Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-30
ALL ABOUT SNAKES,
Queer Ways of Many Kinds of Ven
omous Serpents.
SHARP TEETH LOADED WITH POISON
Oddities of Creatures That Are
CrawIers on the Earth.
FEARED BY ALL MANKIND,

Snakes frequently swallow animals big
ger than themselves" said an expert In
reptilian lore to writer for The Star
This feat they are able to accomplish be
| cause the bones of their heads are not con-
solidated. but are united by elastic ligaments,
so that their jaws are capable of enormous
expansion. Why, knew of a case where a
large boa ate the blanket provided to keep
her warm. She was about to change her
skin, and, as is usual under such circum-
stances, she was partly blind. The rabbits
given to her lodged her grasp, and she got
hold OF the blanket instead. Rather a dry
meal, one would think. But serpents are
furnished by nature with glands which Sc
crete a great amount of saliva for the lu-
IRRIGATION of food consumed whole. In this
instance the snake was made to disgorge
the dinner, which was scarcely recognizable
from the thick coating of mucus In which 1t
was enveloped.
Swallows It's Prey Alive.
"A snake has no means for separating
flesh from bones and feathers. 1t swallows
its prey alive. The latter usually dies of
suffocation. In the process of deglutltion
the breathing of the serpent Is interfered
with, so that after performing it the rep
tile yawns widely in order to take in air.
though already on its way to the stomach
of its devourer, has been known to turn
about and crawl out again in safety. effect
| ing its escape. When two snakes are in a
cage together, and both get hold of the
| same frog rat, they will advance upon
| 1t until their heads meet. when one of
them will proceed to swallow the other.
Keepers of serpents at geological gardens
have constantly to be on the lookout for
| such accidents. have known one valuable
reptile to be rescued after seven feet Of
him had been consumed. When discovered
| in this predicament only a foot of his tail
stuck out of the mouth of a comrade.
"Cannibalism is very common in snakes.
A box of imported serpents labeled ten
| cobras or fourteen vipers' will often be
| found short in the number on this account.
| 1t is a curious fact that these reptiles, as
| rule, seize animals bigger than themselves.
The structure of their ribs permits great
expansion of the body. and snake OF
superior size is disposed OF by doubling up
| in the stomach. 1t is often asked what
these crawling creatures are good for. For
| one thing, they are able to penetrate where
no larger carnivorous animal could venture,
| into dense and noisome morasses boys.
jungles and swamps. amid the tangled veg
citation OF the tropics, where they feed on
swarms of smaller reptiles. The hedgehog,
weasel, rat. peccary, badger. hog, goat and
| many kinds of birds keep snakes within due
| limits as to numbers, while the latter de-
| your innumerable lesser vermin. Thus the
balance of nature is maintained.
Small Brains and Slight Intelligence.
Snakes have small brains, slight intel
| ligence and little sensibility to pain. They
| can live for a long time deprived OF their
vital organs. while the heart, IL taken from
| the body, VIII continue to beat for a CEN
| siderable time. If the head be severed 1t
| will still try to bite, while the body Will
| continue to move, coil and even spring
| Many serpents which do not live in trees
| Will climb them in search OF birds eggs
| They do much damage in poultry Yards
| When once the eggs are missed from a
| hens nest. and snakes track is discoy-
cred, the farmer knows that the thief will
| repeat the offense. so a watch is set and no
| mercy is shown to the culprit when caught
| On the other hand. snakes are of important
| use to agriculture, by consuming the mice
that devour the crops. Snake catchers who
pack serpents for transportation across the
| ocean commonly supply them with food
| for the journey in the shape of eggs
There is northumberland story of a
| cobra that got through chink into hen
| house and ate so many eggs from under a
| sitting fowl that II could not get out again
| through the same crack. Next morning ii
was killed and cut open. when, as the eggs
! were found to be unbroken and stin warm
the experiment was tried of replacing them
| under the mother, who in due time Matched
out the brood none the worse for this re-
markable accident Black snakes, though
| not venomous, are killed by farmers wher-
| ever found, because of the havoc they make
| in poultry yards. This kind of serpent
| climbs trees with ease and has been describ-
ed as the 'nimblest creature living There
I is one very extraordinary serpent called the
anoGon,' whose business, according to Prof
Owen, is to restrain the undue increase of
| small birds by devouring their eggs Far
| back in its throat 1t has certain projections
| which serve as teeth though in reality they
are points of the spine projecting into the
gullet.
Some Are Fond of Milk.
these projections are actually tipped
| with enamel. Their purpose is to break the
| eggs after they have been swallowed sufi-
GENTLY far to make it sure that none of
| the contents shall be lost by the fracture
1 Of the shell. Some American snakes among
them the so-called milk snake are said
| to be very fond of milk and to rob the
dairies. The black snake, or racer is a
milk thief, and is accused Of Swimming off
all the cream from the pans when it finds
| its way into a Sprtng-house where milk is
kept. In India, when a snake discovers how
| to get at the eggs and milk in a larder no
| native Will on any account kill 1t, because
1t is regarded as the good genius Of the
| house. Milk is fed to the cobras in that
| country in some of the temples where they
are worshiped. Four officers were once
playing whist in an East Indian bungalow.
|
| still. for Gods sake! / feel a cobra crawl
ing about my legv What would have hap
pened nobody can tell, had it not been that
one Of the others quietly set a saucer of
milk near by, which the snake presently
| sought. 1t was promptly killed
| People who gaze upon a cage full of
snakes at a menagerie or geological garden
will usually point at the tongue of a ser
pent and exclaim: Look at it's stingv Now.
a more absurd notion can hardly be imag-
| ined. To begin with, no snake has a sting.
and the forked tongue is the most innocent
member Imaginable. This curious delusion
| has received large encouragement from
| Shakespeare, who constantly speaks Of
snakes as poison tongued' and as often re-
| fers to their mortal sting The fact is
| that the snakes tongue is an organ Of feel
ing, by which the owner examines whatever
| it wants to investigate and makes I'D its
mind as to the best way of setting to work
/ to swallow Its prey. The notion that the
| tongue has anything to do with the Kissing
| Of snake is likewise nonsense. That pe-
| culiar sound Is produced by the expulsion of
air from the lungs more or less quick or
| loud, as the reptile is more or less alarmed
| or angry. 1t may be supposed to correspond
| with the agitated breathing or painting of
| other animals
Snakes Tongue.
1.-THE touch Of a snakes tongue on the
hand is felt like the sweep of a thread, SO
| light and delicate. When the animal is ex-
| cited by fear or otherwise the vibrations Of
this organ are SO rapid that the eye cannot
follow them. When not thus in use it is