THE COMMON VIPER. 9^ 



young towards the close of summer. The eggs, 

 which are hatched in the womb, are usually ten or 

 twelve only in number, and chained together some- 

 what like a string of beads. When the young have 

 burst the shell, they are said to creep, by their own 

 efforts, from their confinement into the open air, 

 where they continue for several days without taking 

 any food. The Rev. Mr. White, of Selborne, in 

 company with a friend, surprised a large female 

 viper, which seemed very heavy and bloated, as she 

 lay on the grass, basking in the sun. They killed 

 and cut her up, and found in the abdomen fifteen 

 young ones about the size of full-grown earth- 

 worms. This little fry issued into the world with 

 the true viper spirit about them, showing great 

 alertness as soon as disengaged from the belly of 

 the dam. They twisted and riggled about, set 

 themselves up, and gaped very wide when touched 

 with a stick ; exhibiting manifest tokens of menace 

 and defiance, though as yet no fangs were to be 

 discovered even with the help of glasses*. 



That the young, for some time after their birth, 

 retreat, when suddenly alarmed, into the mouth of 

 the female, in the same maimer as the young of the 

 Opossum do into the abdominal pouch o{ their 

 parent, seems to be a fact satisfactorily ascertained. 

 — Vipers arrive at their full growth in about seven 

 years, and produce at the end of their second or 

 third. — Their food consists of reptiles, worms, or 



White's Natural History of Selborne. 



