A Word about the Slow-worm. 181 



abnormal. There is an explanation, however, though 

 even this leaves the occurrence one deserving to be 

 called strange. There were in reality two nests but a 

 few paces apart — one with five eggs, the other only four 

 — and for a freak a school boy, who had discovered them, 

 took out the four eggs and deposited them in the other 

 nest with the five — there leaving them. As a rule, boys 

 will not despoil the nest of the robin, and this urchin, 

 being himself rather an odd and inquiring mind, made 

 the transfer to see what would come of it. 



What did come of it was that the owners of the five 

 eggs continued incubation upon all nine, and in due time 

 brought out the nine birds nearly together, fed and nur- 

 tured all without distinction, apparently unconscious of 

 the trick that had been played them. 



A WOED ABOUT THE SLOW-WOEM. 



As the Slow-worm {Anguis fragilis) is now also show- 

 ing out of its winter quarters, it naturally attracts notice. 

 Mr. Bell, in his " History of British Eeptiles,^' the ac- 

 credited standard work on our native herpetology, speak- 

 ing of the Slow-worm, says that its " total length is from 

 ten to twelve, or even fourteen inches.'' Why even 

 fourteen inches ? Such loose, conjectural phraseology, 

 too often indulged in by zoological writers, is likely to 

 mislead, as in the present instance, when it gives an 

 indefinite idea of the reptile's size — indeed, an erroneous 

 one — which, after Mr. Bell, no doubt, has been copied 

 and found a place in our standard encyclopaedias. The 

 error may be worth rectification, and I can rectify it 



