COLOUR OF THE BLINDWOEM. 05 



Being one of the earliest to retire into its winter quarters, the Blind-worm is one of the 

 first reptiles to leave them, appearing before either the snake or the viper. The reason for 

 this early appearance is simple enough. Neither creature can venture into action when it 

 can find no food, the active powers of the body causing a waste which must be restored 

 with nutriment. The snake feeds upon frogs, and therefore cannot leave its winter's home 

 until it finds the frogs ready for it. The frogs, again, which feed upon insects, must wait 

 until the vegetation has attained sufficient luxuriance to afford food for their insect prey ; 

 but the Blindworm, which finds its nourishment among the molluscs which devour the 

 earliest leaves, is able to leave its winter quarters as soon as the vegetation begins fairly 

 to sprout, and the slugs to devour it. 



Even during the winter, a warmer sunbeam than usual will tempt the Blindworm to 

 come to the mouth of its burrow, poke out its head, and enjoy the temporary, but 

 cheering warmth. My own specimens have not yet made any preparations towards 

 retiring to winter quarters, though the usual time has passed away nearly two months 

 ago, a circumstance which is probably due to the warmth of their home, and the occa- 

 sional supply of slugs which I now and then put into the case. 



Like the snakes, the Blindworm casts its skin at regular intervals, seeming to effect 

 its object in various modes, sometimes pulling it off in pieces, but usually stripping it 

 away, like the snakes, by turning it inside out, just as an eel is skinned. Some persons, 

 who have witnessed the process, state that this eversion is only extended to the base of 

 the tail, and that the entire tail is drawn out of the skin like a hand out of a glove. 

 Mr. G. Daniel mentions, that a Blindworm in his possession cast its skin in so many 

 pieces, that the largest portion was only two inches in length. The process began by a 

 split along the abdomen, and the head was the last part extricated from the rejected 

 integument. This mode of shedding the skin was, however, owing, in all probability, to 

 some weakness in the individual, or to the want of the usual aids, such as the stems of 

 grass, heather, and other vegetation, against which the reptile contrives to rub itself, so as 

 to assist its efforts in peeling off the cuticle. The colour of the Blindworm is rather 

 variable. In my own specimen, now crawling over the paper on which I write, and 

 blotting it sadly, the colour is dark olive-brown above, with a shining silvery lustre, and 

 diversified with a narrow black line along the back, and a broader black line down each 

 side. The flanks are greyish white, mottled with black, and the under parts are nearly 

 black, variegated with a little grey. The Y-like mark on the head is still apparent, but 

 there is no trace of the inverted V. On the sides of the head, the inottlings of grey and 

 black are very bold, and round the neck runs a collar of black. This mark, however, may 

 have been caused by the stupidity of the captor, who was so frightened at the contortions 

 of the reptile, that he tied a string round its neck to form a safe handle with which to 

 carry it. 



Mr. Bell, in his volume on the British reptiles, states that the tail is obtuse, and in 

 the illustration gives it much too short an aspect, though he states that it rather varies in 

 length, in some cases being not more than half the length of the body, while in others it 

 nearly equals the head and body together. In my own specimen, the tail is by no means 

 obtuse, but very slender and well pointed, and can be so tightly curled at its extremity as 

 not to be removable without damage to the creature. While held in the hand, it generally 

 twists the tip of the tail firmly round one of the fingers, not in a spiral position, but so 

 as to make one complete circle, the extremity of the tail just touching the spot where the 

 circle commences. The total length of this specimen now lying flat against a two-foot 

 rule, towards which I have just succeeded in coaxing it by a judicious arrangement of 

 light and shade, and an occasional touch with the finger, is thirteen inches and a half. 

 The body and head occupy precisely six inches, and the remaining seven inches and a 

 half are given to the tail. The spot where the body ends and the tail begins is very 

 evident, the diameter of the body diminishing slightly but suddenly. 



THE family of the Skinks contains so many interesting creatures, that it is difficult 

 to make a satisfactory selection, and impossible to avoid a feeling of regret at the 

 necessity for passing so many species without even a cursory notice. Before, however, 

 3. F 



