THE OUTDOOR WORLD. 



195 



Berry Pickers," says that snakes are 

 found in the bushes and are a great 

 "trouble and danger," that "the unus- 

 ual wet weather has bi ought out large 

 numbers." That newspaper serves up 

 vivid accounts of "the nauseating effect 

 on the pickers of grasping a slimy 

 snake when thrusting the hands under 

 the heavy foliage of the bushes," "in 

 danger of blood poisoning from the 

 bite of even a garter snake at this time 

 of the year (note the newspaper time- 

 liness). It eulogizes and makes a hero 

 of a Boone County, Kentuckv. huck- 

 ster who had killed twenty black 

 snakes this month while gathering 

 berries. And all this I suppose with 

 granhic accounts of "fights in the 

 bushes" pleased the berry pickers and 

 doubtless added to the fame of the 

 newspaper for affording "interesting 

 reading." But the "interest" lacks one 

 vital essential to most real lovers of 

 nature, even if they do not include 

 snakes in the love — the statements are 

 not true. 



One of our faithful Corresoonding 

 Members, Dr. G. A. Hinnen, of Cin- 

 cinnati, was in readiness to point out 

 some of the most flagrant errors in an 

 extended article from which we quote 

 the following: 



"Never was falsehood greater than 

 this of the 'slimy snake.' A snake is 

 not slimy, nor has there ever been a 

 slimy one. No animal is as immacu- 

 lately clean as a snake ; it is free from 

 vermin of all kinds, such as is found- 

 on other animals, such as cats and 

 dogs, and its skin is never slimy ; even 

 after a bath or swim the snake emerges 

 with its body absolutely dry. 



A snake's habits are cleanly ; its 

 food must be absolutely so, or the 

 snake will not touch it, and so its 

 mouth harbors fewer germs and less 

 filth than does that of a net cat or dog. 

 Compared with the proboscis or foot, 

 of a filthy house fly, or a mosquito, 

 the balance is decidedly on the snake's 

 side. 



"When spied by man the first effort 

 on the part of the snake is to escape 

 and get out of harm's way. A snake 

 will not attack unless driven to bay or 

 frightened suddenly. It is the human 



mind which conjures up all sorts of 

 fantastic and fancif'- 1 usually impos- 

 sible things, which the snake is sup- 

 posed to do, such as taking its tail in 

 its mouth and forming a hoop to roll 

 after people, etc. 



"Now, as to snakes venturing into 

 houses and yards, they do this for 

 but a single purpose, viz., in quest of 

 food. In some parts of the world 

 snakes are welcomed in houses, for, 

 without them, rats and mice would 

 make life absolutely unendurable. If 

 they come into yards they do so to 

 gather im the insects which abound on 

 the vegetables and plants. 



'Yes, they do 'steal things from the 

 farmer;' they steal the rats and mice 

 cribs, the cellars and pantries ; they do 

 steal the cutworms, the grubs ; the 

 gnats and the flies and caterpillars, 

 which devastate the farmer's crops. If 

 he but observed carefully he would be 

 convinced beyond any doubt that this 

 is what the snake does. 



"Why do snakes seek berry patches ( 

 The reason for this is very simple. To 

 begin with, berry patches as a rule 

 abound with innumerable insects, and 

 so the snake is in the midst of plenty. 

 Secondly, the prickle of the bushes 

 afford protection to the snake from its 

 enemies. That is the reason snakes 

 prefer berry patches ; they are not 

 there to eat the berries, but to destroy, 

 the many insects of the berries. 



"The Boone County huckster who 

 has killed no less than twenty black- 

 snakes this month in his berry patches, 

 is an ignoramus. If he took half a 

 day's time to investigate this mattei 

 he would be convinced that the snakes 

 protect his berries from insect ravages, 

 and that they are really worth his 

 protection, and that they are not his 

 enemies as he so foolishly and ridicu- 

 lously imagines. 



"Snakes do not eat vegetable matter 

 in any shape or form ; their food cor 

 sists of slugs, beetles, bugs, caterpil- 

 lars, grubs, rats, mice, etc., and these 

 creatures must all be alive or the snake 

 will not touch them. Where food of 

 this character abounds the snake will 

 be found. 



"They are not man's enemy, but one 



