented 

 spot, and, as a consequence, the snake is less certain 

 to be found. It is usually seen in motion, having 

 become aware of our presence before our eyes have 

 found it. 



