+4 BRITISH SERPENTS. 
Lord Clermont says that it occurs in Italy, Sicily, 
Switzerland, Beleium (rarely here), on the right 
bank of the Moselle river, and in some parts of 
France. It has been observed in Sweden, especially 
in the neighbourhood of Gothenburg. Dr Opel ob- 
tained a specimen in Silesia, so that its distribution 
in Europe is a wide one. In England its favourite 
counties are Dorset, Hants, Surrey, and formerly, at 
all events, Berks. My J. Bevir says in a letter to 
me that he remembers the smooth snake being found 
in Berks on several occasions some years ago. He 
adds, “I have seen three specimens from one locality, 
but beheve that now the species is extinct here” 
(Berks). I do not know whether these specimens 
are recorded or not, 
Description.—The smooth snake is one of the 
smaller ophidians, the females averaging about 24 
inches when full grown, the males somewhat less in 
the specimens I have seen. Its colour is variously 
described as brown, reddish-brown, rusty, or brownish- 
yellow. No doubt it exhibits a certain amount of 
colour-variation, as do other serpents. It is marked 
with two series of irregular dark spots on the back, 
these spots being more distinct ou the anterior portion 
of the snake. A writer in the ‘ Zoologist’ says :— 
“The head is but slightly distinct from the body; 
the tail short and strone at the base; the eyes small; 
the rostral plate presses much upon the muzzle, and 
is of triangular form, with its top pointed; there are 
