The Racers 



Strikingly different from the parent. They are pale gray above, 

 with a series of large, brownish blotches on the back and num- 

 erous black spots on the sides. During their second summer they 

 grow darker and the pattern becomes obscure. In their third 

 summer they acquire the uniform, shiny black of the parent. 



Description of a Young Specimen 



Pale gray above, becoming whitish on the sides. On the 

 back is a series of large, grayish-brown saddles, which are con- 

 siderably larger on the forward portion of the body; toward 

 the tail they become narrower and indistinct, owing to the darker 

 hue of the tail. The forward third of the body is profusely 

 spotted with black on the sides and at the edges of the abdominal 

 plates; the abdomen is pale gray. The head is pale, with dark 

 spots and blotches; the eyes are very large. At the time it 

 was described, this specimen was three weeks old; it was twelve 

 and a half inches long and hatched from a litter of ten eggs, col- 

 lected in Plymouth County, Connecticut. 



A specimen about ten inches long, from Marion County, 

 Florida, is pale gray, with dark brown saddles on the back. There 

 are numerous brick-red spots on the edges and centres of the 

 abdominal plates. 



Another specimen from Florida, twenty inches long, and 

 presumably about nine months old, is dark gray on the forward 

 third of the body, with distinct, blackish blotches. The pos- 

 terior two-thirds of the body is very dark and the blotches are 

 invisible. 



Young specimens resemble partially grown individuals of 

 the Milk Snake (Ophiboliis doliatiis iriangulus), but may be told 

 from the latter by their very large eyes and the absence of 

 black markings on the abdomen, arranged in tessellated fashion. 



Variations. — A distinct variety is recognised and de- 

 scribed under a separate head. 



Dimensions. — A very large Blacksnake is about six feet 

 long. The dimensions given are from a fine specimen, taken 

 in Westchester County, New York: 



Total Length 5 feet 9 inches. 



Length of Tail 17^ " 



Greatest Diameter 1 1 " 



Width of Head if " 



Length of Head if " 



280 



