DO SNAKES DRINK 1 ' 85 



for milk no longer admits of a doubt ; that they like warmth 

 and shelter is an equally established fact. Therefore, they 

 find their way into cattle-sheds, and hide in the straw or 

 any snug corner, possibly even among the recumbent 

 cattle ; and, being there, their ever busy exploring tongues 

 discover a savour of milk, and the snake is led by this 

 intelligent tongue to the very fountain of their favourite 

 drop. The irritated cow would then naturally stir or kick, 

 and endeavour to shake off the strange intruder, who, in 

 its turn alarmed or angered, would bite the udder, and 

 fetch blood. This, in the dark ages of natural history, and 

 during the period when the serpent was invested with all 

 manner of cruel and revolting wilfulness, would suffice to 

 give rise' to the belief that has so long prevailed. The rat 

 snake {Ptyas vmcosics) and the ClotJionia of India are 'said* 

 to suck the teats of cows ; so also are the * hoop snake ' and 

 several other American species, which, with their climbing 

 propensities, may sometimes twine themselves about the 

 legs of cattle, and thus reach the udders, where persons 

 have discovered them. It is just possible that the snakes 

 may get the teat into their mouths, and advance upon it, 

 with the intention of swallowing it, not knowing that it 

 was only a teat, with a cow inconveniently attached to it, 

 and not some small and more manageable prey. 



Among the American milk-drinking snakes is Coluber 

 eximius, known as the ' milk snake,' one of the dairy 

 frequenters, which is said to seek milk with avidity. 

 This snake is mentioned by De Kay,^ Emmons,^ and 



1 Zoology of New York, by J. E. De Kay. Albany, 1844. 

 * Natural History of Nno York. 5 vols. New York, 1842, 



