1 83 SNAKES. 



Schlegel follows up his statement, ' tail strictly prehensile 

 found only in boas,' by explaining, nevertheless, that a short 

 tail Is sufficiently vigorous to attach itself to any point, 

 and support the whole body.^ In the non-venomous tree 

 snakes the tail is long and slender, and no squirrel or bird 

 is more active and at home in a tree than these. They 

 glide, swing, climb, and almost fly from branch to branch, 

 scarcely disturbing a leaf. 



Our 'excellent Qgg merchant,' introduced as the Racer, 

 though a ground snake, is equally at home in a tree, and 

 holds on by its tail with remarkable adroitness, but then 

 the Racer or ' Pilot snake ' is a true boa also. (The true 

 'boa' is distinguished by its dentition and formation of 

 jaw-bones, the term 'boa,' so variously and perplexingly 

 used by some of the older naturalists, being now restricted 

 to certain non-venomous species which possess such ana- 

 tomical structure.) 



Lawson's description of this ' Racer ' is graphic. ' The 

 long black Snake frequents the Land altogether, and is the 

 nimblest Creature living. His Bite has no more Venom than 

 a Prick with a Pin. He is the best Mouser that can be ; for 

 he leaves not one of that Vermin alive where he comes. He 

 also kills the Rattlesnake wherever he meets him by twisting 

 his Head about the Neck of the Rattlesnake, and whipping him 

 to Death with his Tail. This Whipster, for all his Agility, is so 

 brittle that when he is pursued, and gets his Head into the 

 Hole of a Tree, if anybody gets hold of the other End, he 

 will twist and break himself in the Middle.' 

 ■ Lawson does not appear to have understood the nature of 



^ Essai sur la physiognomie des serpents, par Herman Schlegel. Amsterdam, 1837. 



