Milford chronicle., 1895-05-31

How to Keep the RepuIsive Crestures
Alive ard Healthy.

So long as human nature retains its in
stinctiyo dislike to anything that ciceps or
crawis the practice Of keeping Snakes is
not likely to extend far beyond itspresent
limits Most people probably wofld find
it exceedingly difficult to name stny ono
addicted TO this propensity DR.. Arthur
Stradling, the subject Of this sketch, de-
clares IL to be IN his case hereditary His
father was fond Of snakes, and his son, 9
years of age Is devoted TO them and expe-
riences no fear in their presence. How Ear
the child viii develop bis taste remains to
be seen. OF the father 1t may be said that
he has devoted the leisure-enforced lei
sure it may have been, some Of it, for the
sake Of the cause-of a lifetime to the study
Of snakes. In the pursuit Of his study,
which he himself calls 'ophiomania, he
has visited every snake infested country Of
the globe, an undertaking accomplished by
no other person probably with O similar
object Having in the tropics lived IN con-
stunt and close companionship with ser
pents, 10 is not unnatural that at Watford
be should be still surrounded by them.
"You surmise that the place is always
heatede' says the doctor 'Gas is burning
day and night. ] usc naked unyentilated
gas for warmth, and, as you can see my
septiles are as healthy as can be- Indeed
1 pride myself upon the fact that I rear
and keep many delicate species which in
variably die In geological gardens and 9TH
en- monageries That lizard without legs ]
have had for years You say you fam
cied yoa heard the gas escaping2 Oh, no;
that was one Of tho snakes kissing He is
Inca bad temper at being disturbed. just
now have particularly good collection
Of boa constructors, but rattlesnales are my /
first love. am just now beginning to /
adopt my method Of examining universal !
~. Anything up to ~ or IA feet / can 4
manage single handed, but in dealing with /
stock above that length / invoke the as
sistance Of my head keeper my little boy /
"A bag is Of some service to restrain the /
of tho body and render it 1
amenable to control. I once got two ribs
broken whilo manipulating a West Afri
can pythoness Of 10 feet.
The process is not an elegant one; with
q hundrodweight Of live, hot snake flesh
wreathing and writhing and engirdling
one, one doesn't expend much effort in
keeping up appearances. With shirt sleeves
rolled up and stocsinged feet, / grasp the
creature just behind thohead and separate
its jaws By gentle pressure with silver
spatula. It's more knach than force, for
All snakes are exceedingly sensitive about
The mouth--a light tap on the muzzle viii
TURN the fiercest Of them. Then tic assist
int pops the lump Of meat, dead rat, bird
IL whatever the morsel may be right In
imong the quivoring triple rows Of long,
curved teeth-positively quivering and
walking with the agitation Of anger on
he mobile iaws-and push it down TO
he stomach first with a ruler, and then
" squeezing upon it with my hands from
he outside, mechanical suasion which
equires to be maintained for some little
imo in order to insure that the item Of
liment shall remain in statu quo.
"In the intervals the youngster is not idle
nd finds plenty Of occupation in shifting
he reptiles coils and disengaging various
arts Of me from too close embrace. And
o we viii fill the beast up until he can
old no more. If we have nothing but
neat, a handful Of feathers, cinders or
0me knotted strings wound round the
lmps supply the place of bones and fur,
s far as digestion and nutrition arc con
lrned, and under this regime Of mine,
-hich has now stood the test of years, my
lakes thrive and-in captivity, at least
excel ia health, beauty ard strength any
those that feed themselves. I have
uch to learn yet, Of course-perhaps
'entually / shall cram all that come into
" hands without waiting to see whether
ley are willing to help themselves or not
but, anyhow, 1 have succeeded in saving -
e lives of those which display that sin
liar disposition to suicide by total absti-
nee manifested by tho large majority Of
EN- after capture London Sketch