BENNETT — ON THE RINGED SNAKE. 27 



of Plover, and in which enclosure there was only supplied water suf- 

 ficient for drinking. This Golden Eye lived for some years — indeed, he 

 believed, until the collection was broken up. 



The following paper was next read : — 



On the Possibility of Naturalizing the Ringed Snake (Tropido- 

 notus natrix) in Ireland. By E. H. Bennett, M. D. 



The title of the paper which is printed in our list for this evening has 

 been suggested to me by the consideration of the facts which I am about 

 to lay before the Society. 



We are all well aware that Ireland does not count among itsEauna any 

 species of the class Ophidian. There have been Snakes taken in Ireland ; 

 but these have all been traced to some known source of introduction, 

 except some few instances, which can be explained, I believe, either 

 by supposing that they have been introduced by timber vessels, or some 

 such means, or have simply escaped from confinement without the fact 

 of their escape having been made public. I am not aware of any evi- 

 dence having been brought forward of the actual breeding of Snakes 

 in Ireland hitherto, either in confinement or when introduced. It 

 is even suggested by some authorities that the climate and conditions 

 of Ireland are inimical to the class, and hence we find the question 

 discussed by the most accurate authors on the natural history of the Bri- 

 tish Islands. 



The following extract from the " Book of Glendaloch," referred to 

 by Thompson, shows the popular belief in olden times on this subject : — 

 " There live not, then, Toads nor Serpents in all Erin ; and even though 

 they be brought from other places into it, they die immediately ; and 

 this has been tested." We know that at present there are plenty of 

 Toads of one species — the Natterjack — living in Kerry ; so that the 

 statement above quoted is not correct so far as it relates to Toads. We 

 do not know, I think, how the Natterjack reached Kerry originally ; but 

 the fact of its living and breeding in numbers is well known to all na- 

 turalists in Ireland. Thompson records the fact of there being a tradi- 

 tion amongst the people that the Toad was introduced by a vessel into 

 the coast of Dingle Bay, but there does not seem to be much proba- 

 bility of such an occurrence. The older authorities state that the imme- 

 diate death of Snakes, &c, is attributed to the prayers of St. Patrick — 

 an opinion defended by Dr. David Bothe, but rejected by Colgan and 

 Lanigan. The " Book of Glendaloch" states that there are no veno- 

 mous beasts but the Mouse, Wolf, and Eox in Erin. Why the poor 

 Mouse should be included in this category I do not know. Bell, in his 

 work on British Reptiles, takes, I think, a very correct view of the 

 question of the possibility of Snakes existing in Ireland. After quoting 

 the instances which Thompson could collect of the introduction of 

 Snakes, he states as his conclusion from the facts that their absence is 

 accidental ; and that the failure of attempts to introduce them is to be 



