t. When the new coat is quite hard
and fit for use under the old, he strips the old one off among the
thorn-bushes. He and his lady hybernate. The lady leaves her sixteen or
twenty eggs, all glued together, for the sun to vivify. The snake's
tongue, as we have said, is forked, the jaws dilatable; he prefers frogs
for his dinner, but is satisfied with mice, or little birds, or
lizards. He swallows his prey whole. Catching it first, as Mrs. Glasse
would say, between his teeth, which are in double rows upon each jaw,
and directed backward that they may act more effectually, he first
brings the victim to a suitable position--head first he prefers, then,
leaving one set of teeth, say the lower, fixed, he advances the upper
jaw, fixes its teeth into the skin, and leaves them there while he moves
forward, the lower jaw, and so continues till the bird or frog is worked
into his throat; it is then swallowed by the agency of other muscles.
This power of moving each jaw freely and in independence of the other,
is peculiar to Ophidian reptiles. The frog may reach the stomach both
alive and active, so that, if afterward, the snake gapes, as he is apt
to do, a frog has been seen to leap out again. The processes of life are
so slow in reptiles, that one meal will not be digested by the snake for
many days. He is unable to digest vegetable matter. Our snake is very
harmless, and if kept and fed, will quickly learn to recognize its
patron, will feed out of his hand, and nestle up his sleeve; but he
shows a dread of strangers.

We have Adders? Yes, we have a Viper--_Pelias Berus_ is the name he goes
by, and his fangs are undeniable. This is the only native reptile that
can, in any degree whatever, hurt a man. It is common in England, and,
unlike the snake, prefers a dry place to a moist one. "Adder" and
"viper" are two words applied to the same thing--adder being derived
from the Saxon word for "nether," and viper from viviper; because this
reptile, like our common lizard, hatches her eggs within the body, or is
viviparous. Our viper is found all over Europe; not in Ireland. As for
Ireland, it is an old boast with the Irish that Saint Patrick banned
away all reptiles. The paucity of reptiles in Ireland is remarkable, but
they are not altogether absent. Our common lizard has a large Irish
connection, and frogs were introduced into Ireland years ago. Their
spawn was taken over, put into water, throve, and thereafter frogs have
multiplied.