THE FUN OF SEEING THINGS 



119 



Snake Myths. 



Snakes do not swallow their young 

 for protection. Snakes do not run like 

 a hoop. 



It is hard to say how the myth about 

 the hoop snake originated. I have sev- 

 eral times explained that the myth 

 about a snake "swallowing her young" 

 came from the actions of cannibal spe- 

 cies feeding upon the young of other 

 snakes. — Raymond L. Ditmars. 



That Amazing Myth that a Milk Snake 

 Steals Milk from the Cows. 

 From the habit of prowling about 

 the vicinity of stables and dairies (in 

 search of mice and rats), this prettily 

 coloured snake has acquired the bad 

 reputation of stealing milk from the 

 cows, and making inroads upon the 

 farmer's product to such an extent that 

 he may actually suffer financial loss 

 from the depredations committed by 

 one of these reptiles. This is one of the 

 many fallacies existing about snakes, 

 and resulting in an unjust slaughter of 

 really useful creatures. Snakes show 

 no liking for milk. Captive specimens 

 cannot be induced to drink it unless 

 suffering from great thirst. It would 

 be a feat beyond physical possibility 

 for a serpent the size of the largest milk 

 snake to consume enough milk from a 

 cow — even if the reptile should be so 

 inclined — to produce an effect notice- 

 able to the most minute degree. When 

 mature, this snake attains a length of 

 about a yard, and is of rather slender 

 build. A serpent of this size could 

 consume, if drinking its full of water, 

 a quantity equivalent to about two 

 teaspoonsful ; this would demonstrate 

 its capacity for milk, and any cow 

 that fed upon the scantiest vegetation 

 that ever graced fertile soil should 

 yield enough milk to allow for this 

 quantity to be lost without being noted 

 by the dairyman. Incidentally it might 

 be explained that the milk snake fre- 

 quents country where the grazing is 

 good and the cattle yield much milk. 

 In the face of these circumstances the 

 reader is asked to ponder on the logic 

 of the farmer who declares that a single 

 "milk" snake can steal enough milk 

 from one of his cows to produce a 

 marked deficiencv to be noted at milk- 

 ing time.— "The Reptile Book," by 

 Raymond L. Ditmars. 



Big Chips by Beavers. 



Hyde Park, New York. 

 To the Editor : 



it may interest your readers to know 

 that a colony of wild beavers is living 

 here in Dutchess County, New York. 

 Nobody seems to know where they 

 came from or how long they have been 

 at work, but it must be a long time. 



I went to see their work recently and 

 brought home some souvenirs, one be- 

 ing a section of a birch tree seven in- 

 ches in diameter that they had nearly 

 cut down. I also brought many of 

 their chips. I am sending you a few 

 samples of these. 



They have built a dam down the out- 

 let of a lake and have raised the water 

 fully three feet. Their work is intense- 

 ly interesting. I never expected to see 

 anything of the sort. Scores of trees 

 have been cut down. Many have 

 lodged and are leaning in every direc- 

 tion, but more are lying flat and more 

 or less cut to pieces. Some are ten 

 inches in diameter. 



I found where their home is — or at 

 least one home — in a steep bank. They 

 had covered the entrance, which was 

 under water, with a large mound of 

 leaves, moss and rubbish some three or 

 four feet thick and twelve feet long, 

 part on land and part in water, to pre- 

 vent the entrance from freezing in the 

 winter. They made a good choice in 

 selecting this place for their home, for 

 it is one of the wildest and most se- 

 cluded regions I have ever seen and is 

 difficult of access. This accounts for 

 their remaining so long undiscovered. 

 Their dam is some forty or fifty feet 

 long, and the top, save where the water 

 overflows, is as broad and smooth as 

 any garden path. 



Sincerely yours, 



A. T. Cook. 



The aspect of Nature is devout. Like 

 the figure of Jesus, She stands with 

 bended head, and hands folded upon 

 the breast. The happiest man is he 

 who learns from Nature the lesson of 

 worship. — Emerson. 



Blue jays are reported to put kernels 

 of corn, small acorns, pebbles and the 

 like in the cocoons of the large Cecrop- 

 ia moths. 



