SNAKES. 253 
entire, The colouring according to the proportion of the black to 
the yellow varies very much. It may, indeed, be of a uniform 
black above, with the exception of a little yellow on the snout 
and sides of the head, Sometimes its marking fairly closely 
resembles that of a wasp; hence one of its common names. 
Occasionally the black of the upper parts is simply spotted with 
yellow. The under parts are nearly invariably yellow with black 
tranverse streakings, 
S. pullatus is a native of South America, East of the Andes, 
and is a somewhat rarer importation into this country than the 
Indian Rat Snake (Z. mucosus). It requires here artificial heat ; 
and its food should consist of frogs, mice, and small rats, There 
are only two species, very closely allied, in the genus Sp/lotes. 
The Corn Snake (Coluber guttatus, Fig. 71), is sometimes 
called the American Black Snake; but I do not know why, for 
the reptile is certainly not black, The names of Snakes, 
particularly their English ones, are extremely puzzling. For 
example, even Devonshire peasants do not agree which Snake it 
is they call the ‘‘long cripple.”” Some of them have told me 
that it is the Viper (Vipera berus), while others have just as 
positively asserted that it is the Ringed Snake (Z'ropidonotus 
natrix) which bears this most curious title. However, I incline 
to the belief that the latter reptile is really the ‘‘long cripple,” 
for I cannot understand why the comparatively short Viper 
should ever be qualified as ‘‘long.’”’ The reason of the use of the 
word ‘‘cripple,’’ is, of course, plain enough, as it comes naturally 
from ‘‘creep.”? Again, in the North of England, the Common 
Snake is, or was, frequently spoken of as the Adder ; for example, 
the late Mr. Waterton, in his essay on Snakes, speaks of the 
Adder and the Viper as being two different Reptiles, 
C. guttatus is an elegant and hardy Snake, very suitable for 
confinement in this country, It requires no artificial heat 
during the summer; and if in good condition in the early 
autumn, it may be safely allowed to pass the winter in a state of 
hibernation, 
This Snake possesses a long loreal ; one pree-ocular, two or three 
post-oculars, eight upper labials, of which the fourth and fifth 
touch the eye, and four or five lower labials; scales, which on 
