SNAKES VENOMOUS AND NON-VENOMOUS. 141 



at a glance from the Viper, which possesses the further charac- 

 teristic of well defined lozenge-shaped markings which run down 

 the whole length of the back. Perhaps the popular idea that the 

 Viper is characterised by a V on its head may actually have much to 

 do with the indiscriminate slaughter of both. It does not require a 

 very vivid imagination to trace a V-shaped mark among the lines 

 and plates on any snake's head ; and the bright yellow and black 

 blotches, to which allusion has just been made as forming a kind 

 of collar at the back of the head in Tropidonotus natrix, joining 

 at an acute angle, constitute a much closer resemblance to the 

 letter than the irregular star-shaped patch on the "forehead" of 

 the Viper. There is a third snake occasionally found in Great 

 Britain — Coronella Icevis, but this might excusably be mistaken 

 for the Adder. It is found more frequently in the New Forest 

 than anywhere else ; and, though certainly uncommon, is possibly 

 not so rare as it is supposed to be. A gentleman in that neigh- 

 bourhood, who offers a reward for every Viper killed, sent me 

 several "doubtful cases" last summer, which proved to be Coro- 

 nellce. The harmless Slow-worm, Anguis fragilis, holds an inter- 

 mediate place between the Ophidians and the typical Saurians. 



The words "snake" and "serpent" I use indiscriminately, 

 since their import is the same. It would be very convenient, 

 however, if by common acceptation the venomous species might 

 be ranged under one term and non-venomous under the other. 

 In some parts of the world this is so, "serpent" being usually 

 understood as designating the noxious species ; in others, the 

 term is limited to Pythons, Anacondas, and allied families ; here, 

 both have the same signification, though I remember an article in 

 one of the magazines some years ago, which bore the heading, 

 " Serpents and Venomous Snakes." 



The wide-spread notion that all venomous snakes have flat 

 heads — and, conversely, that all flat-headed ones are venomous — 

 is undoubtedly a most erroneous one. Take all the Boas and 

 Pythons, for instance : all with flattened, pointed, and (with the 

 single exception of one Tree-boa, Epicrates cenchris) triangular 

 heads. That of the Anaconda, too, is flat, but more rounded in 

 outline ; so is the Dalmatian Elaphis, the largest European 

 Snake ; so are certain species of Zamensis, Dromicus, Dipsas, and 

 numerous other Colubrince. On the other hand, many Vipers and 

 most of the Elapidce have rounded, convex, or even bulbous heads 



