In the French Departments Loire-Inférieure and Vendée, where these snakes are very plentiful, three or four cases of death are reported annually. From 1860 to 1868, 370 serious accidents to man have been carefully recorded, 53 ending in death, not only in the case of children, but also of adults of all ages, in 10 cases within one to twenty-four hours. In the Puy-de-Dôme cases of death are of frequent occurrence. In Germany and in Switzerland, 12 or 13 per cent. of the cases on record have ended fatally. Instances of death from the bite of the south-eastern _V. ammodytes_ are also not infrequent. On the other hand, the bite of _V. ursinii_, which is but seldom inflicted, is not known to have ever resulted in death. It must be borne in mind that accidents are much more frequent in districts where the poorer classes are in the habit of going about barefoot. Anyhow, it is certain that Vipers are a serious danger in many parts of Europe, not only to man, but also to horses, cattle, and dogs. And it is not surprising that efforts have been made to reduce their numbers. The most efficacious means, besides the protection of certain animals and birds which feed on Vipers, appeared to be the institution of premiums to be paid for the heads of the dangerous snakes. By offering 2-1/2d. per head, 500,000 Vipers (_V. aspis_) were destroyed from 1864 to 1890 in three French departments, Haute-Saône, Doubs, and Jura, and in one district (Chaumont) of the Haute-Marne 57,045 were killed from 1856 to 1861; this gives an idea of the extraordinary abundance of these snakes in some parts of France. In the Puy-de-Dôme the premium was fixed for a time at 5d., and one man managed to destroy in the course of seven years 9,175 Vipers (_V. berus_ and _V. aspis_). A woman in the Deux-Sèvres has made a living for many years by catching Vipers, the heads of which were paid to her at the rate of 5d. each. The average number of her captures amounted to 2,062 per annum (mostly _V. aspis_). Around Oesnitz in Saxony, 2,140 _V. berus_ were killed in 1889, and 3,335 in 1890. In a single district in Southern Styria the heads of 4,197 _V. berus_ and 7,381 _V. ammodytes_ were sent in for the reward in the course of two years (1892, 1893). In spite of all this effort, the institution of the bounty has not answered expectations, and, with the exception of a few districts, Vipers remain as plentiful as ever, showing what little man can do in altering the equilibrium of Nature, except by interfering with the natural conditions under which animals live. Cultivation of the ground or destruction by fire of the vegetation of the wilderness seems to be the only efficacious means of getting rid of so abundant and prolific a creature as the Viper.