New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-08-06
literary NesO>s and Criticism

from, Wild beasts Nocia he his lot. fieil
.l;cr., is the 7,sastiGurc. n lizard that dies
for lack OF drink IN captivity. because 1t
will rot drink, but takes up moisture
through. its skin. This is one Of the dis
aoya.:es made by Air. Ditmars in the
course of Ills work IN the reptile house.
Drinking ua:lS. water Sprinkled on let
,uce leaves. did not tempt the dropping
lizarG, lit when tie cacti Were being
watereG 4 few drops were accidentally
catered over its beck. The skin alb
sorbed them like blottlIg paper. The
observsnt curator toorz the hint and
watered his inastigureS with mist
spray. There are iiIflbiesS lizards which
the layman will mistake for snakes.
Only two poisonous species OK lizards
are known. the gila monster. of Arizona
and New Mexico. and the Mexican
beaded lizard.
1t is in the section devoted TO the
snakes that Mr.. Ditnlacs's account OF
his personal experiences and ooserva-
tions is most varied and interesting he
explains that the popular distinctions
between poisonous and harmless snakes
are IdIl1CiOuS. d Asilth tS0S <tii
fiattened, distinct head The ''rattler'
alone is unnIistakabie. He gives the
latest scientific directions for the treat
r7snt OF snake bite (whiskey does not
play a part in II, by the way, and de-
scribes at length the gigantic, wildly
coIored. non-poisonous hoas and pythons.
! Structuraiiy they are remarkable, be-
cause they have a pair OF internal hind
legs, protruding in the shape OF movable
spurs, and they have vestiges OF pelvic
bones. The regal python, the largest OF
them, reaches a length OF thirty feet.
! The Indian python comes second, With q
| record of twenty-five feet, and our old
| friend, Van Ambergs Anaconda boa
/ constructor. third, with twenty feet and
over Most of the stories Of the swal-
lowing capacities of these giants are
ridiculous They cannot swallow an OK
or horse, an antelope or white-tailed
deer would strain the capacity of any
but the largest, and f6rty-pouhd pig is
the limit of most All the big snakes
are subject TO a deadly mouth disease.
which requires constant watchfulness
and treatment in captivity. Mr.. Dit
mars saved a cobra'S life once by max
ing an incision at the back of the head.
disioiHtine the diseased jaw bone and
removing il through the orifice thus
made
The big snakes shown by snake
cllarmers" are usually Indian pythons.
They are cared for with the same ten
derness as children, and under such
treatment become actually affectionate.
1t is not unusual to find a specimen
peevishly refusing to take food from any
but the hand of its mistress" There is
no laypnotism in the performances of
Indian fakirs with poisonous snakes, nor
has the music anything to do with their
dancing They merely follow with
their usual intentness the swaying mo-
ton of the fakir. A knowledge Of their
WAYS and constant watchfulness do the
rest.
An inexplicable paradox is registered
by Mr. Ditmars in his statement that
snakes from humid, hot climates thrive
best in a dry atmosphere when in cap
tivity. Stranger still is this;
Most susceptible are snakes actually semi
AQUATIC IN NilG state. q Keen them
good condition their quarters must be ALSO
lutely dry. II is consequently impossible to
keep a number of species in the reptile
house on account of the humidity; In the
the species referred to Will thrive Indeh-
nitely Why this should he is difficult TO
explain. Even the hoas and pythons. COM
ing from regions VIGOROUSLY humid, do bet
ter in DRY air than In q greenhouse atno-
sphere
The king snake, We are informed, is
surprisingly gentle in its attitude toward
man, and makes a beautiful and interest
ing pet. But it becomes q demon when
! ether snakes are introduced into it's
cage. Mr.. Ditmars has found this Amer
| lean species TO be immune to the venom
of the American rattlesnake, copperhead
and moccasin. and Of the South Ameri-
can lance headed snakes, but the poisons
of the OLD World species kill It usually
within an hour. Notice to farmers: milk
SnaileS do not steal milk. The largest of
; them could not absorb moro than an
ounce of fluid, anyhow Their presence
! around farm means an abundance of
mice.
OF all the species of snakes observed
by Mr. pitmars, the king cobra is the
most intelligent. He even sscribes to it
good reasoning power But we are
reaching our limit of space and must
leave the rest of the book for the reader.
Only a few points of interest have been
selected here at random for brief refer
ence. The work appeals strongly to the
modern curiosity concerning all living
things.