THE OUTDOOR WORLD 



323 



A Snake in the Peak of a Barn Roof. 



BY WILBUR F. SMITH, SOUTH NORWALK, 

 CONNECTICUT. 



One morning in June I was with a 

 friend in one of those picturesque old 

 barns which dot the farm country. We 

 were moving a hay-baling machine so 

 that the loaded wagons could drive on 

 to the floor and store the sweet smell- 

 ing hay in the capacious "bays." 



A pair of barn swallows had a nest 

 in the peak of the roof, and I watched 

 the old birds winnowing the sky for 



my friend found in an apple tree just 

 outside of the barn a similar snake 

 trying to get the young from a chip- 

 ping sparrow's nest. Any one who has 

 had any experience with these snakes 

 knows how well they can climb, and 

 that young birds and birds' eggs are 

 often a part of their bill of fare. 

 (From a later letter.) 

 P. S. Two days later my friend 

 heard a commotion in the barn and 

 found the snake (from all appearances 

 the same one) at the swallow's nest. 



A SNAKE'S SKIN ON THE RAFTERS OF A BARN. 



food and ever and anon darting in at 

 the open door to feed their young. 



While thus occupied I saw a snake's 

 head over the edge of one of the big 

 beams, and then a part of the body, 

 which quickly disappeared under a 

 board that had been nailed to the beam 

 to cover a decayed spot. 



Climbing to the beam, which was 

 not easy as the beam was sixteen leet 

 from the floor, I pried off the board, 

 when the snake ran out, dropped to the 

 floor, and escaped without any appar- 

 ent injury. 



In a cavity under the board was a 

 mouse nest though no mice, and I am 

 wondering if the snake, which is 

 known as the white-throat racer, and 

 was between three and four feet in 

 length, was after the young birds or 

 was looking for mice. It was after the 

 birds I am inclined to believe, because 



He shot 't with a rifle and, when it fell 

 to the floor, he found that it had a, 

 young bird in its mouth. The snake 

 skin is twisted around the rafters at the 

 present time. 



The swallow's nest is tw T enty-five feet 

 from the barn floor. 



The Butterfly Trees. 



BY LUCIA SIIFPARDSON, PACIFIC GROVE, 

 CAL. 



The accompanying photograph illus- 

 trates a peculiar phenomenon of nature 

 which may be observed every year at 

 Pacific Grove. California. In the pine 

 forests surrounding the town there is 

 a certain grim;) of tall trees which is 

 the winter home of the big brown but- 

 terfly called the Monarch, or Aiwsia 

 plexippus. These butterflies do not 

 hibernate, but migrate annually from 



