264 THE SNAKES OF SOUTH AFRICA. 
arm into the nest-hole of a Spreeuw (Starling) in a bank. Instead 
of my fingers touching the eggs as I expected, they closed 
around a snake’s body. He was evidently too cramped up to 
bite quickly, but I never put my arm into a Spreeuw’s nest- 
hole again ! 
ADVICE TO CAMPERS OUT. 
Snakes strongly object to the smell of disinfectants. When 
snakes are kept in captivity, great care has to be taken when 
disinfecting their cages to allow the smell to evaporate before 
putting the snakes back into the cages, for the fumes given out 
will in all likelihood kill them. Those who have occasion to 
camp out in tents should dip a piece of rope or plaited cloth in 
sheep dip, creosote, or carbolic acid, and lay it round the outside 
of the tent. This will prevent venomous snakes, spiders, 
scorpions and centipedes from crawling inside. 
HOoORSEHAIR ROPES. 
When a boy I revelled in the stories of the adventures of the 
cowboys and frontiersmen of the backwoods of America; and 
used to read that these men often carried a horsehair rope with 
them, and regarded it as a valuable possession. When camping 
out at night, they would lay it in a ring upon the ground and lie 
down and sleep within that magic circle, quite confident that no 
venomous serpent would molest them. They had not the slightest 
idea why the hair rope should prevent serpents from creeping in 
under their blankets and snuggling up for warmth about their 
persons, but they, nevertheless, had firm faith in the serpent-’ 
repelling properties of their hair ropes. 
Naturalists ridicule the idea of the hair rope being efficacious. 
Now, just let us review the evidence. A plaited horsehair rope is 
bristling with hundreds of little hair-points sticking out in all 
directions. A snake progresses by means of his ribs, which are 
worked by sets of muscles. Each pair of ribs is attached to one 
of the abdominal shields. These shields or scales are moved 
forwards, and elevated for the purpose of gripping the ground or 
whatever surface the snake may be crawling over. Now, each 
