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size of the serpent, and find that there is no definite relationship 

 whatever. The rattle itself is only a horny onter-fi;rowth of the 

 epidermis or outer skin, and portions of it may be broken off or 

 lost at any time. The vigor with which it is used by its owner is 

 liable to result in its being broken as it hits against some hard 

 object, and although it is true that others are formed from time 

 to time there is no truth in the statement that they are retained by 

 the reptile in such a manner as to definitely indicate age. Of course, 

 an unusually long rattle will be found only on an old individual, but 

 on others of the same age it might be very short. The size of a 

 snake is the most certain indication of its age, although this also 

 varies with the amount of food that it has been able to obtain. As 

 a rule, female snakes are larger than males. This is in accordance 

 with the observed conditions of most species of cold blooded verte- 

 brates. 



There is also a popular belief that the Rattle Snake coils itself 

 around regularl}-, like a rope, and strikes from this coil. This is 

 impossible. Let a person coil a rope and then attempt to uncoil 

 it in the same manner that would be necessary for the snake to 

 follow to strike from such a position, and he will see that it must 

 turn over and over in the uncoiling. While snakes of all kinds 

 do often coil, it shows they never strike from a coil, nor from a 

 stretched out position. In striking they curve the front portion 

 of the body (horizontally n t vertically) somewhat like the letter 

 "S," and their reach in striking is about the distance that this 

 zigzag curve permits them to extend themselves when all the 

 ''slack" is played out. There is a popular belief that snakes jump 

 at persons, even for considerable distances. This also is entirely 

 fallacious. No snake is able to strike more than two thirds or three- 

 fourths of the length of its body. It is impossible for a snake to 

 stand or run on its tail only, and even in its most vigorous attacks 

 the tail is not raised from the ground. The stories of snakes of any 

 kind standing on their tails and f-hasing men, women and children 

 are untrue, although it must be remembered that, as already said 

 on a previous page of this Bulletin, the Black Snakes will on rare 

 occasions pursue individuals who show their timidity by running 

 from them, and since these snakes are very long they are able to 

 raise their heads, neck and front part of the body from the ground, 

 and by this means can look over the top of the grass through 

 which they are running. 



The Common Rattle Snake is found from New England to the 

 Rocky Mountains mostly in rocky places. Its coloration is such 

 that it is generally protected as it lies in the sunshine on the rocks 

 and logs. However common it may be in some ])ortions- of this 



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