The Washington herald., 1912-07-07
Facts About Snakes
One Should KnOw
Many Regarded as Venomous Are Harmless and
Should Not Be Destroyed They Are
Farmers Best Friend.

while the copperhead IL short and
thickset.
Blacksnake Common.
The blacksnake Ii one Of the most
common. and grows to . length OF
makes q great bluf at fighting, but 10
in reality a coward. This, as previous
ly stated. 10 the farmers most useful
snake; II devours great numbers Of
mioe and moles. Even the bite OF the
blacksnake is perfectly harmless; in
fact. hunters consider a bite from any
Of our native snakes except rattlers
and copperheads Of no more conse-
quence than the scratch Of . briar.
The racer Is a variety Of blacksnake
occasionally though very seldom seen
here. It is described as being longer
and more slepder and wears Q light
colored collar around its neck. It can
travel very fast and has the reputat alton
OF chasing people who run from II.
Racers are harmless Westerners and
do not belong In the list OF New Eng
land residents.
The garter snake, commonly called
streaked or striped snake. grows from
two to three feet long. and Is the most
common and numerous Of all It is
quite harmless.
ter snakes, varying much in color and
markings. although in some respects
they are practically alike. They do not
lay eggs, as do some other snakes, but
bring forth their youns alive. and when
we consider that a single family may
comprise from thirty to seventy or
more (the largest on record being sew
enty-eight) II is not surprising that
this variety is common.
attractive Individual and is always seen
near or In the water. usually lying on
rocks, or logs. or flood trash. basking
in the sun. Below a milldam. amid the
roar OF rushing water, Is a favorite
haunt of this disagreeable and lnnocu-
Gus reptile. When approached too
closely he quietly slides of into the
water and disappears.
When caught-which may be done with
a wire moose on a pole-these snakes put
up a bold fight. striking with open mouth
in a ferocious manner. This conduct is
all blum, however. as their bite IL
harmless. The species is commonly sup
posed to be Identical with the water moe
casin, which Ia venomous. As the latter
Is a strictly Southern snake, never seen
this side OF North Carolina. II is safe to
say there is none in New England.
The king snake, commonly known as
an adder. but Is one OF the harmless
family of king snakes common in the
Southern States, known IN different sec
tons as milk snake, house snake. chain
snake, and so on. In the North 1t grows
to about four feet in length, and is
marked with reddish brown spots.
Horse Hair Reptiles.
The green snake. or grass snake. is a
small harmless creature. about twenty
inches long. bright green above and yell
lowish white beneath. The little brown
snake is less than a foot long and per-
fectly harmless. Boys frequently carry
them In their pockets, and even girls
enjoy watching them wind around their
fingers. demonstrating the words OF a
writer Oh the subject, who says: The
locomotion of the snake is one of the
most remarkable and beautifully con-
trived phenomena in animal mechanics"
The hair snake. the smallest OF all
creatures bearing the name of snake, Is
found in water and is responsible for
many a heated discussion in rural dis
tricts. where the common belief is that il
originates from horse hairs. This theory
is all a myth-horse-hair snakes are par
asites living inside OF crickets and grass
hoppers, upon leaving which they seek
the water to lay their eggs.
Another myth has to do with the rat
ties of rattlesnakes. As these shed their
outer skins from two TO four times
year. each time adding a rattle. and as
these fresh rattles sometimes fall of, II
is evident that the belief that a rattlers
age can be told by the number of his
one representing a year-is
erroneous.