2IO 



THE ANIMALS AND MAN 



square, dark blotches alternating with each other. It feeds 

 on fishes and frogs, and, although unpleasant and ill-tem- 

 pered, is harmless. One of the prettiest and most gentle of 

 snakes is the familiar little green-snake, common in the 

 East and South in moist meadows and in bushes near the 

 water. It feeds on insects, and can be easily kept alive in 

 confinement. A familiar larger snake is the black-snake, 

 or "blue-racer," lustrous pitch-black, general color greenish 



below, and with 



white throat. It 

 is "often found 

 in the neighbor- 

 hood of water, 

 and is particu- 

 larly partial to 

 the thickets of 

 alders, where it 

 can hunt for 

 toads, mice, and 



FIG. 108. A king-snake, Lampropeltis boyli. (Pho- i i ,41^' 



tograph from life, by J. O. Snyder.) DlrClS > anCl > bem g 



an excellent 



climber, it is often seen among the branches of small 

 trees and bushes, hunting for young birds in the 

 nest." The chain-snake of the Southeast and king- 

 snake (fig. 1 08) of the Central States are beautiful, 

 lustrous, black-and-yellow-spotted snakes, which feed not 

 only on lizards, salamanders, small birds, and mice, but also 

 on other snakes. The king-snake should be protected in 

 regions infested by "rattlers." The spreading-adder, or 

 blowing-viper, a common snake in the Eastern States, 

 brownish or reddish, with dark dorsal and lateral blotches, 

 depresses and expands the head when angry, hissing and 

 threatening. Despite the popular belief in its poisonous 

 nature this ugly reptile is quite harmless. It specially in- 

 fests dry and sandy places. 



