182 THE OPEN BOOK OF NATURE 
of their way. I have seen scores of Adders in the 
Scottish Highlands, but I have never come across 
one that was not eager to get out of my way. 
Ring Snakes deposit eggs from which their young 
are hatched, whereas Adders bring forth their young 
alive. The former are termed ovparous (Latin, 
ovum =egg ; parere=to bring forth), and the latter 
viviparous (Latin, vivus=alive ; and parere). I have 
read many stories about Adders swallowing their 
young when threatened by danger ; but the stories 
are discounted by many observers, and as I have 
never seen such a thing happen I don’t feel in 
a position to give an opinion on the subject. Mr. 
A. Nicol Simpson F.Z.8., a good Scottish naturalist 
and competent observer, says such stories are the 
outcome of superstition. 
Adders will swim when it is necessary for them to 
do so, but they do not seem to care for the water ; 
Ring Snakes seem to delight in it. I have seen 
specimens over a yard long swimming with their 
heads above water along the big drains of the Fen 
district. I must tell you that when I was a small 
boy I was an enthusiastic naturalist, and spent all 
my holidays in prowling about the country-side. 
One day I had the fortune to capture a Ring Snake 
fully four feet long. At first I tried to kill it by 
hitting it on the head, but that method did not 
work ; then I called to mind the old wives’ story 
about killing snakes by blows on the tail ; I tried 
that way, but without success. By this time I re- 
membered hearing that snakes never died until sun- 
set ; even if you cut them up into small pieces, each 
piece would wriggle until sundown. So I deter- 
