Viii Little Foes Of The Trailer
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Banded Rattlesnake
The mountains of Pennsylvania are a favorite resort of the rattlesnake, but, though I have passed many summers in Pike County, famous for its snakes, the only live one I ever saw in that locality was in a box at Rowland station. The men of our party... Beaded Lizard, Gila Monster
The only other venomous reptile found in the United States is the beaded lizard, called Gila monster (pronounced heela). Unless you visit the desert regions of Arizona and New Mexico, you will not be apt to run across this most interesting though po... Bees, Wasps, and Yellow-Jackets
While honey-bees and wasps can make themselves most disagreeable when disturbed, you can usually keep away from beehives and bee-trees as well as from the great gray, papery nests of the wasp; but the hornets or yellow-jackets have an uncomfortable ... Black-Fly
The Adirondack and North Woods region is not only the resort of hunters, campers, and seekers after health and pleasure, but it is also the haunt of the maddening black-fly. From early spring until the middle of July or first of August the black-fly... Breck's Dope
Pine tar 3 oz. Olive (or castor oil) 2 oz. Oil of pennyroyal 1 oz. Citronella 1 oz. Creosote ... Copperhead
The copperhead is not a rattler, though its vibrating tail amid dry leaves will sometimes hum like one. (This is also true of the blacksnake.) Its bite is very poisonous. It is found amid rocks and in the woods, and is at home from New England and t... Dandelion
A salad of tender, young _dandelion_ leaves is not to be despised, and the plant grows everywhere. Only the very young leaves, that come up almost white in the spring, are good. The flavor is slightly bitter with the wholesome bitterness one likes i... Deadly Nightshade
To the nightshade family belong plants that are poisonous and plants that are not, but the thrilling name, deadly nightshade, carries with it the certainty of poison. The plant is an annual and you may often find it growing in a neglected corner ... Deer-Fly
The deer-fly will bite and bite hard enough to hurt. It will drive its sharp mandibles into your skin with such force as to take out a bit of the flesh, sometimes causing the blood to flow, but the bite does not seem particularly poisonous, though y... Diamond Rattlesnake
The rattlesnake marked in diamond patterns of gold outline on brown is of the south and is oftenest found in Florida. This is a very large snake, and closely allied to it is the Texas rattlesnake, which is the same in markings and color, but paler, ... Dopes
Then there are dopes to be rubbed over the face, neck, and hands. The three said to be the best are Nessmuk's Dope, Breck's Dope, and H. P. Wells's Bug-Juice. There is also a Rexall preparation which, I am told, is good while it stays on, but will w... Gnats
In the mountains of Pennsylvania the most troublesome insects I found were the tiny gnats that persist in flying into one's eyes in a very exasperating fashion. They swarm in a cloud in front of your face as you walk and make constant dashes at your... H. P. Wells's Bug-Juice
Olive oil 1/2 pt. Creosote 1 oz. Pennyroyal 1 oz. Camphor 1 oz. Dissolve camphor in alcohol ... Harlequin Snake and Coral-Snake
The harlequin snake and the coral-snake are so similar in color and in habits, one description for both will answer our purpose. They are southern snakes, beginning in southern Indiana and extending south. They are quite poisonous, but of such retir... Insects
My first experience with wood-ticks, jiggers, and Jersey mosquitoes was during the summer we spent at Bayville, near Toms River, N. J. In many ways Bayville, with its sand, its pines, its beautiful wood roads, and rare wild flowers, is an interest... Jigger. Redbug. Mite
The tiny mite called by the natives jigger and redbug is more annoying than the wood-tick, one reason being that there are so many more of him. He really does penetrate the skin, and his wanderings under the surface give one the feeling of an itchin... Jimson-Weed
The jimson-weed is very common in Kentucky. I have not seen so much of it in the east and north, but it appears to grow pretty nearly over the whole United States. It is from one to five feet in height, and an ill-smelling weed, though first cousin ... Massasauga
The massasauga is the rattlesnake occasionally found in the swamps from western New York to Nebraska, but it is rare. Its color is light brown with patches of dark brown its entire length. ... Nessmuk's Dope
In giving the recipe for his dope, Nessmuk says that it produces a glaze over the skin and that in preventing insect bites he has never known it to fail. This is the dope: Pine tar 3 oz. Castor oil ... No-see-um. Punky. Midge
There is another pest of the North Woods which the guides call the no-see-um. It is a very diminutive midge resembling the mosquito in form and viciousness, but so small as to be almost invisible. Night and day are the same to the no-see-um; its war... Other Snakes
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... Poison-Hemlock
The poison-hemlock is well known historically, being in use at the time of Socrates, and believed to have been administered to him by the Greeks. It is quite as poisonous now as in Socrates's day, and accidental poisoning has come from people eating... Poison-Ivy
We are apt to think that every one knows the common poison-ivy, but that some people are not familiar with it was shown when one beautiful autumn day a young woman passed along our village street carrying a handful of the sprays of the vine, gathere... Poison-Oak
The poison-oak closely resembles the poison-ivy, and is sometimes called by that name, but its leaves are differently shaped, being oval in outline with a few coarse, blunt teeth. They are also thicker and smaller than the ivy leaf. The poison-oak i... Poison-Sumach, or Swamp-Sumach
Another member of the same family is the poison-sumach. They are all three equally poisonous and act by contact. The poison, or swamp, sumach is a high, branching shrub closely resembling the harmless species which grow on high, dry ground. The pois... Poisonous Plants
There are two kinds of poisonous plants: those that are poison to the touch and those that are harmless unless taken inwardly. Both may be avoided when you learn to identify them. ... Pokeweed, Pigeonberry
Pokeweed comes under the heading of poisonous plants though its berries are eaten by birds, and its young shoots are said to be almost equal in flavor, and quite as wholesome, as asparagus. It seems to be the large perennial root that holds the pois... Rattlesnakes
The rattlesnake appears to vary in color and markings in the different localities where it is found, and there are fourteen or fifteen varieties, but all carry the rattles, shake them warningly, and coil before they strike. The rattlesnake does not ... Smudges
Smudges are said to afford relief in camp, but my own experience has been that the insects can stand them better than I. A smudge is made by burning things that make little flame and much smoke. Dead leaves, not too dry, will make a fairly good smud... Snakes
The bite of a poisonous snake is by all means to be avoided, and the point is: you almost always can avoid it. With all the snakes in the United States, Doctor William T. Hornaday, director of the Zoological Park of New York City, tells us that out ... Treatment for Snake-Bites
If the unlikely should chance to happen and one of your party is bitten by a poisonous snake, first aid should be given _immediately_, and if a physician is within reach he should be summoned as quickly as possible. Much depends, however, upon what ... Water-Hemlock
Water-hemlock is similar in appearance and in effect. It is found in wet places and on the borders of swamps. The remedies are the same as for poison-hemlock. ... Water-Moccasin, Cottonmouth
The water-moccasin is ugly, and ugly all the way through. Its deadly viciousness is not redeemed by any outward beauty. Its average length is three and a half feet, though it is occasionally longer. Its unlovely body is thick and the color of greeni... Wood-Ticks
I had been told of the ticks that infest the forests of the South, had heard blood-curdling stories of how they sometimes bury themselves, entire, in the flesh of animals and men and have to be cut out, and my horror of them was great. In reality I ... Yellow Lady's-Slipper
Growing in bogs and low woods from Maine to Minnesota and Washington, southward to Georgia and Missouri, there is a sweet-scented, little yellow-and-brown flower called the yellow lady's-slipper, the plant of which is said to have the same effect wh...