The Washington herald., 1907-10-05

bruise the heel Of man. It Is human
nature TO make war against the snake,
and in every country but India. where
religion forbids the killing OF any living
| thing, the people have set about gen
eral destruction of reptiles. Yet. If the |
truth be- known, less than one-tenth of
the snakes one meets are harmful, and /
all have their uses, the bad as well as |
the good. In the general scheme Of things |
nature VIII usually keep a balance among /
her creatures II let alone and when man |
destroys this or that animal as a pest /
he sometimes disturbs this balance and |
the farm lands and vegetation OF the |
country are the sufferers.
Recently the Department OF Agriculture |
for the State of Pennsylvania made d /
careful and exhaustive inquiry into the /
snake question Of that commonwealth. /
and found among the reptiles Of that sec /
ton many that had been adjudged harm I
ful and had been wantonly destroyed, /
which were really helpful friends Of the /
farmer, in that they preyed only on such /
insects and rodents as were destructive 4
agents 10 agriculture. The United States /
Department Of Agriculture has made no /
specific report on this subject. though a
few individuals in the biological bureau |
have made researches to crafty private /
/ interest All Investigations bring EVIL /
dence 20 show that the snake is a greatly /
misunderstood number Of the animal /
kingdom, and that IT is a misdiTected /
philanthropy which DEGREES his death.
There are over eighty harmless snakes /
in the United States, and only four that /
are poisonous. These four are: the rattle /
snake, the water moccasln OF cotton /
mouth, the highland mOccasin or copper /
head, and the coral snake The bite Of 1
the Florida rattler is the most poison /
Gus of all, in fact il Is usually fatal, /
no matter how carefully llgatures are /
fastened above the puncture, and no mat 1
ter how skillful the treatment given by 4
the surgeon. This ratuer sometimes (
grows 20 a length of nine feet and is a 4
formidable enemy. The rattler family.
however are an fair fighters They do 4
not attack unless mO.ested. they warn 4
their enemy with violent ringing OF the 4
raJtles on the end of the TAIL and in /
event the enemy retreats viii uncoH and 1
back away into the bushes. As this snake /
usually lives n woods and rocky ledges.
and fees farther and farther from cult /
waited regions, the danger from his bite /
is minlmized. and for every 1000 rattIers |
taken or killed, there is only one man
bitten by them. OF the thirteen species /
Of rattlers Ia the United States, ten /
are In the southwest
Some authorities consider the bite OF .
The water moccasin more deadly than
,.e
that the highland moccasin OF copper /
head, Is most deadly Of all AS pets.
however they prove most tractable. have
even tempers, and grow sluggish and /
friendly in a short while They DO not /
fight among themselves in captivity. but 4
woe unto the luckless member Of some .
other reptile family who might venture
into cage OF mOccasins One enter
prlslug fellow in the New York Zoo in
vcStigated the ventilatOr one night and
drew his four-f0Ot length through the /
small opening into the adjoining cage /
Of an anaconda The keeper next morn 1
ing found the moSsdsin calmly sIHping
in one corner of the cage. while the
twelve-foot anaconda lay in a distorted
heap in another, quite dead, with eyi- 4
dences Of long fght around him.
The coral snake is the most uncertain |
and consequently the most dreaded Of +
the poisonous snakes. His family reIa-
tions alone should make one suspicious of /
him. He Is closely related TO the deadly
cobra. the kraft and the Australian
tiger snake. "a family Of which nothing
good can be said. and whose poison IS OF /
a particularly fatal nature. The coral /
snake is represented in America by the
harlequin in the Southeast. and the So I
nora IN the Southwest. When first cap
tured or studied on his own heath he is /
sluggish and seems not at all aggressive.
Later he may suddenly seize upon the
person nearest. turning with lightning
Ike rapidity. striking quickly and evinc- /
ing the most violent temper without
cause or warning. These traits make /
him more % be dreaded than the rattlers
and moccasins, which tame easily. fight /
only in defense, and warn before they
attack.
The coral snake is distinguishabIe by
the broad rings Of red and black. and
the narrow rings OF yellow which encir-
Gle his entire body. Because a half dozen
other snakes have copied his brilliant
colors they have placed themselves under
the ban of society, and have fallen vic
tins by the score to the snake hunters
lie COnte'S snake the Arizona king. and
milk snake OF the Southwest. the milk.
the dwarf king, and the scarlet snake
of the Southeast have all forfeited their
lives because Of this resemblance. The
difference between these harmless and
helpful snakes and the coral specie is
that the gay bands do not encircle the
ont fra ht1 hrrT
whore blotches or other colors take the
place. The coral snake is a burrowing
snake, and in captivity if there is no con-
venient ground for burying himself for
awhile he will pine away and die.
The boa constructor has a first cousin
In the United States. He is commonly
known as a blue racer, and while non
poisonous and helpful, he has remark
able muscular power that he will use in
strangling his prey, or in an attempt to
paralyze the arms Of his Captors when
opportunity offers itself. The brown
blotched pine snake Of the Southeast is
also constructor. The garter snake is
the most prolific of the harmless. snakes.
sometimes eighty being brought forth at
one birth. It may be accounted a provi-
Dental thing that the garter snake has
many enemies, and as family is liable /
to meet with more accidents than any
other, else they would soon oyerrun the
country. This snake natures at three
years, and with an average Of forty lit
tie ones at each birth. a pair Of snakes
would have AT the end Of the eighth year
produced LOO OF their kind. The garter
snake is the most widely distributed Of
e.
the last TO hibernate and the first To come /
ont In fbn FTy-er 1ffx- rsrly= 49, !