IHK BLINDWORM. 



61 



Its usual habitation, however, is made in the holes of old decaying trees, and except 

 during the very hot weather, it mostly remains at home. There is another reptile, 

 inhabiting the same country and to which the same title is applied, and which will be 

 mentioned in a future page. 



The lower eyelid of the Mabouya is remarkable for a little transparent disc in the 

 centre, the palate is without teeth, and the scales are smooth. Along the back run 

 four black streaks, the two central stripes extending only to the middle of the body, 

 while the two external lines are prolonged nearly to the insertion of the hinder limbs. 



BLINDWORM. Aagute fngllls. 



THE great family of the Skinks find a familiar representative in the common BLIND- 

 WORM or SLOW-WORM of England, which, from its snake-like form and extreme fragility, 

 might well deserve the title of the English glass snake. In this reptile there is no 

 external trace of limbs, the body being uniformly smooth as that of a serpent, and even 

 more so than in some of the snakes, where the presence of the hinder pair of limbs is 

 indicated by a couple of little hook-like appendages. Under the skin, however, the 

 traces of limbs may be discovered, but the bones of the shoulders, the breast, and the 

 pelvis are very small and q'uite rudimentary. 



This elegant little reptile is very common throughout England, and is spread over the 

 greater part of Europe and portions of Asia, not, however, being found in the extreme 

 north of Europe. In this country it is plentiful along hedgerows, heaths, forest lands, 

 and similar situations, where it can find immediate shelter from its few enemies, and 

 be abundantly supplied with food. It may often be seen crawling leisurely over a 

 beaten footpath, and I have once captured it while crossing a wide turnpike road near 

 Oxford. 



Why the name of the Blindworm should have been given to this creature I cannot 

 even conjecture, for it has a pair of conspicuous though not very large eyes, which shine 

 as brightly as those of any animal, and are capable of good service. Indeed, all animals 

 which prey upon insects, and similar moving things, must of necessity possess well-devel- 

 oped eyes, unless they are gifted with the means of attracting their prey within reach, as 

 is the case with some well-known fishes, or chase it by the senses of hearing and touch, as 

 is done by the mole. Moreover, the chief food of the Blindworm consists of slugs, 

 which glide so noiselessly that the creature needs the use of its eyes to detect the soft 

 mollusc as it slides over the ground on its slimy course. Speed is not needful for such a 

 chase, and the Blindworm accordingly is slow and deliberate in all its movements except 



