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Other Snakes

Categories: Viii Little Foes Of The Trailer

There are many other snakes in the United States, but they are not

venomous. Here is one thing to remember: you need never fear a snake

found in this country which has _lengthwise stripes_, that is, stripes

running from head to tail. Daniel C. Beard tells me that he has learned

this from observation, and Raymond L. Ditmars, curator of reptiles in

the New York Zoological Park, agrees with him.



While the le
gthwise-striped snakes are harmless, others not striped in

this way are harmless, too. The blacksnake, though he looks an ugly

customer and, when cornered, will sometimes show fight, is not venomous

and his bite is not deep. It is, therefore, wanton cruelty to kill every

snake that crosses your path simply because it happens to be a snake.

Kephart, in his book of "Camping and Woodcraft," says in regard to

identifying the poisonous snake:



"The rattlesnake, copperhead, and cottonmouth are easily distinguished

from all other snakes, as all three of them bear a peculiar mark, or

rather a pair of marks, that no other animal possesses. This mark is

the _pit_, which is a deep cavity on each side of the face between the

nostrils and the eye, sinking into the upper jaw-bone."



If, when one has been bitten and the snake killed, an examination is

made of its head, it can be ascertained immediately whether the snake

was venomous, and in this way unnecessary fright may be avoided.



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