Blind Worms 339 
and some almost of the grey tint of an old piece of lead piping. They usually have some 
dark spots about the sides of the neck, but are never marked in any distinct pattern. 
Several times in the year the blind worm sloughs, or changes its skin; but the old 
covering is not taken off m one continuous piece like that of a snake, but 1s shed in 
fragments, after the fashion of a lizard, the skin of the tail coming off last. Gentle 
and inoffensive in all its habits, a blind worm scarcely ever attempts to bite on 
being handled, and when it does so, its teeth are not strong enough to puncture the skin, 
though it retains its hold with remarkable tenacity, and will swing in the air without 
letting go. The average measurement of a 
full-grown blind worm seems to be about a 
feot, though specimens are sometimes met 
with that have reached a length of seventeen 
or eighteen inches. ‘These are usually males, 
which are longer and more slender than those oe 
of the female sex, and have considerably more 
elongated tails. September and October are 
the months when the young blind worms are 
usually born, and at that time of year the 
females may often be seen lying with their 
bodies flattened out, to take full advantage of 
the heat of the sun. lIike adders, blind 
worms are ovo-viviparous—that is to say, the 
eges are retained in the body until the embryos 
are fully developed; and at birth the membrane 
enclosing the young is burst, so that they 
actually enter the world alive. Prettier objects 
than young blind worms can hardly be con- 
ceived. At birth they measure three and a half 
inches in length, and begin to feed at once 
upon small slugs. The number of young pro- 
duced at a time is from nine to twelve, the 
latter being a.frequent number. ‘They are 
very slender and supple, and in colour like 
short lengths of the brightest copper wire, the 
underside being jet black. At the top of the = i aN 
head is a black spot, and from it a narrow. \ 
line of black extends down the middle of the a : Vg) 
back to the tip of the tail. This colouring ak 
gradually grows fainter with age, and disappears \\ ua\ 4 
when the young are about a year old. Whe 
Baby blind worms have many enemies 
and few friends, and have need of all their 2 
agility and power of concealment. Adders oO UE” 
are very fond of them, and probably, in some 
parts of the country, make them their staple diet. A curious illustration of this may be 
seen in Dr. Leighton’s “History of British Serpents,’ where a photograph is displayed 
showing a large adder killed while in the very act of eating a young blind worm, the 
tail of which protrudes from its mouth. Pheasants are also said to devour them, and the 
old blind worms themselves may, with justice, be suspected of cannibalistic tendencies. 
The blind worm has earned its scientific name of Anguis fragilis by a curious 
habit. When struck with a stick, or even roughly and suddenly handled, its tail 
