The sun., 1907-03-10

Most peTsDns nave an INFORM aversion
n O., .nakes Of any sort. Possibly this is be-
90 they are not aware what interesting
"A - intelligent creatures snakes and other
a.,,le. can be-. Mr. Raymond Lee Dit
.,ars curator Of reptiles in the New York
yooloeiCal Park has just published volume
,rhicb he calls The Reptile Book, treating
b, entertaining fashion of all the different
.,r,sa,i species of the snake family whicht
arc N p. encountered in the United States
MI northern Mexico Mr.. DitmArs is
enthusiastic zoologist, and he has made
lifelong study of the creeping things of
licb he writes He tells of their habits
A 5nerlharties in an intensely interesting
,yay although it may startle some persons
n discover bow many of the enemies of
mankind which were chased by st. Pat
,3ct ont Of ireland have taken refuge in
his country,
Their, mr four main divisions to Mr..
Dtmars book. The first concerns itself
vitb turtles and tortoises, the second with
,-oCodiiars. the third with lizards and the
-ourth with snakes
Oute a number Of varieties of sea turtle
are 10 be- found in American waters They
\ Moline tu the warmer attitudes but are
.ometine- driven as tar north as Connec-
tcit and Massachusetts,. The cold readily
benumb, them, and the severe hurricanes
| of the autumn and early winter often cast
,bsm upon the beaches along our northern
Atlantic coasts Of our sea-turt les the
hest known and most highly priced rs the
green turtle. individual specimens of which
.ometime, attain weight Of 500 pounds.
Next comes the swapping turtle. This
fresh water turtle. It's members are
born fighter They are possessed Of jaw
If great power They live on fish and
t.vater-fowL One of the swapping turtles
Il chief pecularties is that it can feed only
under water Unless its head is completely
. submerged il seems unable to swallow.
Another distinguished member of the
\ turtle family is the diamond backed terra
pln. whose home is in the salt marshes Of the
/ Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. 1t
cannot live in water that is entirely fresh,
although it is found sometimes in the brack-
Nh Hudson.
The upper shell of the diamond-backed
ierrapln is grly-h or olive in color, and it
reaches maximum length of about ten
inches, Diamond-backed terrapin are
growing scarcer every year.
As everybody knows, the tortoise is a
slow going leisurely creature. which gets
there 4 you give il time enough. The feet
ot the tortoise differ materially from those
Of the turtle. The turtles feet are webbed,
4 and those Of the tortoise are club shaped.
. In its walk the tortoise's manner of plant
ing its ungainly hind legs suggests says
IL hA -
Of an elephant, The gopher tortoises live
IN burrows in the sand, some of which they
dig to depth Of fourteen feet.
In captivity some of the species of tor
!Oises become very tame. and in not few
cases appear to show real affection for their
owners
For the future Of the North American
alligator, Mr.. Ditmars expresses a profound
concern. He prophesies that the day Of its
complete extinction is not far distant
The handicap under which the alligator
nbors in the struggle for existence excites
! Mr. Ditmars TO real pity. These poor sau-
rams, according to Mr.. Ditmars, are timid
and harmless. and will not fight unless cor
lered
The alligator alone among reptiles has
The habit Of believing. The noise it makes
resembles somewhat the plaintive mooing
d COW when milking time draws near
The sound will carry for a mile or more.
The crocodile is a much more vicious
nna than the alligator, and more agile.
d was not known that it was indigenous to
North America until 1875, when a pair OF
n goodies were discovered in Biscayne Bay,
, % Florida. Except in Florida the species
Goes not exist north of Mexico.
There are more different varieties Of liz
ards in North America than any other rep
De- The only poisonous lizard found in
pe United States is the Gila monster. 1t
fSes its name from the ella River, in the
fOcnity Of which it abounds.
The Ga monsters total length is usually
nneteen inches Its body is streaked, in
Va sort Of marbled fashion, with black and
some pale color, usually salmon pink or
hght Yellow. 1t has heavy jaws and long
dngs. and where once it imbeds its teeth
ha Toe II Las the tenacious grip of bull
uog Mr.. Ditmars describes a battle wit
messed by him between Gila monster and
( ' arge snake. Writhe as the big snake |
'Gd, II could not shake of nor crush the |
uard The Gila monster retained its hold !
.nul It's powerful adversary was dead.
hrange 10 say, the Gila monsters become |
very doce and gentle in captivity. They |
+em to lOse their fierceness of DISPOSE !
700 when removed from the direct rays OF |
H sunlight. But if placed for a while in !
w sunlight again they once more become |
Varrelsome and dangerous.
Lake cats, they like TO have their backs
. matched, and while they are being stroked |
will lie in blissful contentment.
fully half Of Mr.. Ditmars's book is de- |
ued TO North American snakes, in re-
Aa to which Mr.. Ditmars exphOdes some I
,s-accepted fallacies. In regard to the
sH snake in particular the author of
ne Reptile Book" proves that many Of
generally entertained notions are wrong
calls the black snake "a much overrated
p'ue. 1t is shown that this snake is
as commonly supposed, the inveterate
Nu the rattlesnake, nor does it go out Of
way to attack man. On the contrary,
Se Is no snake which will fee faster
sees a human being approaching. II
APE Is impossible it will fight, and fight
But much prefers peace to war.
~ mas the black snake the power, often
%uouted to il, Of fascinating by its steady
~ birds and squirrels and Of drawing