REPTILES IN THE TARN AND THE GREEN LANES. 93 



rapidly distinguishing them. That of the former is 

 covered with large plates, and about the neck there is 

 a collar or ring (whence its name of " ringed snake ") 

 of a bright yellow colour. The viper's head has a 

 much more " wicked " expression, and the top has a 

 peculiar " Death's head and cross-bones " kind of 

 blotches, which may have been taken in the old 



Fig. 70. Fig. 71 



Head of Snake. Head of Viper. 



days, when it was believed that nature ticketed the 

 character of her goods by certain outward signs as 

 a Cain-like mark of the creature's disposition. 



The Smooth Snake (CoroneUa Itcvis) is much rarer 

 than the foregoing. Indeed, to come across one is 

 quite a zoological "find." It is common in the 

 south of Europe, and seems to get proportionately 

 rarer as we proceed farther north, with the ex- 



