THE SNAKES 273 



western reptile, may be found from Texas to the Pacific 

 Coast, thence into Sonora, Mexico. A phase of the 

 latter has a coral red collar and abdomen. When fright- 

 ened, it curls the tail upward in the form of a conical 

 spiral and in a way to show both the bright abdominal 

 hue and the dark color of the upper surface. The little 

 creature appears thus seeking to intimidate the enemy. 



Ring-necked Shakes seldom grow to a length of two 

 feet, except D. regalis. They are secretive, hiding un- 

 der flat stones or the loose bark of dead trees. The 

 young of other small snakes, young lizards, salamanders 

 and earthworms form their prey. A partial constriction 

 is employed in subduing the quarry. These may be 

 described as oviparous snakes, yet the eggs are extremely 

 thin-skinned, hatching in less than half the time required 

 by most snake eggs under the most favorable of circum- 

 stances. Small openings in timbered regions, scattered 

 with flat stones, are good localities for Ring-necked 

 Snakes. The writer remembers a large flat stone lying 

 close to a trail leading up a mountain, in New York 

 State. He seldom turned this stone without finding a 

 specimen. The stone was always turned back into the 

 same spot and propped up slightly over another stone 

 as an inducement for shelter. Never more than a single 

 snake was found under it at a time, but the trap seldom 

 failed. Once, while going up the trail, a snake was 

 bagged and four hours later, on returning, the stone 

 disclosed another snugly coiled beneath it. The snakes 

 came from a growth of almost impenetrable timber, 

 brush and tumbled rock. 



Cemophora, contains a single species, C. coccinea — 

 the Scarlet Snake — of the southeastern part of the 

 United States. This is a beautiful little creature, about 

 one and a half feet long when fully grown. From 



