_Reproduction._--Eggs, laid at the end of June or beginning of July in a well-sheltered hole, are a little over twice as long as broad, and measure 1·2 to 1·4 inches in length. The number of eggs is eight to fifteen according to Fatio, about a dozen according to Tomasini, five according to Werner. The pairing was observed by Schreiber at the end of May, the male and female seizing each other reciprocally by the neck with their jaws; this mode of pairing must not, however, be regarded as the rule in this species, for in other cases observed by Schreiber and by Honnorat the pairs were simply entwined by their coils. 7. ZAMENIS DAHLII, Fitzinger Dahl's Whip-Snake _Form._--Very slender; head narrow, snout moderately prominent, obtuse. Tail about one-third of the total length. _Head-Shields._--Rostral a little broader than deep, just visible from above. Frontal not or but little broader than the supraocular, once and two-thirds to once and three-fourths as long as broad, as long as or longer than its distance from the end of the snout, shorter than the parietals. Loreal longer than deep. One preocular, usually in contact with the frontal, with a subocular below it; two postoculars. Temporals 2 + 2 or 2 + 3 (rarely 1 + 2). Upper labials eight or nine, fourth and fifth or fifth and sixth entering the eye. Four or five lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields, which are shorter than the posterior. _Scales_ with a single apical pit, very narrow, in nineteen rows. Ventral shields very distinctly angulate laterally, 205 to 218; anal divided; subcaudals 98 to 132. [Illustration: FIG. 20 (after Sordelli)] _Coloration._--Olive in front, with a few large black, white- or yellow-edged spots on each side, the anterior of which is sometimes confluent with its fellow and forms a nuchal collar, as in the specimen figured on Plate V.; the greater part of the body and tail uniform pale olive, yellowish, or reddish above, yellowish-white beneath. Head uniform olive-brown above, the labial, preocular, and postocular shields yellowish-white. _Total Length._--3 feet, rarely nearly 4 feet. _Distribution._--Southern Europe east of the Adriatic, as far north as Dalmatia, Asia Minor, Cis- and Trans-Caucasia, North-Western Persia, Cyprus, and Syria. Has also been recorded from Lower Egypt. _Habits._--This snake is even more lively than _Z. gemonensis_, and does not stand captivity long. It seeks dry, bushy localities, and feeds on small lizards, occasionally on locusts. It does not seem to be very common anywhere in Europe, except perhaps in Dalmatia, whence most of the specimens sold by dealers are imported. _Reproduction._--The pairing has been observed at the end of May. According to Werner, the eggs number usually three only, measuring 1-1/2 inches by 1/2 inch. 8. ZAMENIS HIPPOCREPIS, Linnæus The Horseshoe Whip-Snake