268 BRITISH SERPENTS. 
in Stakes Wood some years later. Three feet is a 
usual length here for this species. —W. Pearce, 
East Cranbourne Road, Gosport. 
Sussex. 
“Tn the east part of the county the ring snake is 
the most common snake, but near the sea the adder 
becomes the more common. The ring snake averages 
trom 24 to 26 inches in length, the adder about 18 
inches. Occasionally the ring snake attains a length 
of 3 feet. LT have not heard of the smooth snake. I 
have taken several female specimens of adders in 
young 
=> 
all of which have been of a dull brownish- 
yeHow in colour. I] have a specimen preserved 
which is of a ruddy tint and about 16 inches long. 
I kept both adders and ring snakes for some time, 
and knew a good many localities for them near 
Hastings and Lye, the above being the result of my 
own observations,”—L. B. Hall, 1 Quarry Place, 
Hastings (now 7 Union Road, Tufnell Park, London). 
“7 think that the ring snake is diminishing in 
numbers, perhaps owing to the ease with which it is 
caught and killed. The adder, on the other hand, 
seems to be on the increase in some localities, and, 
on the whole, I have seen it the more frequently 
of the two. It averages often about 13 inches, 
though I have found it up to 18 inches in the 
western part of the county. The ring snake is 
generally about 28 inches lone; the largest I have 
oO 
5 
