THE SNAKES 247 



tions of the building. Ultimately, this theory was 

 found to be entirely correct. A great number of snakes 

 are unable to withstand any amount of dampness in 

 captivity, their skins taking on a greasy look, finally 

 breaking into ugly-looking sores which exude a cheesy 

 matter. Most susceptible are snakes actually semi- 

 aquatic in a wild state. To keep them in good condi- 

 tion, their quarters must be absolutely dry. It is con- 

 sequently impossible to keep a number of species in the 

 Reptile House on account of the humidity coming from 

 the profusion of foliage. In the dry atmosphere of a 

 living room, however, the species referred to will thrive 

 indefinitely. Why this should be is difficult to explain. 

 Even the boas and pythons, coming from regions no- 

 toriously humid, do better in a dry air than a greenhouse 

 atmosphere. Yet to denude a reptile house of tropical 

 foliage, would be to rob the exhibition of a certain charm 

 almost involuntarily associated with sinuous, scaly life. 

 The difficulty is met by selecting reptiles best calculated 

 to withstand the conditions described. 



The Common Water Snakes; genus Tropidonotus : 

 The members of this cosmopolitan genus are distributed 

 abundantly in temperate and tropical portions of the 

 Old and New World. Closely related to Eutcenia, they 

 are told by the divided anal plate — the shield over the 

 vent. Nearly all of them have coarsely -keeled scales; 

 with few exceptions they are found in the immediate 

 vicinity of water, to which they retreat in time of dan- 

 ger. The food consists largely of fish, also frogs, toads 

 and tadpoles. As a rule, the body is stout, with a flat 

 head and sinister coloration. Under the misleading title 

 of water "moccasins" they are often and unjustly be- 

 lieved to be poisonous, an idea possibly strengthened by 

 their uniform vicious display of temper when cornered. 



