20 AUSTRALIAN SNAKES. 



Venomous and Harmless Snakes. 



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Fig. 1. 



FiCx. 2. 



Fig. 1. — Skull of venomous snake, showing poison 

 fang and two bite-marks. 



Fig. 2. — Skull of harmless snake, showing even row of 

 teeth and many bite-marks. 



Speaking with an expert on Snakes, the question 

 invariably asked is, " How can yon distinguish a 

 venomous snake from a harmless one ? " This being 

 so, and, as the subject is one of no small importance in 

 such a snake-infested country as Australia, some notice 

 of the matter may be acceptable here. 



Certain wise persons have their own special methods 

 by which they profess to distinguish the venomous and 

 innocuous snakes at a glance. Some will judge by the 

 relative width of the head, maintaining that those 

 species which have wide heads are venomous ; while 

 those in which the head scarcely exceeds the width of 

 the body, are harmless. Others will have it that if the 

 line of the mouth is curved, the snake is dangerous ; 



