Northumberland and District.

The ring snake is by no means so plentiful in Northumberland as the common viper, but is occasionally to be met with in different parts of the county. It is perhaps more plentiful in the upper reaches of Wooler water than in any other part of the district, at least such is my experience. In the deep, rocky, weird-looking ravine on the eastern slopes of the Cheviots, known as the Glitters, I have seldom failed to find individuals of this species, stretched upon the clefts of precipitous rocks, clinging to the branches of overhanging shrubs, or crawling through the herbage on the steep and heathy banksides, where formerly the raven and the peregrine falcon used to build their nests, but where they now no longer find a refuge and a home. Sometimes the ring snake makes his appearance close to the village of Wooler, and some time ago a large individual was killed in Middleton plantation whilst engaged in twisting itself round a branch of a tree. We have met with examples of it at Chillingham, Crookham, and some other half-dozen places in the county. On one occasion I saw one killed near to Warkworth Hermitage, a little below Warkworth Mills, on the river Coquet. It is, perhaps, more plentiful in Durham than in Northumberland, especially in the western part of the county, and is frequently met with on the Wear; and three or four years ago one

was captured in a house in Sunderland, having taken up its residence in a hole in the wall. It is not uncommon in various parts of Berwickshire and Roxburghshire, especially on the sylvan bank of the Teviot and the beautiful Jed and other tributaries. of the Tweed.

The adder is common in many parts of Northumberland and Durham, and the writer has met with it on different parts of Middleton and Belford estates, as well as at Bewick, Hedgely, and Wooler. When a lad I first became acquainted with this animal 'in the flesh' in the summer of 1849 on Belford Moor, where it was then very plentiful, and where several examples, including a female and nine young ones, were killed during the course of the summer. None of these much exceeded 2 feet in length, but one killed by myself in the coal wood, Belford, on Easter Monday, 1850, measured over 2 feet, and was the largest specimen I ever saw."-" J. A.," in the 'Newcastle Weekly Chronicle,' 1881.

Durham.

"The adder is the most common serpent in this county. The species is common over the whole of the Derwent valley, from Gibside to Blanchland, the greater part of which district I have explored, and where I have seen many fine specimens. About five years ago I captured one on May 20, measuring not less than two feet. This was very early in the

season for an adder to be astir, and, curiously enough, there had been a snowstorm on the previous night. The average length of adders in this area I should put at 18 inches.

"I have never met with the ring snake in the district, nor do I believe that the species is so common as some state."-W. Johnson, Burnopfield, Newcastle-on-Tyne.

"The common ring or dunghill snake (as it is sometimes called) is much more common than the adder, with which it is often confounded, and is found on dry and moist heaths and moors. It averages

from 24 to 30 inches.

"The adder or viper (called edder or ether in Durham) is rare, and found chiefly on stony ground, especially on the western moors of the county, in Teesdale, Weardale, and Derwentdale, averaging in length from 20 to 24 inches.

The smooth snake does not occur, to my knowledge."-J. W. Fawcett, Satley, Darlington.

The Lake District, or Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Lancashire north of the Sands.

Ring Snake." In the extreme south-west of Lakeland the grass snake is not uncommon. Mr W. Duckworth assures me that he can find specimens any sunny morning in the neighbourhood of Ulverstone, and he has sent me ova of this snake from the district. Among the mountains this species becomes comparatively rare, but Mr Tom Duckworth met with single specimens at Stanley Gill, Eskdale, and at Holmrook, near Gosforth. In the Eden valley, as in the north of Cumberland, this snake is extremely local, if not rare. Mr Tom Duckworth has met with specimens in the Newby Cross woods, in which he also found eggs of Tropidonotus natrix.

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On single occasions he has seen specimens at Newlands, near Carleton, and Black Moss Pool, near Cotehill.

Viper. "The mosses in the neighbourhood of Morecambe Bay share with those which fringe the Solway Firth the unenviable distinction of affording tolerably safe asylum to large numbers of vipers. I have rarely visited any of our flows on a hot summer's day without coming across one or two individuals of the present species basking in the sunshine upon some heather-covered prominence. The late Mr Kirkby captured great numbers of vipers in the neighbourhood of Ulverstone, and showed me some pretty sections of their teeth under the microscope. His skill in capturing these animals was very great. The occupation appeared to have become his ruling passion.'-Rev. H. A. Macpherson, extract from Fauna of Lakeland.'

"The only local reptile which seems to show a tendency in the direction of direction of variation variation is the common viper. Most of the Lakeland vipers are grey or brown in ground colour, regardless of their sex. The only instance at present known to me of the capture of a red individual within our limits relates to a viper which Joseph Boadle presented to the Whitehaven Museum. Instead of being grey and black, it is a dull ferruginous red, and the zigzag markings are a dark mahogany colour. This animal has been caught near Rig House, Dean, West