THE BLIND-WORM , OR SLOW- WORM. 
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the two central stripes extending only to the middle of the body, while the two external lines 
are prolonged nearly to the insertion of the hinder limbs. 
The great family of the Skinks finds a familiar representative in the common Blhstd- 
woem, or Slow-woem, which, from its snake-like form and extreme fragility, might well 
deserve the title of the glass snake. In this reptile there is no external trace of limbs, the 
body being uniformly smooth as that of the serpent, and even more so than in some of the 
snakes, where the presence of the hinder pair of limbs is indicated by a couple of little hook- 
like appendages. Under the skin, however, the traces of limbs may be discovered, but the 
bones of the shoulders, the breast, and the pelvis are very small and quite rudimentary. 
This elegant little reptile is very common throughout Europe, and is also spread over 
some portions of Asia, not, however, being found in the north. It is plentiful along hedge- 
rows, heaths, forest lands, and similar situations, where it can find immediate shelter from 
its few enemies, and be abundantly supplied with food. It may often be seen crawling 
leisurely over a beaten footpath, and I have once captured it while crossing a wide turnpike 
road. 
Why the name of the Blind-worm should have been given to this creature I cannot even 
conjecture, for it has a pair of conspicuous though not very large eyes, which shine as brightly 
as those of any animal, and are capable of good service. Indeed, all animals which prey upon 
insects, and similar moving things, must of necessity possess well-developed eyes, unless they 
are gifted with the means of attracting their prey within reach, as is the case with some well- 
known fishes, or chase it by the senses of hearing and touch, as is done by the mole. More- 
over, the chief food of the Blind- worm consists of slugs, which glide so noiselessly that the 
creature needs the use of its eyes to detect the soft mollusk as it slides over the ground on its 
slimy course. Speed is not needful for such a chase, and the Blindworm accordingly is slow 
and deliberate in all its movements except when very young, when it twists and wriggles 
about in a singular fashion as often as it is touched. 
The great fragility of the Blind-worm is well known. By a rather curious structure of the 
muscles and bones of the spine, the reptile is able to stiffen itself to such a degree, that on 
a slight pressure, or trifling blow, or even by the voluntary contraction of the body, the tail is - 
snapped away from the body, and on account of its proportionate length, looks just as if the 
creature had been broken in half. The object of this curious property seems to be to insure 
the safety of the animal. The severed tail retains, or rather acquires, an extraordinary amount 
of irritability, and for several minutes after its amputation, leaps and twists about with such 
violence, that the attention of the foe is drawn to its singular vagaries, and the Blind -worm 
itself creeps quietly away to some place of shelter. 
Even after the movements have ceased, they may be again excited by touching the tail 
with a stick, or even with the finger, when it will jump about with a vigor apparently undimin- 
ished. On frequently repeating the process, however, the movements become perceptibly 
less active, and after awhile the only sign of movement will be a slight convulsive shiver. 
Half an hour is, as far as my own experience goes, the limit to which this irritability endures. 
I well remember meeting with an incident of this nature. I had come suddenly upon 
a reptile among the rank grass and underwood, that I at first took for a viper, and at which I 
aimed a thrust with a little twig of decaying wood, which broke at once. Immediately after the 
thrust, something began to hop and plunge about most violently just by my feet, and having 
a very wholesome dread of a viper’s fangs, I jumped back a step or two, to the great indigna- 
tion of a swarm of bees, which had settled themselves in the ruins of an old wooden hut close 
to the spot. They at once intimated their displeasure in that wing-language so expressive to 
all bee-owners, so hastily tossing the writhing object to a distance with the shattered remnant 
of the stick, I got away from the bees, and experimented for some time on the tail of the 
Blind-worm, as it proved to be. Even the flight through the air, and the heavy fall, seemed to 
have little or no effect upon the irritability of the severed member, and when I reached it after 
its fall, I found it hopping about quite merrily. * 
When the tail of the Blind-worm is thus snapped off, the scales of the body project all 
