164 



OTHER DENIZENS OF THE J FOODS 



enemies snakes are cautious and timorous ; a suspicious noise drives them into their 

 hiding-places. If they have not time to reach these, they will often endeavour to 

 frighten their would-be captors by curling themselves up, swelling, and hissing 

 loudly. Wherever climate permits, snakes are to be found all the world over. On 

 the whole, however, they like warmth, and in colder districts hibernate. Most are 

 fond of the daylight, and withdraw to their haunts at sunset, only to appear again 

 the next morning ; some, however, are by no means partial to the rays of the mid- 

 day sun. 



Of the snakes of central Europe two agree with the two most familiar 





\ 



■y 



THE VIFER. 



European lizards in i - egard to the situations where they are found. In this respect 

 the viper ( Vipera fcertts), the only real European venomous serpent, is very 

 like the viviparous lizard. This species is distinguished by having from twenty- 

 one to thirty-seven rows of strongly keeled scales along its bod}*, two cross-rows 

 of scales on the under side of the tail, and either one or two rows of small scales 

 lengthwise between its eye and the scales of the upper lip. The body is strongly 

 developed in the centre, and the tail rapidly tapers towards the point, being, like 

 the thick-set trunk, very short. In length the viper has been known to reach 

 27 J inches, but on the Continent rarely exceeds 20, the size of the females being 

 shorter by one quarter. It has twenty-one rows of scales along the bodj-, 



