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some localities, but I have not been able to confirm its occurrence south 

 of Indianapolis, Wabash county (D. C. Ridgley). I have seen speci- 

 mens from Laporte, Hendricks, Hamilton and Montgomery counties. 

 They appear to be abundant in the swampy grounds in the neighborhood 

 of Lake Maxinkuckee, in Marshall county. The black specimens are 

 frequently found in Indiana. They were once described as a distinct 

 species, but their dark coloration is probably nothing more than an indi- 

 vidual variation. We have a very similar case in the differently colored 

 forms of Heterodon jilatirhmos, Coluber obsoletus, and Natrix sipedon. 



Habits. — This species is, on an average, considerably smaller than the 

 Banded Rattlesnake, Crotalus horridus. It is, on that account, less to be 

 feared than that serpent, since the fangs would naturally penetrate less 

 deeply, and the amount of poison that is injected into the wound would be 

 less. Indeed, Dr. Kirtland, of Ohio, is quoted as saying that its bite is 

 scarcely worse than the sting of a hornet. But having had a good deal of 

 experience with, and knowledge of, these snakes, I think that they are not 

 to be tampered with. Animals that have been bitten by them, such as dogs 

 and cows, suffer much, and have troublesome swellings. The rattle is less 

 powerful than that of its larger relative, but may be heard at a sufficient 

 distance. The snakes appear to prefer low, wet grounds as their habita- 

 tion, but they are not aquatic. Yet they may often be found far away 

 from water in dry fields. On the prairies of Illinois, before the country 

 became thickly populated, these reptiles were extremely abundant, and 

 the killing of two or three dozen of them in a season was not an unusual 

 thing for any farmer's boy. Now, in that same region, not one is seen in 

 years. This disappearance of these snakes has been supposed to be due 

 to the destruction wrought among them by hogs. Yet, on those prairies, 

 in those days, there were no roaming hogs. The extinction of the snakes 

 may be due to the breaking up of the soil, the draining of the ponds, and 

 the clearing away of the rank vegetation, which furnishes them protec- 

 tion. At the present day it is only in swamps and marshes that they are 

 found. 



It appears that these snakes shed their skins at least twice a year ; and 

 since, further, Garman has shown that the segments of the rattle repre- 

 sent a retained portion of the sloughed epidermal covering, it seems quite 

 probable that two or more joints of the rattle are produced each year. 

 In any case, the age can not be determined by the number of segments, 

 since the terminal ones are continually being w'orn off and lost. 



The young of this species are brought into the world alive. They are 

 about six in number at each brood, and when born are about six inches 

 long. They appear about the first of September. This species has, been 

 included by Goode in his list of those whose females allow the young a 

 place of safety in the stomach. The writer has published an account of 



