SEVERN PROVINCE. 293 
numerous. In some places near Abergavenny it is 
extremely common, and often grows to 34 or 4 feet. 
In the extreme north of the county, from Mon- 
mouth Cap to where the Monnow joins the Wye, 
the adder is the common serpent—in some parts, 
indeed, the only species; and here the average 
length is unusually great, as was stated in the de- 
tailed account of this area in chap. xiv. 
The small red viper occurs in the northern part, 
but not the smooth snake.—Author. 
Herefordshire. 
I have many times heard the remark made by 
Hereford farmers, ‘There are no snakes [ze ring 
snakes] in Herefordshire, only adders.” This, though 
not absolutely true for the whole county, is true 
for many parts of it. It apples particularly to that 
part of Herefordshire which lies to the south of the 
Wye, where in some places adders are common and 
ring snakes almost unheard of. The same thing 
apphes to a part of the county near the Worcester- 
shire boundary—at Bishopsfrome. The average size 
of male adult adders in the county is 24 inches, 
females 254 inches, these measurements being based 
on a large series of adders I have measured during 
the last five years (1895 to 1900). As showing how 
adders escape observation unless carefully looked for, 
I may mention that a very good observer of birds 
in the county was extremely surprised to hear that 
