156 THE BOOK OF THE OPEN AIR 



places, bracken-covered in others, with measured over twenty-six inches in 

 a wood here and there. On the left length. Not a ring snake is seen ; there 

 the Graig Hill, wooded almost com- are none in the immediate district, 

 pletely. The river Monnow runs be- though plenty a few miles further 

 tween, separating Hereford from Mon- in Monmouthshire. Slow-worms, how- 

 mouth. A more secluded spot could ever, are seen in great numbers, and 

 hardly be found in civilized England, on turning over one heap of stones we 

 The weather is very hot, and it is the find no less than nine at the bottom, 

 time for the female adders to be bask- all sizes and ages, from the bright 

 ing in the hot afternoon sun, gaining silvery and copper young one of this 

 all the additional heat they can for spring to the grey old grandfather of, 

 the development of the young within perhaps, twenty years ago. On Gar- 

 them. We know adders to abound in way Hill we are shown the carcase of 

 this valley, but they are hard to find a young bullock which had been bitten 

 now, because the vegetation is well by an adder and had died therefrom, 

 grown. Long acquaintance with their the adder being found beside his victim, 

 habits, however, enables us to find Dangerous reptiles these large Monnow 

 some every day and to watch the same Valley adders, as we know from some 

 females day after day emerging from exciting previous experiences. Some of 

 the same patch of thick fern, gliding the spots where the females are known 

 very deliberately to the edge of the to be are marked for later observa- 

 " rides " cut for shooting purposes, tion and to save time in searching. 

 and finally coiling themselves up on During July and August we pursue 

 the top of an ant heap, there remaining the wily snake in Wiltshire and Glouces- 

 motionless for an hour or two at one tershire, where we find the ring snake 

 time, all unconscious of our patient in- much in evidence, especially in the 

 spection through field glasses. Hardly neighbourhood of ponds, in which they 

 a male adder is to be seen; they seem may be seen every morning enjoying 

 to mysteriously disappear soon after a cool swim. There must be thousands 

 the spring, the truth being that they of these snakes in these counties. 

 remain in the thick cover and rarely We find their bundles of eggs for they 

 come out into the open ground. We are oviparous deposited in manure 

 find the females here much larger than heaps and in odd corners given over 

 those seen in Dorset, several being to rubbish, often quite close to dwell- 



