The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-05-18
There Are Only Seventeen
Deadly Varieties in This
Country
MANY HARMLESS REPTILES
90 Snakes Make Good Pets
@.,,ange and Beautiful
Va. IS of Constructor
Family; Crops Destroyed
Where Snakes Are Killed

No branch of natural history is
surrounded with weird and fallacious
narrative, deplorable ignorance and
superstition as that dealing with the
serpents, the result being Inherent
fear and a relentless crusade of club
and heel against a group of creatures
Of great economic value, and. with
few exceptions, absolutely harmless.
says an article in The Philadelphia
Record
One hundred and eleven distinct
species of snakes occur in the United
States, of which only II are dangerous
to man. Thirteen of the latter are
| rattleSnakes genus Crotalus, with an
unmiStakable mark of identification,
the tail ending in a rattle. The four
| remaining dangerous species comprise
| the cOpperhead and water moccasin,
| genus ancistrOdOn, and two small bril-
| liantly colored coral snakes, genus
| elapS. The range of the water moe
casin and coral snakes does not ex-
| tend farther north than the Carolinas
leaving locally only the banded or
! timber rattler (crotalus horridus) and
the copperhead tancistrodon contor-
| tortriX) to be considered in the light
| Of dangerous reptiles.
| The economic value to the farmer
of most of our snakes is of great i'm
portance, and an examination of the
stomach contents of q few Wantonly
killed specimens would soon convince
an intelligent person of the force of
this plea for the protection of our
snake friends. The presence of large
numbers Of snakes in fields of grow
ing crops or about barns containing
grain at once indicates an abundance
of destroying rodents, upon which the
snakes feed voraciouSly, putting to
shame the feeble efforts Of the family
cat.
| AT conservative estimate, an adult
] reptile will kill four rats a week for
forty weeks in the year, or 100 rats.
If these rats were allowed to live and
propagate their kind the result at
, the lowest calculation would be as fol-
lows: If 80 Of the $50 rats survived
, and bred they would raise three lit
, terS of six young each, tOtalling L.
, 44O. Granting that one-half of these
young reach maturity and raise one
, litter of six their first year, it would
mean an increase of 4,320, making q
, grand total of over 5000 injurious
> rodents accounted for by one snake
. in single year.
: The poisonous rattler and copper
: head are never found close to the
: habitation of man, and their appear
ance easily distinguishes them from
. their harmless allies.
1 The shape of reptiles head is no
iSure indication of its character, as Is
. the common belief. The pit vipers,
i erotaline snakes $50 named on ac-
S count of the presence of an orifice
| between the eye and nostril, embrace
S all the rattleSnakes, together with the
] copperhead and water moccaSin. They
e all have heads distinct from the body,
}, but deadly coral snakes have all the
T outward appearance of being harm
e less.
q The hognosed snake, heterodon
e platyrhinus, is a good example of this
v mimicry of the venomous snake, and
" has little chance for existence wher
! it crosses mans path. Of ugly and
n sinister appearance, when cornered
Y they flatten the head and hiss in q
It threatening manner, but soon feiS'l
r death, rolling over on their backs and
: remaining so until the danger has
f passed. They cannot be induced to
: bite by any amount Of tormenting
This is greatly feared and Is called
by many formidable names such as
e spreading adder. death adder. blow
Continued on Page Two.)