134 Trans. Acad. Sci. of St. Louis. 



two postorbitals. Frontal as long as broad or a little longer, as long 

 as its distance from the end of the snout, a little shorter than the 

 parietals. Temporals 2-3. Seven upper labials, third and fourth 

 entering the eye. Nine lower labials, fifth the largest, four in contact 

 with the anterior chin shields, which are much longer than the poste- 

 rior. Scales in 21 rows, smooth. Ventrals 200 to 210. Anal entire. 

 Subcaudals 45 to 55 pairs. 



Color. — Ground color grayish white or yellowish. Dorsal saddle- 

 shaped blotches brownish or red with black borders. They do not reach 

 to the ventrals. Belly whitish or yellowish with black blotches. The 

 dorsal blotches sometimes form nearly parallel black bands on the 

 center part across the back. 



Size. — Total length 655 mm.; tail 95 mm. 



Habitat. — Maryland to Florida, west to Texas, Okla- 

 lioma, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Tennessee. 

 Missouri localities: — St. Louis, Jefferson, "Washington, 

 Oregon, Howell, Stone, Jasper, Jackson, Gasconade, St. 

 Charles, Montgomery, and Warren Counties. In Illinois, 

 St. Clair and Eandolph Counties. 



Habits. — The Milk Snake is often accused of sucking 

 the milk from cows, from which fact it takes its common 

 name. In all my experience I have never found anyone 

 who had really seen it done, nor have I myself ever wit- 

 nessed it. While this snake makes its home around spring 

 houses it does so to be near its food — rats and mice. The 

 Milk Snake is a cannibal, swallowing its own kind and 

 other small serpents and lizards. The first Milk Snake 

 I found was hiding under the loose bark of heavy rotten 

 log. I placed it in my collecting bucket with a lizard, 

 Eumeces fasciatus. On looking into the bucket a little 

 later I found only a small end of the lizard sticking out of 

 the snake's mouth and the wriggling tail, which had been 

 broken off in the struggle, at the bottom of the bucket. 



Dates of capture. — April 4, 12, 15; May 2, 24; July 4, 

 14; October 4; November 8. 



