The morning news., 1899-12-13
A PLEA FOR SNAKES.
DIR. KELLY SAYS HARMLESS ONES
SHOULD BE PROTECTED.

of Dr. Howard A. Kelly, 1906 Eutaw Place,
forms the basis Of a fascinating and yet
dangerous scientific Investigation of the
snakes and their poisons which is being
made by DR.. Kelly and DR.. ]. R. Brown.
When the snakes are approached the
warning rattle of one of their number is
heard but the timid visitor Is reassured
when he sees that a stout wire screen sep
| arates the snake from him. Behind this
screen, which forms floor to each box
of snakes, the reptiles contentedly dose in
their roomy quarters.
One of the first consignments of snakes
met with a sad fate last summer Too
much sunshine and not enough water were
fatal to their vitality when they were ex-
posed on a Western porch. Afterward
more was learned about the hygienic care
of the snakes, and the members of the
| present collection are thriving.
short time ago the snakes were TAX
en- over to the Johns Hopkins Medical
| School, where DR.. Kelly gave the advance
ed students a practical lecture on the rep
| tiles, Illustrated from life, and taught them
| points so as to distinguish poisonous
snakes from the harmless ones. DIR. Kel-
| ly stands up for the snakes and saws that
| should be taught to know the good quail
tiles of snakes. The average finder of
| snake Is prone to get a club or a piece
| of rock and beat the snakes head fiat
SO that it can do no more harm. nor good,
| either, in the world. This should not be
| so, the doctor says.
In Dr. Kelly's collection are several rat
tlesnakes with their mottled skins of
| black and yellow and with diamond-shap-
| ed spots on the back. The smaller one
OF the rattlers seemed especially pugna-
cious, and lay coled in a corner of the
| box, with tail erect and rattles shaking
turiously during the interview.
An adjoining box contains two copper-
heads, with the beautiful bronze or COP
| per-colored skins. Innocent enough they
looked and were apparently 10th to strike
| even when stirred up with a wooden ruler
PROBABLY the most interesting reptiles
| IN the collection, although not of the snake
family, are two gila monsters, as they are
| called the 'g' in the name being given
! the Spanish "h" sound. These are clumsy
! looking things, Of a dull yellow and black
IN irregular mottled spots. They look as
II swollen and overgrown with tiny warts.
| they belong to the lizard family, and with
them is kept another lizard without legs
which is commonly called the glass
snake" but is not a snake at all. This
reptile is black and shiny like a glass whip
and looks as If 1t might be brittle like a
| piece oil glass.
| Living Coach Whfps.
In box on the floor is a nondescript
collection of harmless snakes. Into this
! box DR.. Kelly plunged his hand and drew
| forth two black coach-whip snakes which
swayed and curved their bodies through
the air as he grpped them about the neck
and pointed out the beautiful, irdescent
! shadings on their backs. They were NJ arly
yard 4ong and as thick as a strong man s
thumb
Others of the nonpo sonous snakes in the
colNcucn We're bu ulheads, garter snakes
and the nonpoisonous moccasins. A S. small
group of little snakes which might be tak-
en- for young rept S. but are really full
grown, occupies a glass-fronted box These
are scarcely as large as an ordinary lead
! pencil and no longer. One Of them IS of a
light green shade, we'll calculated to match
the grass or bushes in which the snake
might be found.
Although comparatively few of the poi
sonous snakes are found in Maryland, ex-
| cept in some of the mountain regions Dr.
| Kelly has preserved a small copperhead
winch he found on the Fails road just be-
| ycnd the city limi of Baltimore
The snakes in the collection are fed on
live mice and toads and small pieces of
fresh meat when the live food cannot be
| obtained. They are well supplied with
fresh water both for drinking and bath
| ing purposes.
The Use of Snakes.
DR.. Kelly said yesterday to a reporter
of the Sun:
TT is not generally known that the non
| poisonous snakes are useful in DESTROYING q
the poisonous varieties They are also of
value to the farmer, as they kill large
| numbers of mice and other pests. For
these reasons largely, in order that the
students might become acquainted with
the snakes and be able to distinguish be-
tween the poisonous and the harmless
| kinds, have arranged the collection TO IL
lustrate my lecture.
THE poisonous snakes are the rattle
snake. of which there are twelve kinds,
easily recognized by their rattles; the cop
perhead, which is of a chocolate or copper
color, and is the handsomest of snakes;
the true water moceasin and the harlequin
snake, which is found in the South, and
especially in Florida.
IAN the poisonous snakes may be read
lily recognized by their fangs, which are
large and groved or hollow for the ejec-
tion of their poison. All but the harle-
quin have a distinguishing deep pit on
the upper jaw between the nostril and the
eye. The harlequin is of brilliant black,
with scarlet or yellow stripes on the body.
1t is inoffensive, and only several in
stances of death are known to have oc-
CURED from it's bite. I do not know of
any case OF death from the bite of q water
moccasin, bad as is its reputation. OF
course, the rattlesnake is known by its
caudal appendage, and the copperhead by
its strikingly beautiful color.
A War of Reptiles.
"a number Of snakes are reported to be
poisonous, but are, on the contrary per-
fectly harmless, and, indeed. are useful
by destroying vast numbers of mice. 1t is
folly to destroy harmless snakes for this
! reason, as well as because of their very
efficient aid in the destruction of the poi
sonous varieties, between which. are GER
tain varieties of the harmless snakes there
is an unceasing war Strange TO say, the
poisonous ones get the worst of it ard are
killed by contraction or hugging. The
black and king snakes are most active
in this regard. The work of saving birds
is all right, but I am making plea for
the saving of snakes"
The snakes all shed their skins and even