THE BLIND-WORM, OR SLOW-WORM. 63 



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. 



The great family of the Skinks finds a familiar representative in the common Blind- 

 WOKM, or Slow-woem, which, from its snake-like form and extreme fragility, might well 

 deserve the title of the glass snake. In this reptile there is no external trace of limbs, the 

 body being uniformly smooth as that of the 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 quite rudimentary. 



This elegant little reptile is very common throughout Europe, and is also spread over 

 some portions of Asia, not, however, being found in the north. It is plentiful along hedge- 

 rows, 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. 



Why the name of the Blind-worm should have been given to this creature I cannot even 

 conjecture, for it has a pair of conspicuous though not very large ej'es, 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-developed 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. More- 

 over, the chief food of the Blind- worm consists of slugs, which glide so noiselessly that the 

 creature needs the use of its eyes to detect the soft mollusk 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 delibei-ate in all its movements except when very young, when it twists and wriggles 

 about in a singular fashion as often as it is touched. 



The great fragility of the Blind-woi-m is well known. By a rather curious structure of the 

 muscles and bones of the spine, the reptile is able to stiffen itself to such a degree, that on 

 a slight pressure, or trifling blow, or even by the voluntary contraction of the body, the tail is 

 snapped away from the body, and on account of its proportionate length, looks just as if the 

 creature had been broken in half. The object of this curious property seems to be to insure 

 the safety of the animal. The severed tail retains, or rather acquires, an extraordinary amount 

 of irritability, and for several minutes after its amputation, leaps and tvnsts about with such 

 violence, that the attention of the foe is drawn to its singular vagaries, and the Blind-worm 

 itself creeps quietly away to some place of shelter. 



Even after the movements have ceased, they may l)e again excited by touching the tail 

 with a stick, or even with the finger, when it wall juuqi about with a vigor apparently undimin- 

 ished. On frequently repeating the process, however, the movements become perceptibly 

 less active, and after awhile the only sign of movement will be a slight convulsive shiver. 

 Half an hour is, as far as my own experience goes, the limit to which this irritability eudures. 



I well remember meeting with an incident of this nature. I had come suddenly upon 

 a reptile among the rank gmss and underwood, that I at first took for a viper, and at which I 

 aimed a thrust with a little twig of decaying wood, which broke at once. Immediately after the 

 thrust, something began to hop and plunge about most violently just by my feet, and having 

 a very wholesome dread of a viper's fangs, I jumped back a step or two, to the great indigna- 

 tion of a swarm of bees, which had settled themselves in the ruins of an old wooden hut close 

 to the spot. They at once intimated their displeasure in that wing-language so expressive to 

 aU bee-owTiers, so hastily tossing the writhing object to a distance with the shattered remnant 

 of the stick, I got away from the bees, and experimented for some time on the tail of the 

 Blind-worm, as it proved to be. Even the flight through the air, and the heavy faU, seemed to 

 have little or no effect upon the irritability of the severed member, and when I reached it after 

 its faU, I found it hopping about quite merrily. 



When the tail of the Blind-worm is thus snapped off, the scales of the body project all 



