The Stiiped Snakes — Garter Snakes 



Total Length 31 inches. 



Length of Fail 5 " 



Greatest Diameter f " 



Width of Head | " 



Length of Head i| " 



Distribution. — The typical form of the Common Garter 

 Snaite is abundant from southern Canada to Florida (inclusive) 

 and westward to the Mississippi. It extends yet farther west- 

 ward — to the Great Plains — but in this extreme western portion 

 of its range is not abundant. 



Habits of the Garter Snake 



Occurring in nearly every part of North America, Mexico 

 and Central America in which serpent life exists, the Garter 

 Snake is probably the most generally distributed and abundant, 

 of all the harmless snakes, in the Western as well as the Eastern 

 hemispheres. This hardy reptile, ranging well northward into 

 Canada, is the last of the snakes to hibernate in the fall and the 

 first to appear in the spring. It is not unusual to find these 

 reptiles basking in the sun of early March, though the woods 

 yet contain large patches of unmelted snow. Issuing from their 

 hibernating places during the warmest part of the day, they seek 

 shelter as soon as the sun's rays show signs of weakening. The 

 favourite situations in which to pass the cold months, are in soft 

 soil on a slope that faces the south. Here the reptiles burrow 

 down a yard or more. Rocky situations are often selected and 

 among the clefts and fissures, one opening into another, the 

 snakes are enabled to retire to a considerable depth from the 

 surface. 



It is in the fall that these snakes congregate in large num- 

 bers, on ground that is suitable for the winter's sleep. Here 

 they sun themselves during the middle of the day, retiring into 

 clefts and burrows during the chilly autumn nights. As the 

 nights become colder, their basking periods during the day are 

 shortened and finally, after the first severe frost, they remain 

 below the ground for the winter. Instinct seemingly attracts them 

 to these places of hibernation, for such spots are usually poor 

 feeding grounds and have been devoid of snakes during the sum- 

 mer months. In spring, the breeding time, the reptiles remain 

 in numbers until the weather has become well settled and the 



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