44 THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 



Behavior, such as that outlined above, is apt to be alarming to the novice 

 and the belief is widespread that this harmless snake is poisonous. Common 

 names carrying this imphcation are numerous and the writer has heard it 

 called blow viper, sand adder, checkered adder, hissing viper, blow snake, puff 

 adder, etc. Credulous persons even maintain that its breath is venomous. 

 In "The World and the LJnited States in Particular" by Jebediah Morse 

 (pubhshed in 1793), we read the following concerning this snake: "Of the 

 venomous serpents which infest this water (the islands and banks toward the 

 west end of Lake Erie), the hissing snake is the most remarkable. It is about 

 18 inches long, small and speckled. When you approach it, it flattens itself 

 in a moment, and its spots, which are of various colours, become visibly 

 brighter through rage; at the same time it blows from its mouth, with great 

 force, a subtile wind, said to be of a nauceous smell; and if drawn in with the 

 breath of the unwary traveler, will infallably bring a decline, that in a few 

 months must prove mortal. No remedy has as yet been found to counteract 

 its baneful influence." This superstition is still widely prevalent. 



Specimens were collected from April to October inclusive and there appar- 

 ently was little seasonal fluctuation; they were taken about as many times in 

 summer and fall as in the spring. Most of those found in September and 

 October, however, were recently hatched juveniles. That these snakes leave 

 hibernation during warm spells in the winter is attested by the fact that speci- 

 mens were collected in Clermont County on January 24, 1933. 



Although the hog-nosed snake was found in areas inhabited by a variety of 

 reptiles it was most often associated with the box turtle and two amphibians, 

 the American toad (Bufo americaniis americanus ) and Fowler's toad (Bnfo 

 fowleri). Freshly caught snakes disgorged toads of both species, and also 

 leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) and green frogs (R. clamitans). A specimen 

 from Cedar Point, Erie County, had a nestling sparrow in its stomach. Cap- 

 tives showed a decided preference for toads although frogs were sometimes 

 accepted. A small individual ate several crickets. 



Two sets of eggs were laid in captivity by Ohio specimens at the Toledo 

 Zoo. The first of these was from a female 33 inches in length collected in 

 Sunfish Twp., Pike County, on May 29, 1932. It deposited 27 eggs June 

 19, 1932, which varied from 29 to 35, average 32 mm., in length, by 19 to 22, 

 average 20 mm., in width. The second clutch of 12 eggs was from a female 

 23 1/4 inches in length (but with incomplete tail) collected May 27, 1934, at 

 Holland, Lucas County; this set was laid July 1, 1934. Measurements were 

 from 24 to 28, average 26 mm., in length and from 15 to 17, average 15.8 

 mm., in width. A specimen 30 inches in length collected August, 1927, in 

 Green Twp., Adams County, contained 7 well formed eggs. 



Gloyd (1932, 403) records the hatching of 8 young, August 23 and 24, 

 1928, sixty days after the eggs were laid by a female collected in Kansas. The 

 lengths of the young varied from 168 to 203, average 192 mm. (6% to 8, 

 average 7 ^/^g inches). 



