62 



SEnPENTS.- 



-REPTILES- 



-CoLUBRiNE Serpents. 



occ.iKionally met with in dung-heaps, &c. In England, 

 with the exception of the little common lizard, it is the 

 most abundant of all our true reptiles It inhabits all 

 our woods, heaths, and hedgerows, especially in the 

 neighbourhood of water, where it finds the priscipal 

 part of its food. Tliis consists chiefly of frogs and 

 other batrachians and fishes, though it also eats small 

 birds and their eggs, mice, lizards, insects, and worms. 

 Frogs, however, in this country, appear to be its 

 favourite diet. In temperate climates the Ringed 

 Snake becomes torpid during winter. When the 

 temperature falls, it seeks some deep hole in the 

 ground wliere the cold is not able to penetrate, and 

 there it remains, often in company with several 

 others, till the genial waniith of spring biings it forth 

 again. In the month of April it changes its skin, 

 and this process may be repeated several times during 

 the summer. It is easily tamed, and may be made 

 to distinguish tliose who caress and feed it. It con- 

 tracts habits of great gentleness. Mr. Bell says that 

 he had one which knew him from all other persons, 

 and that when let out of his box would go to him and 

 crawl under the sleeve of his coat, where it seemed 

 to enjoj' the warmth. It used also to come to his 

 hand for a draught of milk every morning at breakfast, 

 which it always did of its own accord ; but it flew from 

 strangers, and hissed if they meddled with it. This 

 serpent is truly oviparous, depositing its eggs a con- 

 siderable time, generally three weeks, before they are 

 hatched. This process takes place by the heat of the 

 sun, or the artificial warmth of a dung-heap, in which 

 the mother often places them. The eggs are generally 

 laid about the month of August, are usually from si.\- 

 teen to twenty in number, and are connected together 

 by glutinous matter. 



Family IV.— TRUE SNAKES {Colulriclcc). 



The species of this family are about forty-sis in 

 number, and are chiefly natives of Europe, India, and 

 America. Almost all of them attain a considerable 

 size, measuring generally four or five feet in length, 

 though individuals occasionally occur that reach from 

 seven to eiglit. 



The Tme Snakes are terrestrial animals, Uving prin- 

 cipally upon the ground, and only taking to the water 

 when compelled. The gi'eater number climb with 

 ease upon shrubs and branches of trees, where they 

 remain lying in wait for their prey. Some inhabit 

 marshy countries; others frequent large woods and 

 forests ; whilst there are others again which prefer 

 open, dry, and sandy localities. Their food consists of 

 small mammalia, birds, and reptiles. There are several 

 species found living in Europe. 



THE SEKPENT OF ESCVLAPWS {Cohiher E.<!cu!a2»i) 

 is one of the most remarkable, and is perhaps the 

 best known. " The ancient Greeks," says Schlegel, 

 " adored the god of medicine in dift'erent places and 

 under very diti'erent forms. They gave to him, as his 

 attribute, a serpent, the emblem of wisdom, and so 

 renowned for its healing qualities, that several Greek 

 tribes took the serpent for the god himself. It was 

 particularly at Epidaurus, a flourishing town of Pelo- 



ponnesus, that the inhabitants erected, in a sacred 

 wood frequented by snakes, a magnilicent temple in 

 honour of these reptiles. The Romans, terrified by a 

 dreadful pestilence which ravaged their capital in the 

 year 401, sent an embassy from Rome to Epidaurus 

 to inquire for this imaginary deity — one which they 

 might have found in abundance in their own country. 

 The island formed by the Tiber was the place where 

 these serpents were kept, and where the figure of one 

 sculptured in marble may still be seen in the gardens 

 of St. Bartholomew " Chandler, in his travels, tells 

 us that the iieigbbourhood of Epidaurus abounds at 

 the present time with harmless serpents, which are of 

 gentle habits, and are not molested b}' the inhabitants. 

 And though those described by him are of a yellow 

 colour, and may therefore not be this species, yet this 

 serpent is one of the most widely distributed of all the 

 genus to whicli it belongs, and inhabits the greater part 

 of Europe. It is found in Austria, Hungary, Dal- 

 matia, Italy, France, and the southern parts of Swit- 

 zerland. In the neighbourhood of Rome it is called 

 Sadtone. It attains a considerable size, reaching from 

 four to five feet in lengtli. The body is rather com- 

 pressed, the belly somewhat angular, the tail of mode- 

 rate dimensions, thick at the base and pointed at the 

 extremity. Tlie scales of the trunk are of a rhom- 

 boidal form, of moderate size, and generally smooth, 

 though on tlie hinder parts of the body they are slightly 

 keeled. The head is scarcely distinct from the neck, 

 is of an oblong shape, and has the muzzle somewhat 

 conical, bliuit, and rounded. The npper parts are of 

 a more or less deep uniform brownish gray, the under 

 parts yellowish or marbled with gray. The lips, and a 

 large spot on the neck, forming with that of the oppo- 

 site side a kind of collar, are of a pale yellow, becom- 

 ing effaced, however, in old individuals. This serpent 

 is very nimble in its movements, and readily climbs up 

 trees, but never takes to the water except when com- 

 pelled. It is oviparous. Its food consists of frogs, 

 lizards, and small birds ; but in a state of captivity it 

 wifl never take any sustenance. When attacked it 

 defends itself with boldness and vigour, but a few days 

 are sufficient to render it tame. Schlegel tells us tliat 

 there used to be always a number of these serpents 

 kept alive at the museum in Vienna, and that they had 

 such gentle habits that the}' allowed themselves to 

 be caressed by children and played with by them for 

 hours together. 



Family v.— WOOD SERPENTS [Dryadidm). 



This family comprehends a number of species that 

 are intermediate between the last family, or True Ser- 

 pents {C'olubrida:), and tlie long and slender Tree Ser- 

 pents {Dendrojihidcc). Many attain a considerable 

 length, while others do not exceed two feet. They 

 climb upon trees, resting on the brandies in order to 

 wait for their prey, and are far more at ease in such 

 situations than upon the ground, upon which they 

 move with much less facility. They are rather fierce 

 animals, springing with surprising velocity upon their 

 aggressors, and attacking them with fury. 



THE COACH-WHIP SNAKE OF NORTH AMERICA 



