SCOTLAND. 349 
Its hissing was easily heard; but it was soon out 
on the hard causeway and despatched quickly. I 
was young, and glad to get away from it, and don’t 
know what was done with it. It was not likely 
to be preserved, at any rate. The box part of the 
dogeart was large and deep, constructed for carrying 
large parcels.—I am, &e., R. R. Porteous. 
Grascow, June 27, 1900. 
Strn—There are some discrepancies in “ Your 
Correspondent’s” letter. He says the report did 
not say that the snake originally referred to was 
an adder. In those reports which I saw it was 
called an adder, and the “slayer of the serpents,” 
with whom I communicated, distinctly affirms that 
it was, so that the whole point at issue was the 
length. As both he and “ Your Correspondent” says 
it was not measured, except by the rough-and-ready 
one with the “slayer’s” boots, we have no accurate 
evidence as to the reptile’s length. The other snakes 
which “Your Correspondent” says “are known in 
the Highlands” have yet to be identified, and all the 
statements which from time to time have appeared 
have on investigation been found to be untrust- 
worthy. There are only three species of snakes found 
in the British Isles—the adder or viper (Vipera berus), 
the ringed snake (7'ropidonotus natriz), and the smooth 
snake (Coronella austriaca), The adder is our only 
Highland snake, and as the second named, which is 
