AUSTRALIAN SNAKES. 19 



explanation, doubtless, is that snakes being generally 

 regarded as creatures to be seduously avoided, much of 

 this sentiment has attached itself to the literature of the 

 subject, and, in consequence, it is unread, or, if scanned, 

 soon forgotten. A little observation and reflection 

 would elicit the fact that the so regarded " sting " is 

 possessed by both the venomous and harmless snakes, 

 and is used in identical manner by both kinds. It is 

 the fangs or modified teeth which make the wound and 

 convey the venom thereinto; they lie hidden away in the 

 mouth, and are never seen by visitors to the " Zoo." 



The tail also of some species has been accorded a 

 share of evil import. Old writers have assigned the 

 most marvellous properties to the tail of some snakes. 

 " The Horn Snake," we are told, " carries a sharp horn in 

 its tail, with which it assaults anything that offends it 

 with such force that it will strike its tail into the butt 

 end of a musket, whence it is not able to disengage 

 itself." We further read — that the tail not only mortally 

 wounds men and other animals, "but, if by chance stuck 

 into a tree, the tree instantly withers and turns black 

 and dies." Few people now-a-days seriously believe 

 that such things could be, yet we are not infrequently 

 asked if the Death Adder " stings with its tail or its 

 tongue." This question is put with some show of 

 reason, for the snake has a thorn-like spine at the end 

 of its tail, whose function is probably to aid in 

 progression. 



