270 



THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



likewise given in complete detail; in 

 short, were the colors of this snake 

 known to the examining - herpetologist, 

 in any part of the world, he could, by 

 the use of the aforesaid hand-lens, 

 quickly identify the species, and so give 

 its geographical distribution and life- 

 history. Or, even were the colors not 

 known to him, it would be quite pos- 

 sible for him to name the species. 



This brings me to the discussion of 

 a class of pictures which belong in 

 the distinctly scientific category, and 

 which are of positive educational value. 



these young snakes, and they belong to 

 three very distinct genera, — two of 

 them being innocuous forms, and one 

 of them very venomous. 



In Fig. 4, we have the young of the 

 common milk snake (Lampropcltis do- 

 liatus triangulus,) and in Fig. 5, a young 

 "spreading" or "blowing viper" (Heter- 

 oden platyrhinus.) Both of these 

 species are entirely harmless, and, as 

 a matter of fact, very beautiful and 

 gentle little creatures. On the other 

 hand, the two views of a snake shown 

 in Figs. 6 and 7, represent a species of 



FIG. 3. A GOOD ZOOLOGICAL CUT OF THE COMMON CARTER SNAKE. 



Of such I present four examples (Figs. 

 4-7,) all very recently taken. They are 

 specimens of young snakes, none of 

 them being over three months old, — 

 and I may say that they often make 

 the most difficult subjects for the cam- 

 era. 



In the first place it will be observed 

 that, in all four of the cuts of these 

 young snakes, each and every one of 

 them have been completely shorn of 

 all their surroundings, or of what some 

 are pleased to call the "accessories." 

 This, of course, is accomplished by pho- 

 tographing them on a plain, white sur- 

 face, and, in the vast majority of cases, 

 indoors. 



There are three different species of 



an entirely different kind, for it is the 

 young of the very venomous and wide- 

 ly known copperhead snake (Ancistro- 

 don contortrix). These specimens were 

 all taken near Washington, during the 

 summer of 1912, and photographed by 

 me in my study, or in one of the rooms 

 where I do my photography of live 

 animals 



These pictures are all taken exactly 

 life-size, and each exhibits the char- 

 acteristic pose of its kind. For ex- 

 ample, note the "meek and lowly" car- 

 riage of the head in the case of the 

 harmless and gentle little milk snake, 

 as it starts to make its escape (Fig. 4), 

 compared with the self-reliant and 

 saucy pose of the venomous young 



